Wishing Upon a Star

If you had a million dollars, what would you do?

You wouldn't have to ever work again. You could just sit on the beach and relax. You could pay all your bills and set your family up to live comfortably forever.

What else could you wish for?

When you wish upon a star, if you're like most people, financial freedom is one of the first things on your list.

A crystal ball, perhaps. Or tomorrow's newspaper, just like on the television show "Early Edition." You would be able to know what the masses were going to do tomorrow. You could anticipate their every move with unfailing accuracy.

Think how easy trading would be? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to predict the future?

In The Wishing Mode

It's fun to wish that we could trade more profitably, but beware, wishing "could" be a sign of desperation.

When you are in wishing mode, you may passively wait instead of taking decisive action. Hoping for miracles and wondering if you'll ever see huge profits.

But if you take proactive steps, you won't have to wonder. Profitable market timers do not "wish" or "wonder." They act. What is the number one proactive step? Following a tried and true timing strategy.

Many novice market timers have trouble following a strategy. They make the decision to follow the plan, but when the time comes to execute a buy or sell signal, often at odds with current market sentiment, they find reasons "not" to make the trade. Or they delay executing the trade, and sometimes make a late entry after watching the trade work.

But the consistently profitable market timer maintains discipline, and that means not only deciding to follow a solid timing strategy, but also trading it through thick and thin.

With a tested strategy you can trade without fear. You do not need a crystal ball. A good timing strategy works across a variety of market conditions. It may not win on any single trade, but its methods give those who follow it that all important trading "edge."

Murphy's Law

When trading the markets, do you often feel that Murphy's Law says it all: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

Have you found yourself saying, "When I take a bullish position, the market always reverses and goes down."

Or, "When I am certain the market has topped and pull all my funds out, you can bet that will be the day a new rally starts."

Surprise!  This is "not" Murphy's Law. This is simply a trader who is trading by the emotions of fear, greed, hope or wishful thinking. Not following a plan.

A market timer who follows a good timing strategy may not always have a winning trade, but they know that the odds place them on the profitable side over time. Murphy's Law does not apply to those who follow a plan.

Predicting What The Masses Will Do

Can you predict what the masses will do? Sometimes, but not always. Profitable market timers, however, rely on their strategy. They do not try to predict.

A timing strategy removes emotion from the trading equation, and emotions, as we know, are the single most common reason that timers and traders lose.

All market timers should be students of the markets. They should study the markets and develop an intuitive feel for how they move. It is common sense to develop a good knowledge base when investing your money.

But unless you have magical powers of prediction, a time proven crystal ball or a star to wish upon, be sure follow a time tested and unemotional timing strategy for profits.

Crystal balls are great toys and fun for party games, but they are not tools for investing your money. Wishing upon a star worked for Jiminy Cricket in the Disney movie Pinocchio, but it does not work in the financial markets.