How self-knowledge can make you a better trader

Successful traders invariably have a keen understanding of themselves and how their personalities affect how they operate in the highly emotional and often fast-moving world of spread-betting.

We all have our demons to deal with when spread-betting the financial markets. In fact, I would say that along with sport, trading can uncover your innermost qualities more directly than probably any other activity. The hard part comes in recognising and acknowledging your strengths and your weaknesses.

Successful traders invariably have a keen understanding of themselves and how their personalities affect how they operate in the highly emotional and often fast-moving world of spread-betting.

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John is is a British-born lapsed PhD physicist, who previously worked for Nasa on the Mars exploration team. He is a former commodity trading advisor with the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and worked in a boutique futures house in California in the 1980s.

 

He was a partner in one of the first futures newsletter advisory services, based in Washington DC, specialising in pork bellies and currencies. John is primarily a chart-reading trader, having cut his trading teeth in the days before PCs.

 

As well as his work in the financial world, he has launched, run and sold several 'real' businesses producing 'real' products.