from gambling. But for the most part, they were experienced practitioners who diligently read books, studied trading methods and conducted their own research. With remarkable frequency I heard the mournful refrain: inconsistency robbed them of their profits and subjected them to occasional but painful losses. It's hard to put into words how frustrating trading can be when success seems so enticingly close and yet remains so elusive.

How is it that, knowing the need to exercise regularly, eat healthy food, raise children properly, yet we so often find ourselves unable to do this? What prevents us from trading based on the information that is right in front of our eyes? These questions have haunted me for nearly two decades, both as a professional psychologist and as a marketer. My attempts to answer them took me away from literature on trading and psychology to philosophy and advanced research in the field of cognitive neuroscience. If I have achieved anything in this book, it is only by combining achievements in these areas - achievements far more valuable than my own results.

The authors are faced with a curious paradox: with each new acquired intellectual debt, they are enriched many times over. In this regard, I feel truly rich, for I have received insight and help from many inspiring sources.

My first forays into writing about the markets began with my participation in the Speculator's List, a website for a group of traders, money managers, scientists, and prominent figures in the arts and sciences. I am eternally indebted to Laurel Kenner, Victor Niederhoffer, and James Goldcamp for their role in creating List and for their kind support of many of my posts published by the group.

When I needed to understand the dynamics that distinguished successful traders from unsuccessful ones, Linda Raschke helped me a lot, allowing me to study many of the participants in her seminars. I quickly realized that Linda is a worthy example of an exemplary trader and experienced mentor. I am very grateful to her for her friendship and her insight into the business and human aspects of trading.

I was greatly influenced by those who encouraged me to write more clearly and accurately. MSN Money editor John Markman has become a dear friend and colleague of mine, as well as a role model for his groundbreaking research. The book greatly benefited from the efforts of my editor at Wiley, Pamela van Giessen, whose humor, practical mind, and commitment to quality helped me to complete a lengthy writing process.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the beneficial influence of my academic colleagues in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at SUNY Upstate Medical University, especially Roger Greenberg, Mantosh Dewan, and John Manring. And my good friends and trading correspondents Henry Carstens, Saurab Singal, and Steve Wisdom enriched the book with their inspiring ideas. In addition, I am indebted to Mark Mahorny for his excellent work on the Great Speculations website (www.greatspeculations.com) and to Frank and Chris Linet, Susan Niederhoffer, Arnold and Rose Rustin for their warmth, humor and valuable insights. WITH благодарностью снимаю шляпу перед Йелом Хёршем, Эндрю Ло, WITHэмом Айзенстадтом и Джеффом Карменом за их образцовые исследования и личную поддержку.

Finally, I would like to thank my family members for their endless love and support. My parents Jack and Connie have been role models and inspirations for much longer than they realize. Поддержка Марка, Лайзы, Деби, Питера, WITHтива, Лоры, Эда, Девона и Макрея означала больше, чем я могу выразить словами. But no one deserves more credit for this book than my wife, Margie, who taught me so much of what I know about life, love, and navigating risk and reward. Therefore, it is with great joy that I dedicate this book to her.

Introduction
View from the height of huge shoulders
I regard July 4, 2001 as a special day. He marked the completion of the first draft of this book. Until that day, I did not quite understand why I wrote it. Yes, I wanted to share my thoughts and ideas, but that was not the main goal. In addition, he wrote a book without a contract for its publication. Of course, I wanted to see it published, but I realized that the process of writing the book had a personal meaning for me, regardless of its success in the market.

4 июля, сидя в вестибюле гостиницы в WITHиэтле с ноутбуком под рукой, я внезапно осознал источник этого личного значения. Feeling the need to put this understanding into words, I opened my notebook and wrote the following letter to my friend and mentor Victor Niederhoffer:

Dear Victor!

Nothing encourages reflection like travel. WITHочетание своеобразного пейзажа и отрыва от повседневной рутины помогает нам думать иначе, видеть вещи в новом свете. On vacation we are freed from our regular occupations. It is during such breaks from the routine that the manifestation of creative impulses is most likely.

This became especially clear to me during my last vacation, when I took my book manuscript on a trip to the West Coast. I expected inspiration to come to me on the road, and I hoped that, without interference from the mundane world, the process of writing would be supremely enjoyable. In this regard, I was not disappointed. But what a surprise, however, was my emotional response to the writing process. WITHоздавая страницу за страницей, я испытывал чувство глубокого смирения. I understood with deep confidence in my soul how few of my ideas were really original. In each line, I could see inspiration drawn from another source: a teacher or mentor, a book I read, a piece of research I studied, a personal idol. Few of these pages really belonged to me. The manuscript became a synthesis of what I had absorbed from personalities bigger than myself. I could seriously appreciate Newton's claim that if he could see farther than others, it was because he stood on the shoulders of giants.

Perhaps that is why immortals do not write for self-aggrandizement, and why charlatans so vigorously praise themselves and refuse credit to others. Great people know the source of their inspiration. Their strongest feeling is humble gratitude that they have become the owners of gifts for which they can never fully repay.

Being in this state of humility, I also saw your book in a new way. When I read The Education of a Speculator for the first time, I focused on personal history—the events that contributed to success in the markets. Rereading the book, I saw it in a different light - as a tribute to those moral and personal factors (especially your father) that influenced the successful formation of a person. After this vacation, however, a completely new reading opened up for me. Now I can appreciate your book as a clearer tribute to the people who have become your role models. It is a recognition and expression of gratitude to Arthur Niederhoffer, Jack Barnaby, Tom Wiswell, Francis Galton and many others who have given more than can ever be fully repaid.

And yet, in our books, we may return at least part of the debt. Even great people die. Their voices are silenced, and future generations are forever deprived of the opportunity to sit next to them and listen to their words. My children will never be able to meet Artie or Galton and learn from their example. However, in the books dedicated to them, great people acquire a kind of personal immortality. As long as the book graces the shelves of libraries and bookstores, there is hope that the lessons taught by great men will not be lost and that their examples may greatly outlive them.

This is the beauty of writing: telling the stories of heroes, we we contribute to their immortality and immeasurably enrich future generations. Before leaving for this vacation, I vowed to write a book that would narrate, entertain, and enrich. Now, however, I have set the bar much higher and will only be satisfied with my work when it does justice to those who have inspired the best in me.

And now, sitting here in the early morning and working on a book, I understand with sincere gratitude that the only way to stay on the shoulders of giants is to lift them on my shoulders.

WITH уважением,
Brett
Trading is truly life in miniature. If you want to develop as a person and as a trader, look for immortals everywhere. Find heroes and heroines who lived their lives with passion, nourishing all who came into contact with them. Find those who lived, breathed and studied the markets, enriching the world with their ideas. Then lift them up on your shoulders, never forgetting your duty. You will be surprised how high you stand and how far you can see.

Б.WITH.
Chapter first
The Woman Who Couldn't Love
Solutions are stereotypes that we establish between problems.

I think it would be natural for you to expect a book on trading psychology to begin with a description of the various emotional distresses experienced by traders. In this chapter, however, we will try to approach the topic from a different angle. Let's try to apply a concept known as "solution focus" to trading and find out how our problems have already been solved. If you have a template for identifying and understanding what you are already doing right, whether in life or in the markets, then you are well on your way to creating a model for your future success.

The path to success in automotive manufacturing
Years ago I read something in a management book that left a lasting impression. At that time, Japanese automakers were significantly ahead of their American counterparts. The Japanese seemed to be winning the