Winning traders go their own way. They don't follow the crowd. They are independent minded. How independent minded are you? Here's a short 10-item quiz to help you determine your tendency to think independently.
1. Do you feel uneasy when you think that others don't like you?
2. Do you care what others think?
3. While growing up, did you do what was expected of you?
4. When making important decisions, do you seek out the opinions of others?
5. Do you dislike unanticipated events?
6. Do you believe that you can't fight city hall?
7. Do you think it is impossible to change the "system" and there is no point in trying?
8. Do you like taking orders?
9. Do you value the opinions of others more than your own?
10. Do you consider the impact of your actions on others before you act?
If you agreed with all of these items (or even half of them), you probably are not very independent minded. But is that such a bad thing? Many people think that conformity is a bad thing, but it can be quite desirable at times. If you look at the items of the quiz more closely, some of the behaviors are actually positive and benefit others. For example, it's good to consider how your actions will impact others. And people who do what is expected of them often do well in life.
To some extent, conformity is natural and rewarded. You have to be able to follow rules and fit in to survive in the social world. But that isn't the stereotype of a short term trader. Some of the most famous traders were rule breakers. They didn't follow the rules and went their own way. In some of the interviews in "Market Wizards," the traders were somewhat aloof and tended to avoid other people. In the end, an independent minded trader may be successful, but he or she may not always be the most popular person.
Rugged individualists aren't always popular. Indeed, they can sometimes get into trouble. Even though it may only be a prototype rather than an actual person, Hayden Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel, "The Fountainhead" is the ultimate individualist. Howard Roark is a creative, innovative architect who shuns the classical style that is popular among his colleagues so he could design modern structures that fully reflect his creativity. Ignored by the mainstream, he can find no clients, and must support his craft by working as a laborer in a quarry or designing modest projects, such as family homes, gas stations, and small office buildings. But he doesn't mind. He isn't driven by money, fame, or recognition. He is motivated solely by a powerful need to express his artistic vision. He works his craft to satisfy himself and no one else. For him, designing buildings has nothing to do with raising his status in the eyes of his peers. He does it solely for artistic expression. It's either his own way, on his own terms, or nothing. He would rather turn down a job than let a client change his design. Indeed, Hayden Roark takes individualism a bit too far. When a change is made to his design of a public works housing project by the city government, he bombs it, and suffers the consequences. So being too independent minded may not always be a good thing, but you can see that as an ideal, the independent minded trader is likely to stay ahead of the crowd. If you can go your own way without thinking of the consequences or caring what anyone else thinks, you can trade the markets freely, creatively, and astutely.
That said, if you tend to be more of a conformist, that's all right. You may not have a natural tendency to go your own way, but that does not mean that you cannot learn to think independently while trading the markets. It is useful, however, to know what your natural personality is like. If you tend to rely on the opinions of others, it may be hard to break this habit, and you may need to make a concerted effort to do so. On the other hand, if you naturally break the rules and go your own way, you probably don't have much of a problem thinking independently. It's useful to know where you stand, however, so you can take steps to think independently.
By Micheal Shopshire
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I believe you are probably the best out of the literal hundreds of traders that I have witnessed.
