Today's audio sent out in the TurtleTrader newsletter was profound. I attended a day long seminar in Feb 1995 in Toronto, Canada where Seykota was one of the guest speakers. The WHOLE audience peppered Seykota with questions like: Do you like gold?, Where do you think the Canadian $ is headed?, How do you know when there is a top?, How do you know when the trend is up?, etc.
To each of these he replied: I like gold - it's shiny, pretty - makes nice jewelry or I have no idea where the Canadian $ is headed or the trend is up when price is moving up, etc. His replies were simple, straight forward answers to the questions asked of him.
Later I learned through the event organizer that a large majority of the audience (who paid good money, presumably to learn the "secrets" of trading from a Market Wizard) were not impressed. Many felt they had wasted their time and money listening to Seykota.
Seykota's message couldn't be clearer to anyone who cared to listen. The answers were found in the very questions each person asked. Don't ask how do you know the trend is moving up?, instead ask what is going to tell me the trend is up?. Not what do you think of gold?, instead ask am I correctly trading gold with a robust approach centered on profit protection and accumulation?
Your audio asks - did the reader even get the message? I would bet money the reader did not. Seykota's answers effectively placed everyone in front of a huge mirror, reflecting their trading self back at them. If you can't answer the questions necessary for success, get out of the business and enjoy your life doing something else. Thanks for the excellent [TurtleTrader] website.
Frank M., Canada
