"The American Tourist and the Mexican Fisherman."

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The tourist then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”

The tourist then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The tourist scoffed, ” I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

The tourist replied, “15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?…Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Think about your Goals and what will you Become, Do, and Have when you achieve them. Enjoy the ride!

"Doing the Unsexy but Important Stuff"

In trading, numerous practices fall into the realm of being uninteresting, dull, or unappealing. Reviewing your performance and actions is one such practice. I'm not referring to a quick analysis of the day but rather delving deeply into self-examination—scrutinising yourself, your behaviour, your thoughts, and your actions and reactions. This is a fundamental aspect of 'being a student of yourself,' not solely 'a student of the markets.' Being a 'Student of Your Self' constitutes one of the hallmarks of the very best performers.

 In this matrix, there are four squares. The square at the top left is designated for all your activities that are 'urgent and important.' This is where people allocate most of their time and energy, although quite often they end up engaging in numerous tasks that belong to the bottom-left square—urgent but not important. Consider the time spent inanely 'watching every tick' or dedicated to meaningless hours on social media."

It is however the top right square which, where time spent and devoted to, is what leads to great performance. This is the square where the stuff that is ‘important but not urgent, nor exciting’ or sexy, is done. This is where growth and elite performance capabilities spring from. This is where Kobe Bryant lived!

The Unsexy but Important Stuff of Trading

Journaling, reviewing, self analysis, planning, developing, working with mentors and coaches. Also doing the equivalent of training, such as going on courses, working with a performance coach to become better, learning new techniques or skills which may benefit you. Also attending events where you can learn from others. Spending time reading about and developing areas you are weak on. Reading books, whilst also taking notes on what you are reading where it matters. The same goes for listening to podcasts.

There are also activities which are more self-state focused; doing things that remove you from the noise and help you refresh and recover to become stronger mentally. Physical activities such as going to the gym, running, swimming, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, or just recuperating breaks.

The covey matrix is a matrix for life, if you don’t do the stuff on top right, or you keep putting the stuff in that space off, you are ‘selling yourself short’. You may not see it on a daily basis, but in the future if you aren’t achieving what you dream of, you'll one day look back and say, I should have done more of that stuff, I just could not be bothered at the time.

"Win or Lose, Everybody Gets What They Want out of the Market."