Intoning "grasshopper" made me think of this story. Even though I am only a hack at this trading business, every now and then I will get a PM from someone asking what they should do. It's usually from a former clown or at least someone naive (hell, why else would they PM me).
Anyway, the exchange usually starts with me telling them that I could never decide for them what to do, yada, yada. They they persist and I tell them a little bit about how to read the chart or follow the sentiment in the stock in question.
At this point they will often write me back sounding all the more desperate, asking for specific numbers to go by in the coming days or weeks. Now, you and I know that there is really no way to answer such a demand. They are asking questions that only they can answer going forward and only after they have put in some study.
If the exchange goes on long enough, I might send them the following story. The exchange usually stops there. Perhaps they smile and get the point that I could not make as well as the story or perhaps they just think I am a pompous ass and not worth talking to anymore. Either way, it's a show-stopper. (Apologies in advance to any lurkers who have received this story from me. -g)
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One cold morning a young man walks five miles through the snow. He knocks on the Jademaster's door. The Jademaster answers with a broom in his hand.
"Yes?"
"I want to learn about Jade."
"Very well then, come in out of the cold."
They sit by the fire sipping hot green tea. The Jademaster presses a green stone deeply into the young man's hand and begins to talk about tree frogs. After a few minutes the young man interrupts.
"Excuse me, I am here to learn about Jade, not tree frogs."
The Jademaster takes the stone and tells the young man to go home and return in a week. The following week the young man returns. The Jademaster presses another green stone into the young man's hand and continues the story. Again, the young man interrupts. Again, the Jademaster sends him home.
Weeks pass. The young man interrupts less and less. The young man also learns to brew the hot green tea, clean up the kitchen and sweep the floors. Spring comes.
One day, the young man observes, "The stone I hold is not genuine Jade."
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I lean back in my chair, savoring the story. My student interrupts.
"OK. OK. That's a great story. I do not see what it has to do with making money. I come to you to find out about the markets. I want to learn about the bulls and the bear, commodities, stocks, bonds, calls and options. I want to make big money. You tell me a fable about Jade. What is this? You ... "
"That's all for now. Leave those price charts on the table. Come back next week."
Months pass. My student interrupts less and less as I continue the story of The Trader's Window."
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From The Trader's Window
by Ed Seykota (a great trader) |
