One of the most important things you can do to manage stress is to bring more love, joy and peace into your life.

Obviously there are times when we just can’t avoid stress. Maybe we have a high-stress job like trading, or we’re caring for an ailing parent, or we’re having difficulty with our partner or spouse. In these situations it’s not about reducing stress itself, but about reducing its harmful effects. How do you do that? There are several different strategies: • Reframe the situation. We experience stress because of the meaning we assign to certain events or situations. Sometimes changing our perspective is enough to relieve the stress. For example, being stuck in a losing trade can be a “disaster” or it could be an opportunity for contemplation and learning. • Lower your standards. This is especially important for you perfectionists out there. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Let good enough be good enough. • Practise acceptance. One meditation teacher used to say “All suffering is caused by wishing the moment to be other than it is.” Many things in life are beyond our control. Learn to accept the things you can’t change. • Be grateful. Simply shifting your focus from what is not okay or not enough, to what you’re grateful for or appreciative of can completely change your perspective—and relieve stress. • Cultivate empathy. When you’re in a conflict with another person, make an effort to connect with their feelings and needs. If you understand where they’re coming from, you’ll be less likely to react and take it personally. • Manage your time. Poor time management is a major cause of stress. When you’re overwhelmed with commitments and stretched too thin, it’s difficult to stay present and relaxed. Careful planning and establishing boundaries with your time can help. In addition to everything I’ve listed above, one of the most important things you can do to manage stress is to bring more peace, joy and love into your life. 

Allow all your dreams of doing great work, being creative and making a difference in people's lives to happen today.

 It's fine to have big plans and dreams but wealth is created now. Right now. In this present moment. It was never created at any other time in history. It was always now.
Allow all your dreams of doing great work, being creative and making a difference in people's lives to happen today. Not in some far-off conditional future. Start where you are now.
Noted psychiatrist Stanislav Grof says in The Consciousness Revolution, "I have worked with people who had a major goal in life that required decades of intense and sustained effort to achieve. And when they finally succeeded, they became severely depressed, because they expected something that the achievement of the goal could not give them. Joseph Campbell called this situation, 'getting to the  top of the ladder and finding that it stands against the wrong wall.'"
Don't put off your fulfilment. Don't put your happiness at the top of some ladder you have to climb. Don't wait until you've "made it" to feel great about life. Wealth is attracted to people who feel great right now. People who know how to be and operate in this moment of ever changing NOW.

holding at support or no support, the question is now?

                               30 min. view

There is no rule that say you must be in the market.

"First, do not be invested in the market all the time. There are many times when I have been
completely in cash, especially when I was unsure of the direction of the market and waiting
for a confirmation of the next move." - Jesse Livermore

Remember that in 200 years, it's very likely that nobody alive will know that you ever existed. Most of our daily frustrations and triumphs will amount to nothing in the end. So: Don't spend your whole life doing things that make you feel crappy. Very soon we'll all be dead and none of this will matter. There's nothing simpler than that.

Until there is a strong breakout with good follow-through, there is no breakout.

Last week’s sell off was climactic and it will probably be followed by at least a couple of day’s up this week. If instead this week continues to sell off with big bear trend bars, the odds of a bear breakout will go up.

NOTE:  continue to position in agreement with the controlling price action, keeping risk in check, trading day by day, and be prepared for just about anything

NOTE: this Wednesday at 11am PST we have FOMC Meeting Announcement

Wednesday was one of the weirdest market days in years, not just due to price action, but the incredible stream of events behind the action.

'The S&P 500 threatened to breach its 200 DMA support this week… then violently reversed… then reversed again… and is now threatening to reverse back higher once again. Meanwhile the NYSE shut down for hours on Wednesday, even as United Airlines and the Wall Street Journal experienced troubling outages, against a backdrop of China market collapse where trillions of dollars worth of shares have been “frozen” i.e. seen trading completely halted (with ominous leverage in play via stock loans) and unprecedented government bans on share sales for large stakeholders (not even short selling, just bans on selling period!). Then adding to this madness you have the situation in Europe, which only seems to keep getting weirder as Greece itself heads toward chaos 

There is a strong temptation to “do something” in markets like this, but as long as exposure is contained (and risk management is in place) the best thing overall is often to just sit back and watch. Periods of high and rising volatility coupled with wild twists and turns based on political statements are better opportunities to preserve capital (by not getting caught up in the maelstrom) than to try and earn capital (by getting frantic or overly involved).'

Tenacity is needed for success...

'Tenacity is the ability to not give up in spite of difficulty and results from any activity that are not desired. It is the ability to persist with determination toward something tirelessly and with absolute perseverance to the point that failure is not an option. It is the ability to live through intense struggle, to see consistently poor results for long periods of time, and in spite of that, still keep learning and improving on working on your trading with tremendous enthusiasm in spite of those results.'

some quotes by my friend Ed

Technical analysis

1. In order of importance to me are: (1) the long-term trend, (2) the current chart pattern, and (3) picking a good spot to buy or sell. Those are the three primary components of my trading. Way down in very distant fourth place are my fundamental ideas and, quite likely, on balance, they have cost me money.

2. If I were buying, my point would be above the market. I try to identify a point at which I expect the market momentum to be strong in the direction of the trade, so as to reduce my probable risk.

3. If I am bullish, I neither buy on a reaction, nor wait for strength; I am already in. I turn bullish at the instant my buy stop is hit, and stay bullish until my sell stop is hit. Being bullish and not being long is illogical.

4. I set protective stops at the same time I enter a trade. I normally move these stops in to lock in a profit as the trend continues. Sometimes, I take profits when a market gets wild. This usually doesn’t get me out any better than waiting for my stops to close in, but it does cut down on the volatility of the portfolio, which helps calm my nerves. Losing a position is aggravating, whereas losing your nerve is devastating.

5. Before I enter a trade, I set stops at a point at which the chart sours.

6. Getting back in is an essential part of trend following.

7. I don’t implement momentum, I notice it and align my trading with it.

8. The markets are the same now as they were five to ten years ago because they keep changing – just like they did then.

Risk management

9. Trading requires skill at reading the markets and at managing your own anxieties.

10. Risk is the uncertain possibility of loss. If you could quantify risk exactly, it would no longer be risk.

11. Risk control has to do with your willingness to allow your stop to do its job.

12. Speculate with less than 10% of your liquid net worth. Risk less than 1% of your speculative account on a trade. This tends to keep the fluctuations in the trading account small, relative to net worth.

13. Reliance on Fundamentals indicates lack of faith in trend following.

14. Risk no more that you can afford to lose, and also risk enough so that a win is meaningful.

15. I usually ignore advice from other traders, especially the ones who believe they are on to a “sure thing”. The old timers, who talk about “maybe there is a chance of so and so,” are often right and early.

16. Pyramiding instructions appear on dollar bills. Add smaller and smaller amounts on the way up. Keep your eye open at the top

Longer term trading

17. Having a quote machine is like having a slot machine on your desk— you end up feeding it all day long. I get my price data after the close each day.

18. Intraday trading is tough since the moves are not as big as for long-term trading and there is no comparable reduction in transaction cost.

19. In general, short-term trading systems succumb to transaction costs and execution friction.

20. Trend systems do not intend to pick tops or bottoms. They ride sides.

21. The shorter the term, the smaller the move. So profit potential decreases with trading frequency. Meanwhile, transaction costs stay the same. To compensate for profit roll-off, short-term traders have to be very good guessers. To improve guessing skills, you can practice dealing cards from a standard deck, one at a time. When you become very good at it you might be able to make money with short term trading.

Money management

22. The key to long-term survival and prosperity has a lot to do with the money management techniques incorporated into the technical system. There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.

23. The manager has to decide how much risk to accept, which markets to play, and how aggressively to increase and decrease the trading base as a function of equity change. These decisions are quite important—often more important than trade timing.

24. The profitability of trading systems seems to move in cycles. Periods during which trend-following systems are highly successful will lead to their increased popularity. As the number of system users increases, and the markets shift from trending to directionless price action, these systems become unprofitable, and under capitalized and inexperienced traders will get shaken out. Longevity is the key to success.

Trading a system that suits you

25. Systems don’t need to be changed. The trick is for a trader to develop a system with which he is compatible.

26. I don’t think traders can follow rules for very long unless they reflect their own trading style. Eventually, a breaking point is reached and the trader has to quit or change, or find a new set of rules he can follow. This seems to be part of the process of evolution and growth of a trader.

27. A trading system is an agreement you make between yourself and the markets.

28. Trading Systems don’t eliminate whipsaws. They just include them as part of the process.

29. A computer can follow a system and place orders without making predictions or feeling anticipation. Predictions and anticipations are objects you create. These objects may interfere with sticking to your system.

Rules to follow

30. The trading rules I live by are: (1) Cut losses. (2) Ride winners. (3) Keep bets small. (4) Follow the rules without question. (5) Know when to break the rules.

31. The elements of good trading are: (1) cutting losses, (2) cutting losses, and (3) cutting losses. If you can follow these three rules, you may have a chance.

Embrace losses

32. If you can’t take a small loss, sooner or later you will take the mother of all losses.

33. I handle losing streaks by trimming down my activity. I just wait it out. Trying to trade during a losing streak is emotionally devastating. Trying to play “catch up” is lethal.

34. (On losing streaks and over-trading) Acting out this drama could be exciting. However, it also seems terribly expensive. One alternative is to keep bets small and then to systematically keep reducing risk during equity draw downs. That way you have a gentle financial and emotional touchdown.

Mindset of a winner

35. A losing trader can do little to transform himself into a winning trader. A losing trader is not going to want to transform himself. That’s the kind of thing winning traders do.

36. The winning traders have usually been winning at whatever field they are in for years.

37. It is a happy circumstance that when nature gives us true burning desires, she also gives us the means to satisfy them. Those who want to win and lack skill can get someone with skill to help them.

38 The “doing” part of trading is simple. You just pick up the phone and place orders. The “being” part is a bit more subtle. It’s like being an athlete. It’s commitment arid mission. To the committed, a world of support appears. All manner of unforeseen assistance materializes to support and propel the committed to meet grand destiny.

39. In your recipe for success, don’t forget commitment – and a deep belief in the inevitability of your success.