Money and power have always held a hypnotic appeal, so it's unsurprising that Hollywood produces films such as the recently released 'The Wolf of Wall Street'.
This is a largely true story about a New York stockbroker (Leonardo DiCaprio) who chases the American dream using corporate greed and corruption, ably assisted by Matthew McConaughey who later won the 2014 Best Actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.
But Hollywood gloss and outrageous good looks aside, what actually differentiates the highly successful market traders - the Market Wizards - from mere mortals?
What traits and characteristics do they share and most importantly, what lessons can we learn from those who achieve impressive financial returns while still maintaining strict risk control?
In 'The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lessons from the Greatest Traders', Jack Schwager distills 25 years of interviewing the world's best traders and his four previous Market Wizards books (nearly 2,000 pages in total) including Market Wizards (1989), The New Market Wizards (1992), Stock Market Wizards (2001) and Hedge Fund Market Wizards (2012) to identify the secrets of their success.
The author delves into the psyche and practices of highly successful traders, providing insights that any current or aspiring Bahamian trader should find helpful in improving their skills and results.
'The Little Book of Market Wizards' describes how market participants can benefit from adopting the traits, behaviors and philosophies of the world most successful operators into their own trading practice. Compelling anecdotes demonstrate the key principles of successful trading which includes:
o Market research should be hard, making the actual trading simple.
o Mental and emotional control is essential whilst winning or losing.
o Managing the risk to minimize the chance of failure.
o Developing confidence and independence as a trader.
o Being patient with winning trades and impatient with losing trades.
o It is not the news, but how the market reacts to that news that matters.
o Learning through mistakes.
You may not become a Caribbean clone of Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for his "greed is good" Gordon Gecko high-living hedonist creation; a Donald Trump-like 'Wall Street' raider in the 1980s. But who wants to wear braces, miss lunch and carry a filofax - it's so last century.
o 'The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lessons from the Greatest Traders' by Jack D. Schwager and published by John Wiley & Sons.
o Keith Appleton JP, BA (Hons), N.Dip.M, MInstLM has extensive experience within an academic, managerial and strategic leadership role. He is a member of the UK Institute of Leadership & Management and can be contacted at KeithAppleton@Hotmail.co.uk or follow him at twitter.com/WritingRightNow.
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