37 Rules for Trading Well and Living

by Charles Longfellow

2006, 2010, 2012

1. Survive.

2. Breathe.

3. Reduce risk, but accept uncertainty.

4. Know which door to leave by.

5. Take a position as an exercise in probabilities.

6. Don't overtweek your system.

7. Set the alarm, but sleep with both eyes closed.

8. Obey your rules, especially when you are down.

9. Ignore the "chops".

10. Give back some, but keep more for yourself.

11. Listen carefully to the advice of others, before you choose to ignore it.

12. If you have to decide quickly, say "No".

13. Be always flexible, because you won't always be right.

14. Don't play to win or lose, play to increase.

15. Drink more water.

16. Wear good shoes, but think like a farmer.

17. Follow the clues, not the money. There will be signs and omens.

18. Recognize timing as the critical factor. All predictions, including your own, are eventually correct.

19. Utilize disinformation as a contrarian indicator.

pop quiz: Who are your sources really working for?

20. Avoid solutions and affections that require a monthly fee.

21. Hang around people who are lucky.

22. Pray.

23. All other factors being equal, go for fewer moving parts.

24. Don't plan for the unthinkable, just know that it might happen.

25. Check your watch. Daylight savings time waits for no one.

26. Punish your adversary, whether person or the fates, with tolerance and civility.

27. Stand aside defensively, and do nothing often.

28. The plane you missed just crashed!!!

Appreciate the blessing of a missed opportunity.

29. Trade like a Samurai; flirt like a Geisha.

30. Spend wisely, but spend.

31. Consider people. Whatever you are trading, people are the market.

32. Consider an opposing view. If you are trading, there must be one.

33. Stay hungry and keep motivated.

34. Feed the truly hungry, but don't get eaten.

35. Take responsibility, but know who your friends are.

36. Holding a grudge is optional. If your enemies have wronged, their accounts will be settled.

37. One unhappy candle does not a trend make.