Hello World

"What the caterpillar calls The End of The World, the master calls a butterfly."        ~Richard Bach

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Tonight is the last night of 2012, supposedly the year the world end, but it didn't. So, with the coming of a new year comes news dreams and new hopes. And these are our dreams and our goals for the upcoming years:

1) To live a joyful and meaningful life.

2) To make a half a million in 3 years (and one million in 5 years).

3) To learn something new and have a little enlightenment everyday.

This blog (and ultimately, this book) will be a record of the lessons we learn,  the thoughts we have, the epiphanies we discover throughout the upcoming 5 years while achieving our goals. Then, we have this additional goal:

4) To share these with everyone, so that everyone can follow, or avoid following, our footsteps to success, as defined by goal #1 and goal #2.

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Most, if not all, existing materials on how to be successful / rich / happy suffer from the same problem - Selection Bias. The authors were already successful / rich / happy when they wrote their methods. They claim that these methods are the reason of their success. How about people who used the exact same methods but failed? Maybe it is not what they wrote, but something else that cause them to be successful? Perhaps, they are simply very lucky?

This blog / book will be unique. It will be written by individuals who are NOT successful / rich (though we are very happy) at this point of time - 31/12/2012. We plan to publish this in 3 years later on the 31/12/2015, no matter what is the outcome.

Life is a mystery. No one knows what future will bring. Isn't it what make life interesting? To know what our destiny in 3 years will be, read on!

Happy New Year!

Clover
31/12/2012

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P.S. About the authors as of 31/12/2012 -

Clover - A software engineer turned proprietary trader, whose job switch resulted in sharp drop in monthly income for most part of 2011 and 2012. Why the switch from engineer to a trader?

Whizzy T - A dreamer who quited his job to pursue a greater purpose and freedom in life. The next Bill Gates, Steve Job? Probably.

Clara - A project manager in a well-known network company, whose dream is to become an entrepreneur and/or marry a rich husband. Will her dreams come true?

P.P.S. Maybe they will tell you the answers to these questions somewhere in this blog/book.

Letting Go

I read a book about Zen:

The key to joy is to let go. 

Let go of things that are toxic, that make you un-joyful - be it your thinking, your needs, your expectations, your possessions, your ideas, your striving, your addictions, your burdens etc. 

Strip away the unnecessary. Go back to your center, your core.

Be free.

Then you will be joyful.

****************************************************************

That is Eastern Zen teaching. Western psychology explains why it is so hard to let go - 

Loss Aversion.

"Loss aversion implies that one who loses $100 will lose more satisfaction than another person will gain satisfaction from a $100 windfall." -Wikipedia

That means a person will illogically assign more value to the things ($100 in the example) they possessed than things they don't.

This is obviously a fallacy and it explains why it is so hard to let go.

Good traders know this and counter this innate bias of theirs everyday.

Maybe we can apply this to life in general too.

Let go. 

Epiphany

Have a sudden epiphany today... actually two, one primary one secondary.

Suddenly I realized what is the missing ingredient (for me) to success... That is the lack of a sense of Abundance. Previously I was very limiting in my thoughts... I kept thinking I am poor, monetary-wise. Hence I am not really a generous person, either to my friends, family, or to myself. Actually there is also nothing wrong with lacking generosity, just that I suddenly realize this limit in thought may become a road block to my goal of becoming rich.

What makes me realize this?

1) My girlfriend who said I am "stingy". Haha! Though I really really don't think I am stingy, she makes me realize that I am not as generous as I should be, and hence, becoming aware of this limiting belief of mine.

2) My best friend ZJ, who introduce me to the "Law of Abundance".

3) My bosses, who gave me a nice ex watch, which makes me realize that one of the habits of rich people are that they are grateful and generous to people who help them.

4) The book "The One Minute Millionaire", which did the finishing touch of hammering this concept of "Abundance" and "Giving" through into brain.

Heh want to thank my gf, my best friend, my bosses, and the book for leading me to this epiphany. If you are reading this, I want you to know that I am really grateful to you. :)

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Then the second epiphany: The other key to success is to Create New Conditions. Now I am playing a very interesting iPhone game called Ghost Trick. The protagonist (you), a ghost whose mission is to solve the mystery of why he died, has the power to go back in time to 4 minutes before a death occur and changes things so that the death never happen. This create new conditions which gives him further clues to solve the mystery. What I like most about this game is the intriguing story line and the puzzle portion, which requires the player (the ghost) to think of creative ways to change the outcome of the deaths of various characters he encountered.

Anw, the main theme of the game is to create new conditions, which is also the main message of a book I read recently: "Good Luck - Create Conditions for Success in Life and Business".

So while playing the game, suddenly it dawns on me: creating new conditions is crucial for success!

Actually there is a second part to this epiphany. That is, every new condition has the potential of causing the Butterfly Effect! Sometimes, just the smallest change in condition, perhaps, just a spark of an idea or a change in thinking, can create a major change in your life! Just look at the multi-billion business of I-pod, I-phone and I-pad, it all started from an idea inside Steve Job's head!

Thinking back for the past 2 years... If I never quit my job, I would never have become a trader now! If I never signed up for SDN, I would never have met my beautiful gf!

Now, the year is ending, I am feeling kinda stuck: what is the next step of moving towards my goals (of becoming rich, so that I can be free and provide for my loved ones etc etc)?? Then suddenly it hits me!

When in doubt, CREATE NEW CONDITIONS!

Simple! And that shall be what I should do. A path will open up once the conditions are fulfilled, and Good Luck and Opportunities will follow!

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I have a feeling that these 2 small epiphanies will be the new conditions that will change my life in a VERY big way. HeeHee.

Good Luck

Good Luck - Create the Conditions for Success in Life and Business
http://lemmyc.hubpages.com/hub/Lemmycs-Book-Review-Good-Luck-Create-the-Conditions-for-Success-in-Life-and-Business

Rules of Good Luck:

1) Luck doesn't last long, because it does not depend on you. Good luck is created by each of us, that’s why it lasts for ever.

2) Many are those who want Good Luck, but few are those who are willing to pursue it

3) If you have no Good Luck now, it might be because you’re under the usual conditions. To have Good Luck, you must create new conditions.

4) Finding new conditions for good luck does not mean looking for your own benefits only. Creating conditions, helping others, makes Good Luck more likely to appear.

5) If you postpone the creation of new conditions, Good Luck never arrives. Creating new conditions is sometimes hard work, but … do it today!

6) Sometimes, even under the seemingly right conditions, Good luck doesn't arrive. Look for the seemingly unnecessary conditions in the small details.

7) To those who only believe in chance, creating conditions seems absurd. Those who create conditions are not worried about chance.

8) Nobody can sell Good Luck. Good Luck cannot be sold. Do not trust those who sell luck.

9) After creating all the conditions, don’t quit. For Good luck to arrive, have faith.

10) Creating Good Luck consists in preparing conditions for opportunity. But opportunity has nothing to do with luck or chance it is always there.

Luck

What is luck? How to be lucky?

My girlfriend presented 3 points:

1) Be Positive - (no matter what happens. Bad luck may be good luck in disguise, so, don't worry :)
2) Be Open - (to new experiences, so that there is a higher chance of getting good luck)
3) Be Prepared - (to seize the opportunity once good luck happened)

I like her presentation: simple, concise, and it's similar to my philosophy. Though I had, as a trader, distilled the essence of Luck into a precise mathematical concept. 

Luck is a Bell Curve. 
Understand Bell Curve, and you will understand EVERYTHING about Luck.

Imagine a Normal Distribution curve with "Returns", i.e, Luck, on the X-axis and "Probability" on the Y-axis. On the right tail end of the curve will be very high Returns (Good Luck), but with a very low probability of happening. On the left tail end will be very high negative Expected Returns (Bad Luck), but also with a very low probability of happening. The bulk of the "Bell" will be centered on Zero Return, which corresponds to the peak of the curve. 

So what does the Bell Curve tells you about Luck, and how to be lucky? Plenty.

1) Luck is Mean-Reverting

That means, sometime you will have good luck, sometime you will have bad luck. Over the long run, the extremes will neutralize each other and the Net Returns will still be ZERO, as defined by the Bell Curve. Understanding this, and you will have a stoic attitude towards instances of good luck or bad luck.

Everything is a cycle. Good Luck will be followed by Bad Luck, Bad Luck will be followed by Good Luck. But in the long run, it doesn't matter. So why worried about it? :)

2) Edges will shift the Luck Bell Curve

Successful people make their own luck. How? By finding advantages / edges! A trader's definition of an "edge" is that it's something provides Positive Expected Returns, i.e. the peak of the Normal Distribution curve is no longer centered at Zero, but at some positive values. The curve is now shifted to the right!

People who are successful pursue their competitive edges consciously, relentlessly and continuously. It is what it means by "making one's own luck". Once they found their own edges, they will be lucky in the long run! It is inevitable! 

To find an example of a positive edge, one needs to look no further than the P&L statement of a casino. 

3) Control / Limit your Risks 

Beware of the Black Swans. Think of every possibilities that might cause your downfall in case you have bad luck. Take steps to prevent or minimize these risks. 

The Luck Bell Curve have much fatter tails and much larger negative returns than you think. Highly recommend Nassim Taleb's books. 'Nuff said.

4) Law of Large Numbers

Once you found something with a positive edge that you can do, keep trying. Don't give up because of temporal bad luck or setbacks. The more times you throw your dice, the more likely you will realize your positive expected return, i.e. the more likely you will get lucky. Remember:

It is inevitable. :)

Important dates

7 Jul 2012 - First message
13 Oct 2012 - First met @ Tiong Baru Plaza
26 Oct 2012 - First attached @ Sentosa

Grace

There was a 9 year old little girl named Grace who led a happy carefree life together with her loving daddy and mommy. One morning, she woke up and finds that something is a little... different. The room seems a little quiet. Too quiet. As if all the sounds had been sucked out of the world. Feeling a little perplex, Grace got out of her bed and walked towards the door.

When Grace opens the door, she saw that all the lights in the living room were on, she walked to her parents bedroom to look for her mommy and daddy, but saw no one there. She thought this was strange because this is Sunday and her parents never work on a Sunday. So she thought her parents were hiding from her, she started to open one-by-one all the doors in the apartment to see if her parents could be hiding behind them; but still she cannot find them. At this point the only door she has not opened yet is the front door of the apartment.

She tried to open the door. It was locked. The lights flickered. The familiar living room now seems eerie to Grace, even though it was a bright sunny morning, What is going on? She thought. At this moment, the TV suddenly came to life. Grace walked towards the TV wearily. The screen was showing her exact same living room from a corner, and it was at night. There was a girl in the living room but Grace can't see her clearly. Then the TV camera zoomed in slowly on the girl. To Grace's surprise, the girl was Grace herself. And she was smiling at Grace.

"Hello Grace!" The little girl in the TV said to her with a big smile. Grace was stunned but also curious at the same time at what the girl is going to say next. "I am Grace91865, please do not be afraid. I am an animation, controlled by artificial intelligence" "Now you are alone in this apartment and my job is to guide you through your next 3 days. your parents like all other adults in this town have been infected with a disease that kids age 16 and below seem to be immune to. In 3 days, somebody will pick you up and take care of you...

Grace woke up with a start. It was so strange for her. Am I even capable of doing this? She thought. Grace walked out of her room and her house. It was a Sunday morning, but it was quiet... very quiet. The Sun was completely hidden by a depressing grayish haze. No one else could be seen on the streets, as far as the little Grace could see. Not even a single animal.

However, Grace was very used to this, though. She had seen the same scene everyday for the past 500 years.

But for the first time in 500 years, something different happened to her. Is this what they called...a dream? Who was that little girl that is identical to her?

Grace91865 sat down on the bench in her porch, looked up at the gloomy, hazy sky... and wondered.

- Written by Jiefeng & Clara

"Whoever has g...

"Whoever has gratitude will be given more, and she or he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have gratitude, even what she or he has will be taken from her or him." - Rhonda Byrne, The Magic

The Secret of the Gamboni

Joe was a card player, a good one. He was so good, in fact, that he had to move from city to city and find games where he wasn’t known in order to play for high stakes. One afternoon, in a bar in the suburb of Chicago, he’s shooting the breeze with the bartender and asks,

”Say, where can I find a good card game around here?”

“What kind of stakes are you talking about?”

“Big,” Joe says, “the biggest game you know about.”

“Well now, I hear there’s a game out in the farm country. It’s a bit of a drive, but these particular farmers play for big money. Let me make a call and see if it’s OK.”
So the bartender makes the call, and then gives Joe direction to the game.

That evening, after a long drive, Joe pulls up to this barn in the middle of nowhere. Tentatively, he walks inside, tiptoeing around the fetid piles on the floor. At the back of the barn, he spots a partially open door, with lights and smoke pouring through the opening. The familiar rush of anticipating and energy sweeps through him as he enters the room and introduces himself.

Farmers in overalls sit around the table, chewing cigars and puffing their pipes. In a quick glance, Joe estimates the current pot to be about $40,000 – perfect. So he sits down. “Ante up,” says the farmer holding the deck of cards. And Joe begins to play.

About an hour later, Joes is holding his own. He is about even when he draws three aces and two queens – a full house. With a large pot already on the table, he raise $15,000. The next two guys fold, but the leather-face farmer across the table calls him and raises another $15,000, without so much as batting an eye. Joe, certain that the guy is bluffing, calls the bet and lays down his aces-high full house. The farmer lays down junk: three clubs and two diamonds of mixed numbered cards. Joe, suppressing a smile, starts to rake in the pot.

“Wait just a damn minute,” says the farmer, a stern and reprimanding tone in his voice.

“Whattaya mean, wait a minute,” says Joe, “you got nothing.”

“Take a look at the sign over your right shoulder,” smiles the farmer.

Joe looks:

THREE CLUBS AND TWO DIAMONDS CONSTITUTE A GAMBONI, THE TOP WINNING HAND IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT

Joe is really angry, but after all, rules are rules, so he continues to play with what is left of his holdings. About an hour later, he draws three clubs and two diamonds… a Gamboni! He bets everything, and on the final round of betting with the same leather-faced farmer he has to throw in his solid gold Rolex to make the call. The farmer turns over his cards of a queen-high spade flush. Joe turns over his Gamboni and starts to rake in the pot.

“Hold it there, fella,” says the farmer, his grin cutting deep lines in his cheeks.

“But I got a Gamboni!” cries an exasperated Joe.

“Sure ‘nough, but look at the sign over there,” and he points over Joe’s left shoulder.

Joe looks:

ONLY ONE GAMBONI WILL BE PERMITTED PER NIGHT IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT

Joe, broke but thankful for the invention of credit cards, leaves the barn with dung on his shoes and the leather-face farmer drives his tractor home feeling the weight of a solid gold Rolex on his wrist.”

Dream

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

-T. E. Lawrence, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"

God & Traders

A thought suddenly came into my mind - Substitute the word "God" with "Market" in any passage, and most likely the passage will still make sense.

Life. Diablo.

Life is just like Diablo. You level up. Earn gold. Buy stuff. Have fun. Until one day you reach Inferno and realize that life sucks.

...

Well, not really sucks, but it makes u realize what are the 3 most important things in life.

Gold, Luck, and Companion.

Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to (Obscenities Commonly Heard During) Trading

"Ah ah ah... still don't go up?!?"
-when rest of the market is moving in favor of our position

"Seh seh seh... siao liao la!!!"
-when the rest of the market is moving against our position ("seh" means dizzy)

"Wa lan eh, seh la!!!"
-when the rest of the market is moving against our position, version 2

"CCB FUCKERS, now gimme 50 cents! 50 cents! Give! Now!"
-when demanding for a miracle

"Please la, Osaka God, gimme 50 cents... Osaka God... 50 cents... Please please please..."
-when begging for a miracle ("Osaka" here refers to the contract we trade in)

"Wa song song song! Heehee!"
-when miracle happens

"WTF?!??"
-when in disbelief

"CCB Fuckers!!!"
-when someone doing something funny with the market

"Wa liew... very tired la... give me some easy trades la..."
-when market very tough

"Sian la... don't know how to trade la..."
-when market very tough, version 2

"Tap out, tap out... very tired la... tap out..."
-when our position is unfavorable and is begging to scratch ("tap out" is a wresting term which means surrender. "Scratch" means exit position at break even)

"Oh shit shit shit..."
-when something demands instant reaction

"Ooo song!"
-when taking profit

"TMD CCB FFUUUUUU!!!"
-when taking a loss

"Wa lao eh... FUCK MY LIFE!!!"
-when taking consecutive losses

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After a week of intensive emotional outbursts, I feel like going into the forest and meditate for seven seven forty-nine days.

Life.

Do you find that your life is very hard?

Fighting for your existence everyday.

Another colleague disappeared today. Just a simple handshake and "All the best", and then,

He was gone.

As another colleague love to say,

"FUCK MY LIFE!"

Lol!

Mine is a cruel world. Will continue to fight.

Fighting makes you feel alive.

:)

Sailor

歌曲：水手
词曲:郑智化

苦涩的沙吹痛脸庞的感觉
像父亲的责骂母亲的哭泣
永远难忘记
年少的我喜欢一个人在海边
卷起裤管光着脚丫踩在沙滩上
总是幻想海洋的尽头有另一个世界
总是以为勇敢的水手是真正的男儿
总是一副弱不禁风孬种的样子
在受人欺负的时候总是听见水手说
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要怕至少我们还有梦
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要问为什么

长大以后为了理想而努力
渐渐的忽略了父亲母亲和
故乡的消息
如今的我生活就像在演戏
说着言不由衷的话戴着伪善的面具
总是拿着微不足道的成就来骗自己
总是莫名其妙到一阵的空虚
总是靠一点酒精的麻醉才能够睡去
在半睡半醒之间仿佛又听见水手说
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要怕至少我们还有梦
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要问为什么

寻寻觅觅寻不到活着的证据
都市的柏油路太硬踩不出足迹
骄傲无知的现代人不知道珍惜
那一片被文明糟踏过的海洋和天地
只有远离人群才能找回我自己
在带着咸味的空气中自由的呼吸
耳畔又传来汽笛声和水手的笑语
永远在内心的最深处听见水手说
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要怕至少我们还有梦
他说风雨中这点痛算什么
擦干泪不要问为什么

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewy0wrkOfyg

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Sometimes you will hear songs that will resonate within you.

Luck

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
- Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

The Truth

Had a revelation after reading some books and a chat with friend, which I will try to put to words as best as I can.

What is the "Truth", or the "Reality" (about anything)?

The short answer is, there is no such thing as the Truth or the Reality.

Everything thing we see is filtered and colored through our perception, i.e., our five basic senses, our previous experiences, our mental wiring etc etc. No one see the same thing in the exact same way.

Take a simple chair for example, even though it is just a simple chair, we consciously or subconsciously form opinions about it - a comfortable chair, an ugly chair, a red chair, even a "simple" chair. So what is the universal Truth/Reality about this chair? Nope, there is none. No one see the chair the same way.

Having agree that there is no universal Truth / Reality, here is the next question:

How do Conflicts arise?

Conflicts arise when two different person's truths / realities are different from each other, and they both insist so strongly on them that they try to make the other person see their version of the truth / reality.

However, in my opinion, the conflicts are absurd and unnecessary, since there is no universal Truth / Reality. Everything is just a matter of perceptions. If everyone can see the Truth and Reality for what it is, which is simply a series of different perceptions, then everyone will be able to understand everyone else perfectly! Won't that be a wonderful world to live in?

However, given that we do not live in a perfect world, how can we make use of this insight After all these ramblings, how should we see the world?

So what exactly is the Universal Truth?

My Truth is simple. Truth is...

Whatever that works.

What do I mean by "whatever that works"? "Works" can mean myriad of things - Confirming observation, make money, bring happiness etc.

Let me give an example. For thousands of years, people's truth/reality was that the Sun revolves around the Earth. It had worked for them for thousands of years  (confirmed their observation, boosted their ego, made them happy etc), so there is nothing wrong with it.

Until one day, Copernicus found that that particular truth/reality doesn't work so well anymore (doesn't fit new observations), and thus, he changed it. Today, we believe that the truth is that the Earth revolves around the Sun. So it is the current truth until somebody else changes it. Simple as that.

The same applies to everything else. Evolution Theory, Technical Analysis, God, what I / other people should or should not / can or cannot do etc etc.

All that matters is whether it works.

Hence, to summarize, there are 4 levels to Truth & Reality -

Level 0: Truth is the truth (as you perceive it to be or think it is).
Level 1: Truth is there is no Truth.
Level 2: Truth is whatever that works.

Keep an open mind and open your eyes. Look beyond what you think is the truth & reality, you will see the infinite possibilities and reveal the Truth & Reality for what it truly is.

P.S. Actually there is a Level 3 that is more advanced:

Level 3: Truth is what we choose to create. After knowing Level 1, we consciously create, change, manipulate the Truth as we see fit.

(But attempts to do these will have unintended consequences. So, for all practical purposes, we will just stick to level 1 and 2.)

P.P.S. Perhaps, this post is an attempt of Level 3 truth.

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Buddha was seated among his disciples one morning when a man approached the gathering. “Does God exist,” he asked. “Yes, God exists,” Buddha answered. After lunch, another man appeared. “Does God exist?” he asked. “No, God does not exist,” Buddha answered. Late in the day, a third man asked Buddha the same question, and Buddha's response was: “You must decide for yourself.” “Master, this is absurd,” said one of the disciples. “How can you give three different answers to the same question?” “Because they were different persons,” answered the Enlightened One. “And each person approaches God in his own way: some with certainty, some with denial and some with doubt.”

Horoscope

AQUARIUS

The forbidden colors are reddish green and yellowish blue, invisible because the cells of your retina are not built to register them. But scientists have found a way for a few lucky people to glimpse the hues. Aquarius, I suspect you are close to experiencing a metaphorical version of this breakthrough- see something that is supposedly impossible to see.

 

- freewillastrology.com

Last Lecture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

 

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.

I probably got more from that dream and not accomplishing it than I got from any of the ones that I did accomplish.

You’ve got to get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff isn’t going to work.

When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.

Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

Head fake learning is absolutely important, and you should keep your eye out for them because they’re everywhere.

The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.

It’s pretty easy to be smart when you’re parroting smart people.

It’s very important to know when you’re in a pissing match. And it’s very important to get out of it as quickly as possible.

Until you got ice cream spilled on you, you’re not doing field work.

I can’t tell you beforehand, but right before they present it I can tell you if the world (his students project work) is good by the body language. If they’re standing close to each other, the world is good.

If you’re going to do anything that pioneering you will get those arrows in the back, and you just have to put up with it. I mean everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Somewhere along the way there’s got to be some aspect of what lets you get to achieve your dreams. First one is the role of parents, mentors, and students.

And he (Andy Van Dam) said, Randy, it’s such a shame that people perceive you as so arrogant. Because it’s going to limit what you’re going to be able to accomplish in life.

You just have to decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore.

I have a theory that people who come from large families are better people because they’ve just had to learn to get along.

Loyalty is a two way street.

Syl said, it took me a long time but I’ve finally figured it out. When it comes to men that are romantically interested in you, it’s really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do. It’s that simple. It’s that easy.

You can’t get there alone. People have to help you and I do believe in karma. I believe in paybacks. You get people to help you by telling the truth. Being earnest.

I’ll take an earnest person over a hip person every day, because hip is short term. Earnest is long term.

Apologise when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.

Don’t bail. The best of the gold’s at the bottom of barrels of crap.

Get a feedback loop and listen to it. Your feedback loop can be this dorky spreadsheet thing I did, or it can just be one great man who tells you what you need to hear. The hard part is the listening to it.

Don’t complain. Just work harder. That’s a picture of Jackie Robinson. It was in his contract not to complain, even when the fans spit on him.

Be good at something, it makes you valuable.

Find the best in everybody. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out.

Be prepared. Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity.

It’s not about how to achieve your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.

A Pen is a Wand

Watching Harry Potter on TV. Noticing a pen on my table. Suddenly, have random thought that actually,

A Pen is a Wand.

And a very powerful wand at that. It has the power and magic to create an entire world, fueled only by the imagination (mana) of the writer.

Powerful.

Books I Have Read Since I Joined A Proprietary Trading Film on 20 Feb 2012

Wanted to chronicle the list of books I read so that I won't forget them.
(Updated on 12 Aug 2012)

1. Compleat Day Trader by Jake Bernstein *
2. Compleat Day Trader II by Jake Bernstein *
3. Trading For A Living by Alexander Elder *
4. The Trader's Guide to Key Economic Indicators by Richard Yamarone *
5. The Secrets of Economic Indicators by Bernard Baumohl *
6. Mind Over Markets by James F. Dalton, Eric T. Jones, Robert B. Dalton *****
7. How to Get Started in Electronic Day Trading by David Nassar ***
8. Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki ****
9. Markets, Mobs, and Mayhem by Robert Menschel ***
10. Studies in Tape Reading by Richard Wyckoff ***
11. The Day Trader Survivor Guide by Christopher Farrel ***
12. Japanese Candlestick Charting Technique by Steve Nelson *
13. Secrets of Trading Pros by Jack Bouroudjian **
14. The Market Never Sleep by Thomas L. Busby **
15. Techniques of Tape Reading by Vadym Graifer & Christopher Schumacher ***
16. Rules of the Trade by David Nassar **
17. How to Trade in Stocks by Jesse Livermore **
18. Markets in Profile by James F. Dalton, Eric T. Jones, Robert B. Dalton **
19. The Trading Edge by Ricky Cheng *
20. The Art of the Trade by Jason Alsan Jankovsky ****
21. Time Compression Trading by Jason Alsan Jankovsky ****
22. Black Swan by Nassim Taleb ****
23. Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb *****
24. Enhancing Trader Performance by Brett Steenbarger ****
25. Psychology of Trading by Brett Steenbarger ****
26. Intermarket Trading Strategies by Markos Katsanos **
27. Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas ***
28. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre *****
29. The New Paradigm for Financial Markets by George Soros ***
30. Trader Vic - Methods of a Wall Street Master by Victor Sperandeo ****
31. Trader Vic II - Principles of Professional Speculator by Victor Sperandeo ***
32. Predatory Trading & Crowded Exits by James Clunie **
33. Trade with Passion and Purpose by Mark Whistler **
34. Performance Trading by Steve Ward *
35. World Event Trading by Andrew Busch ***
36. All About High-Frequency Trading by Michael Durbin**
37. The Education of a Speculator by Victor Niederhoffer *****
38. How I Trade for a Living by Gary Smith **
39. Trading Secrets by Simon Thompson **
40. The Speed Traders by Edgar Perez ***
41. Hedge Funds Myths and Limits by Francois-Serge Lhabitant ***
42. Inside the Black Box by Rishi K Narang
43. The Magic by Rhonda Byrne
44. Market Wizards by Jack Schwager ****
45. New Market Wizards by Jack Schwager ****
46. Super Strategies for Puzzles and Games by Saul Levmoew and Elizabeth Early Cook
47. Understand Arbitrage by Randall S. Billingsley (Read half) ***
48. Pair Trading Quantitative Methods and Analysis (Read half) ****

Currently Reading:

1. Understand Arbitrage by Randall S. Billingsley
2. Practical Speculation by Victor Nederhoffer and Laurel Kenner
3. Basic Black Scholes by Timothy Crack
4. Econometrics of Financial High-Frequency Data by Nikolaus Hautsch

Stars rating represents only my personal liking. All are nice books (but some are nicer than the others). :)

Poker Rules

From http://www.dailyspeculations.com/wordpress/?p=7334

World class poker rounder and poker player, Thomas Austin Preston Jr. aka "Amarillo Slim" died of colon cancer yesterday at the age of 83. Known as a real solid poker player, he was also a great prop hustler, one of the best on the planet.

Slim listed 10 rules for poker success that have relevance in trading.

1. Play the players more than you play the cards.
2. Choose the right opponents. If you don't see a sucker at the table, you're it.
3. Never play with money you can't afford to lose.
4. Be tight and aggressive; don't play many hands, but when you do, be prepared to move in.
5. Always be observing at a poker game. The minute you're there, you're working.
6. Watch the other players for "tells" before you look at your own cards.
7. Diversify your play so others can't pick up your tells.
8. Choose your speed based on the direction of the game. Play slow in a fast game, fast in a slow game.
9. Be able to quit a loser, and for goodness' sake, keep playing when you're winning.
10. Conduct yourself honorably so you're always invited back .

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most.

"Man - because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present, the result being that he does not live in the present, or the future, he lives as if he is never going to die and then he dies having never really lived."

Rubbish

What I write is rubbish.

Because too much input these days:

Psychology, persuasion, trading, hypnosis, finance, mentalism, philosophy, stories, plays, hustles... books, videos, plays...

When there is input, there is output. After digestion...

Rubbish.

P.S. 有了工作，生活还能这样充实吗?

The meaning of life is...

... to watch a leaf falling gently in the air and realize it is beautiful.

... to listen to the waves flapping gently against the beach and realize it is beautiful.

... to feel the wind blowing gently on your face and realize it is beautiful.

It is a beautiful day.

 

Stan Lai's Plays

After watching  賴聲川's 《那一夜，在旅途中說相聲》 and feeling SUPER impressed, I planned to dig out all Stan Lai's plays from the internet to watch. Listing (and rating) those I watched here so as to keep track:

Plays:

《暗戀桃花源》（【表演工作坊】演出，1986）  4.9!/5.0

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/kx876QpCg7c/

《十三角關係》（【表演工作坊】演出，1999） 4.2/5.0

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/sgLIOk6IoeQ/

《亂民全講》（【表演工作坊】演出，2003）4.3/5.0

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/kiHdDZKXbyQ/

Cross Talk Series

《那一夜，我們說相聲》（【表演工作坊】演出，1985；1993重演，1994美國、亞洲巡迴） 3.2/5.0

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/hUEni1NeNzQ/

《千禧夜，我們說相聲》（【表演工作坊】演出，2000-2001；北京、上海巡演、2001；片段參加中央電視台春節聯歡晚）4.5!/5.0

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/WQFs9zfXH-o/

《這一夜，Women說相聲》（【表演工作坊】演出，2005；新加坡巡迴演出、2005；北京版大陸巡迴，2007）4.4!/5.0

http://www.56.com/u84/v_NjE2MTI3NDU.html

《又一夜，他們說相聲》（【表演工作坊】演出，1997）4.2/5.0

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5252833579897641952#docid=1492879871952724539

《臺灣怪譚》（【表演工作坊】演出，1991）

http://www.tudou.com/playlist/id3745078.html

 

Complete info about Stan Lai including list of all his plays:

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B3%B4%E8%81%B2%E5%B7%9D#.E5.8E.9F.E5.89.B5.E8.88.9E.E5.8F.B0.E5.8A.87.EF.BC.88.E7.B7.A8.E5.8A.87.E8.88.87.E5.B0.8E.E6.BC.94.EF.BC.89

Satisfied. :)

电影《一一》的经典台词

"每天讲得都一样……几分钟就讲完了……我好像白活了……每天都像个傻子一样……我每天在干什么……"

*****************************************

"电影发明以后，人类的生命比起以前至少延长了三倍！"

*****************************************

"你看到的我看不到，我看到的你看不到，那我怎么知道你在看什么呢？

我们是不是只能看到一半的事情。好像我只能看到前面看不到后面。"

*****************************************

"你看，这些年，我这么辛苦，我这么努力，从早忙到晚额，NJ你知不知道，我一点也不快乐。"
" 做的都不是自己喜欢做的事 ，又怎么会快乐呢?"

*****************************************

"婆婆，对不起，不是我不喜欢跟你讲话。只是我觉得我能跟你讲的，你一定老早都知道了，不然你就不会每次都叫我“听话”。就像他们都说你走了，你也没有告我我你去了哪里。所以我觉得，那一定是我们都知道的地方。婆婆，我不知道的事情太多了。所以，你知道我以后想做什么吗？我要去告诉别人他们不知道的事，给别人看他们看不到的东西。我想，这样一定天天都很好玩。说不定，有一天，我会发现你到底去了哪里。到时候，我可不可以跟大家讲，叫大家一起过来看你呢？

婆婆，我好想你。尤其是我看到那个还没有名字的小表弟，就会想起你常跟我说，你老了。我很想跟他说，我觉得，我也老了。"

Mexican Fisherman

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village.

 An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

 "Not very long," answered the Mexican.

 "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

 The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with all your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.

Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant."

"You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American. "And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stock and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?"

"After that -- and this is the best part -- you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Although I am broke, sometimes, I have the feeling that most of my friends are working their ass off so that they can have the life I am leading now when they are 65.

Peaceful...