Trade Like 'The Turtles'

Finally, in the 20 years of my life after the Turtle program ended and I stopped trading, I never ceased thinking like a trader. I have found that many of the approaches and perspectives of a great trader are also valuable in real life. So I also wanted to make sure that I covered the reasons why trading ideas translate to other spheres of human endeavor. I thought this would also make the book interesting to a wider audience, not just hardcore traders.

Over these 20 years there has been a lot of research in the field of behavioral psychology, which was very useful in my own understanding of markets and trading. Scientists have discovered many cognitive biases that cause most of us to make wrong decisions whenever there is no clear right or wrong answer to a question. This affects decisions in business, personal relationships and marriage -- every area that is important for living a full life. Since I wasn't trading, I have had a lot of time to think about and note how trading-style thinking helps one make better decisions, and I had built up a small library of analogies and examples that I wanted to share with my readers.

I have also found that the act of writing is very good for clarifying and materializing my abstract and fuzzy thoughts. It is also good for bringing to the conscious mind that which has served only to guide through a "gut" or subjective impression. So I knew that the act of writing the book would improve my own trading and help me clarify my own thinking. This certainly proved true. In fact, I believe that I learned more by writing Way of the Turtle than I did while trading as a Turtle.

I enjoy interacting with other traders, so if you get a chance to read my book, please consider joining me at my blog or at the trading forum I moderate.