© Ed Seykota, 2003 - 2007 ... Write for permission to reprint.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Answers

Migraine

Dear Ed,

How are you? I have some questions regarding migraines: what are some of the positive intentions for the painful feeling that accompanies a migraine? Have you experienced them and do you enjoy them?

Clip: http://www.migrainerelief.co.uk/

Thanks!

Clip: http://mersworld.blogspot.com/

I am still surprised, I don't remember her ever not complaining and admitting that something might be wrong. It seems like the shift in our relationship following the process we did, created a shift in her. Pretty amazing.

Hope this helps pushing this work forward. Your work makes a BIG difference.

Yes, one good way to change others is to work on yourself.

Click Here

Thank you for the link.

Congratulations on be inducted into the Trader Magazine Hall of Fame!  Nice photos, too. I can't imagine you spend a lot of time on your deck wearing a business suit ...

If you are planning a visit to [City] again, please let me know. The surf is up, and all is well.

Thank you for the heads-up.

When people ask me how they can become a better trader, I tell them about your website. My personal philosophy has always been to pursue excellence in Career, Relationships / Friendships, Humor / Fun, and Exercise / Diet.

Clip: http://www.libertystory.net/LSTHINKRAND.htm

I told him she had been harassing me with phone calls and he said that he would tell her to stop calling me, or that I would file charges against her and given what I had told him, I would probably win.
So, once I became willing to do it, I didn't have to. Isn't that cool? Willingness is great, as you have so many times pointed out.

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Yesterday I was at the new TTP-meeting and I could gladly report the improvement, and it feels stable now. My life used to be like a long position in the stock market, ups and downs.

I'm trying to get the grip of SVO-p tense as I write this but I'm afraid I haven't really understood it all. I got the message but might miss out in my grammar.

Thank you for sharing your process.

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Ed Seykota Interview

Hi Ed,

I read the November 12 FAQ, "Ed Seykota Interview," and wonder why the author asks what you meant by your now famous statement, "Win or lose, everybody gets what they want out of the market."

Of course, you do explain this over and over in FAQ, most trenchantly, I think, with "Rocks." And had he / she taken the time to read FAQ, he / she would know this.

More interestingly, you also provide a clear analysis of this statement right in Schwager's book, in the five paragraphs that follow that line. In the context of those paragraphs, your statement is not the mystery that the author (along with so many others, including Schwager) makes it out to be.

I think that this chronic inability to understand the meaning of this statement is the result of a willful blindness, related to one of the key issues you now address with "Rocks" -- unwillingness. On some level, we all know that we are getting what we want, and most of us have a hard time accepting this.

On this note, I think it is no accident that the interviewer misquotes that famous line [he/she writes "from the market;" the quote in the book is "out of the market."]. He could barely bring himself to read it.

Thanks, again for all of your work,

Thank you for sharing your observations.

Click here

Thank you for the clip.  I know some pretty amazing musicians. 

50 Years of Playboy

This web site has ALL the Centerfolds from the whole 50 years of Playboy!

It's being sent to you strictly as an educational tool so that you may study the decline of moral values, and hair styles, camera angles and such, in publications of this type over the span of 50 years.

Click on the year blocks at the top or bottom of each page to follow this trend.

http://www.mdig.com.br/gallery/

Clip: Playboy Magazine

Hi Ed:

I hope all is well.

This is a quick follow-up to see if you've had a chance to answer the enclosed questions for our interview.

I'm confident our subscribers would enjoy (and benefit from) your answers and insight.

Our interview would be featured in an upcoming issue of [Magazine].

Please let me know if there's still an interest or a fit.

Thanks!

Regards,

[Name]
Contributing Editor
[Magazine]

See FAQ Reader Reply

I am a freshman at [School]. I am trying to start an investment club ... and I am interested in basing the club off of the tenets of trend following. however, I realize that I do not have the necessary knowledge to run an organization that I do not know enough about. I only know so much about trend following and I was wondering if you could provide any guidance for where I should start in the process of becoming more informed about trend following. I hope to hear back from you.

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That was what happened, when I clearly showed my limitations in our relationship. Instead of getting mad at me, he hugged me and started giving me endless advice including: I should have painting lessons that is it. I was really astonished: (1) relationship is much clearer now (2) he seems to like it, too, (3) his advice is his expression of love.

Your ideas concerning Grandmas of Nov 19 are also very much appreciated. Helped me to see the whole picture! I remember that Grandma even donated my first stock to me when I was about twelve. She said: There is stock around investing in those you get more stock every two or three years. Look, I had ten Bayer and now I have fifteen. (That's just an example among others). Feels so good to see the whole story.

.. and somehow I get the impression I really put an effort in being unhappy for the last two years. Now I am about "remembering" what made me happy something like a "world of friends" or "friends all over the world". The recollection is the happiness already and I hope this is going to stay.

PS: My would-be-tribe member wrote me an email at the very same time I was mailing at you on Nov 19, 2006. Reported a major break-through in his ideas about trading futures on that weekend and thanked me for an idea. He never did all of those before (musing on trading at weekends, writing emails on Sundays and thanking me). There was some sort of parallel action (both of us were working on their issues at that weekend). I was really moved when I saw his email. Now he seems to be really into his system development. No excuses.

... and your material is most appreciated ;o)

Clip: http://members.shaw.ca/calgarytourettes/

Day-Trading Trade-Off

Ed

You say that the higher frequency costs of day-trading (as opposed to longer term position trading) outweigh the benefits. How do you know this?

Is one of the reasons you come to this conclusion that it is harder to backtest day-trading strategies (which follow real-time rules and are difficult to code)?

You say that sitting in front of the one-armed bandit and over-trading is bad for your trading account, although it may provide entertainment and excitement. Cheaper and more fun to go to Vegas then.

But what is wrong with trading as frequently as the opportunities present themselves? If you can successfully take more frequent trading opportunities you should be able to grow your capital faster, despite the increased trading costs.

Clip: http://www.realestateclipart.com/

Hello Ed

I notice that someone wrote to you (published on FAQ) about a San Diego trading tribe. I do not see a TTID for a SD tribe, and I am wondering if you will provide the email address of the person who wrote to you about having an San Diego tribe to me.

Fri, 1 Dec 2006 08:02:44 -0600

Hello Breathwork Support Team!

As of December 1, 2006 my fund's AUM are $2.038 million. November returns positive performance for the fund. There are no new investors or capital additions for the month.

I am pleased to see some positive performance, and I plan to continue to stick the trading system and raise new assets.

My physical fitness program is going well. I am maintaining my weight loss, and my healthy eating and exercise patterns are becoming more habitual.

Thank you for your continuing support. I plan to report my AUM to you monthly until they exceed $5 million.

OK.

Hi Ed,

I write to you to share a couple of observations regarding our local trading tribe.

Firstly, I have many queries and requests for information from people that are really interested in joining our tribe. Unfortunately the vast majority (like 99%!), although initially very keen, suddenly become disinterested when they realize that Trading Tribe has very little to do with teaching trading techniques and/or discussing markets. (All one needs to do is to read the TT website or the TT book to figure that out but it would appear that few bother)

This leads me to believe that the fame of the ‘Seykota’ name seems to attract people initially as they somehow imagine that joining a trading tribe will be what is required to learn some of Ed’s ‘Secrets’ and then the Cash will quickly follow.

When politely told that, “We don’t do ‘secrets’ here”, I never hear from them again.

(Strange that!)


Secondly, in our Tribe we are all able to take the hotseat and move through our forms. As far as communicating via forms is concerned we can all do this without any problems. Where the problem arises, however, is in gaining new insights and wisdom. We seem to be stagnating here.

(I have written to you regarding this on previous occasions)

o.k. fine, enter the ‘Rocks’ process.

We attempt to implement some of the ‘Rocks’ philosophy (as best we can) but I find that there’s not much enthusiasm here, in fact downright resistance.

Classic TTP is ‘easy’ (not the best choice of words I know), you sit in the hotseat, receive/send, do the forms, feel your feelings etc etc.

‘Anyone’ can do it.

With ‘Rocks’ there’s no real step–by-step instructions and it relies more on innovation and intuition as well as being very in tune to what’s going on as every case is different. (well at least more-so that TTP . . . . in my mind anyway)

The net result of the new ‘Rocks’ process, for our tribe, is that some tribe members have decided to take their leave from the process. I suppose this is fine as it’s a case of each to their own.

It is frustrating for me, however, in that we (including myself of course) weren’t able to give it a good honest effort.

So not only has the tribe stagnated as I mention above but it seems that we prefer to remain stagnant by not being willing to try different things.

As I say, ‘Rocks’ requires a bit more sensitivity and a bit more thinking rather that the ‘step-by-step’ classic TTP.

I wonder if this is another example of people, in general, (my good self included) wanting to follow step-by-step instructions rather than adapting & thinking for themselves?

Thanks Ed


p.s. Were it not for the tyranny of distance I would like very much to spend a year or so at Incline Tribe with yourself and tribe members working with all to gain a better understanding of the process . . . but alas, the Matter Transfer Machine has not (yet) been invented so for the moment, here I shall stay.

I send you an email to FAQ ... It doesn’t get put on FAQ.

I wonder did you get it and then wonder if you did why you didn’t publish it.

I would like you to clarify for all FAQ readers if all comments are published or now you are so in demand do you have to be selective or what is posted; I am not against this I have just never fully understood how it works; I feel I have had many not put up on the site and wonder if it’s stray emails, spam filters etc or editors discretion.

Also, do you find that a common trait in traders who consistently lose is that they are seeking approval from others? I hear it mentioned often and although I give off a ‘couldn’t care less’ persona in reality I think really I couldn’t care more what people think of me.

Also I feel after seven years of trading I have a lot of what I need knowledge-wise in my head and feel close to making a go of it.

I almost feel as though if I could trade semi consciously with my sub conscious working and my conscious mind not interfering there is a very good trader in me trying to get out.

Do I state the obvious and is this the battle we are all trying to win, letting our subconscious knowledge seep out for our benefit without our conscious feelings, fears, dreams, aspirations etc all sabotaging what we are capable of, because we have failed to feel them and reach an Aha with them?

I often feel if I could trade in a trance I would do a good job.

These ideas are vague I know but can you kind of see where I’m coming from.

A quick aside, thanks for the English comedy you seem to be embracing, the photo taken from ‘The Office’ and the ‘women know your limits’ video clip really made me smile.

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More Funny Mentals

Hello Ed, Have you ever seen a stock pay a dividend around 50-60% for over a year? Do you own any of [Name] or the stock now? What looks to good to be true usually is. I'll most likely wait until after Jan. to see what the possible buy out price is. Its all complicated and grey to even begin to predict . I'll take a small bite and use some discipline so I don't get tempted to drowned in pleasure, if any action is taken. If you play analyst for income and rated it from 1- 10 where is it now and after Jan. 07. Good Day and thanks for pictured opinions, they give more and less complicated advise. Later

The chief leans back and smiles. "Only white man dumb enough to think he can improve system like that.

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