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In Association With: Basics for Success What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
Item Number: 679
Author(s):
Synopsis: What if you lost a million dollars trading? How would you handle it? What would you learn from it? There are many ways to make money trading….but only a few ways to lose. This long out of print classic in trading psychology is now available again (in limited quantity) ONLY from Traders Press and the author. Description: What I Learned Losing A Million Dollars is a fascinating, easy-to-read and fast- paced true story of a commodity trader's meteoric rise from poor country boy to jet-setting millionaire and Governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. And, it is an insightful examination of the lessons he learned from the harrowing million dollar loss in the market which brought him crashing down. From anecdotes that are by turn amusing and hair- raising, you will vicariously experience this trader's roller coaster ride from poorhouse to penthouse and back again. After the ride the authors show you how to identify and manage the risks, both monetary and emotional, inherent in decision- making; regardless of whether you are an investor, trader, entrepreneur, manager or CEO. You will learn:
Advance Praise for:What I Learned Losing a Million DollarsWhat I Learned Losing a Million Dollars is an entertaining personal experience as well as a serious psychological analysis of a trader. Since psychology plays an inordinate role in successful trading, this book provides insights and lessons that are invaluable to all traders. I highly recommend reading this book. —Leo Melamed At Ned Davis Research, we like to say that we are in the business of making mistakes and the only difference between the winners and the losers is that the winners make small mistakes and the losers big mistakes. This book does an excellent job in explaining in simple English the potential psychological "flaws" that cause investors to make 'big mistakes.' —Ned Davis What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars delivers what its refreshing title promises - an honest account, an entertaining read, and market truths made more memorable by colorful anecdotes and war stories. Worthwhile reading for those who don't believe in a holy grail in the markets; must reading for those who do. —Jack Schwager This book is an experience akin to watching a slasher movie. You can feel the fear and horror while you're reading it, though you're not actually in danger. Such films are probably useful as warnings to people who might otherwise be disposed to walking around Manhattan after midnight. In the same way, — is a warning to novices who think they want to become traders. Read this book, then make your decision. —Robert R. Prechter, Jr. A new, novel approach aimed at pushing you inside your head and outside the losing habits most folks adopt right after multiple successes…a must-have for traders blessed with a string of hot trades. —Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes Table of Contents
Reader reviews:This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks they "wanna trade like the pros" and become a full-time financial markets trader. This book makes it clear that most people don't lose because of what the market does but because of how they respond to the markets ... and how they handle losing trades. Jim Paul's realization that there are countless ways to make money in financial markets and only a few ways to lose it is very insightful and though provoking. Read it again and again. I'm a self taught investor/trader (arent we all) so I've collected my share of books. But this one by Jim Paul/Brendan Moynihan is the most unique book I have ever read so far. It's the only book which correctly points out that trading and investing are personal journeys; about finding out who are you, and then how to manage what you find out. Until you do, one can never be consistently successful at this game. This is largely why the public can never make a career out of trading. It never dawns on them that it's all about soul searching and then applying your strengths while controlling your weaknesses. Everyone is different; which is why there are infinite ways to make a profit. There are no "secrets" to trading. It never dawns on them that investing seminars are utterly useless. It never dawns on them that you don't have to watch CNBC either. The book is basically two sections. Jim describes his life stories in the first part, then Brendan writes about the psychology of it all in the second part. Copies of this book are relatively pricey given the rarity. Wait until several sellers show up to take advantage of price competition. Good luck trying to find it in public libraries. This book is worth every dollar I spent to read it. It's one of those that you'd want to reread once a year so you never forget the correct way to approach the markets. The earlier in your career you get a chance to read this book, the better off you'll be. This book was recommended to me by another trader. I'm glad I picked it up. There are enough books out there that tell us how they make money...but too few tell us how to avoid losing it. This book is a must read! All the mistakes that we as traders make are outlined, explained, and amusingly told in this book that I fear too few traders have read. The book makes you feel that you could have travelled the same road as the author which brings it home all the more powerfully. The lessons are not just conceptual or psycho-babble. These are applicable lessons that you can use in your own trading as soon as you put down the book. The approach and an awareness that this book gives you helps you understand you do the things you do. Again, this is not an outline of how to trade. These are important lessons about how we accept a trading loss, how to analyze losing trades, and finally how each of us can be tempted to rationalize losses. A great book! The title of this review is a chapter in Jim's book. I bought this book after Jim passed away on September 11, 2001 in 1 World Trade Center. He told us about this book in 1997, and I was so glad it was still in print. It is an excellent book, and it is written by an extraordinary individual. When I met Jim I could tell he was amazing, and his personality comes through in this work, which is part autobiography and part trading treatise. Jim's rise and fall and subsequent rise again makes for an incredible story, and his insight into the markets are superb. Even if you are not interested in the market, this book is worth purchasing just to learn more about Jim's amazing life story. Jim is candid, funny and dynamic in this work. I wish the world had more people like Jim Paul and more books like "What I learned While Losing a Million Dollars." We all focus on how to make money all the time. How come most of us are still getting nowhere? What is wrong with this approach? This book will give you an answer.
A captivating life story of a real person who lost a million and a half bucks, with the conclusions he made from it. The first half -- about the guy's life -- reads like a superb fiction story. Not extremely educational in terms of trading per se, but a lot of fun to read. The second is a thorough and insightful analysis of the psychology of losing -- product of both the authors own experience and his studies afterwards. Quite a few deep thoughts. One of the profound things I found in the book is discussion on the risk/reward ratio, and why most other books get it wrong. The author claims he doesn't understand math, yet gives a great explanation why you have to take into account the PROBABILITY of return, and PROBABILITY of loss, otherwise you're just fooling yourself. If you simply divide the size of your expected return by the size of your expected loss, as many other authors suggest, lottery would be the best investment (risk $1, return $1 mil.) Book Review:This is a valuable book on trading psychology. It’s not your typical book about trading, which purports to show how to get rich by revealing secret trading strategies, can’t-lose analysis methods, or describes how the author discovered the secret to unlimited wealth and proceeded to extract it from the market. Instead, as the title implies, it is a tale of woe from a self admitted loser, who in the space of three months lost his entire net worth of $1.6 million and went deeply into debt. It is co-authored and self-published by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan, both with extensive backgrounds in the brokerage industry. The underlying theme is that if one aspires to be a successful trader, it is more beneficial to study the pitfalls and mistakes that lead to losing than to focus on ways to make money. The reader is told and shown that there are many, many ways to trade profitably, almost as many as there are participants in the market. Yet, ironically, the majority of traders lose. On the other hand, there are very few ways to lose. Many highly successful traders (such as Jim Rogers, Paul Tudor Jones, Richard Dennis, et al) are said the espouse the opinion that the most important factor in achieving success is in the avoidance of large losses, Studying the factors that lead to large losses, and how to avoid them, is the major focus of this outstanding book….an unusual and innovative approach. The authors stress that personalizing losses (i.e. taking them personally rather than viewing them as a necessary part of a business venture) is a major factor leading to failure. They contend that success can actually be built upon repeated failures (remember the story of Jesse Livermore?) IF the failures AREN’T taken personally. Conversely, failure can be built upon repeated successes when the successes ARE taken personally. The book is divided into three sections. The first, “Reminiscences of a Trader”, is fascinating reading. A priceless quote leads off: “Experience is the worst teacher. It gives the test before it gives the lesson.” It recounts specific details of Paul’s personal life, describing the factors in his background which produced the psychological framework and makeup to which he attributes his lack of success as a trader. His entry into the brokerage business, his career as an active floor trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the details of his final downfall and huge loss are recounted in detail. The second section presents the lessons to be learned from his losing experience in the markets. A major theme is that there are many ways to make money in the market but relatively few ways to lose. Most losses of significance are attributed to psychological factors. The third section shows how to avoid losses due to these psychological factors. In practical and easy to understand terms, it presents a simple plan to help one understand, accept, and thereby avoid catastrophic losses. The value of having a planned, organized approach to trading is emphasized. “Participating in the markets without a plan is like ordering from a menu that has no prices, then letting the waiter fill out and sign your charge card receipt. It’s like playing roulette without knowing in advance how much you had bet, and only after the wheel stopped, letting the croupier tell you how much you had lost or won.” No sensible individual would behave like this in a restaurant or a casino, yet there are countless thousands who participate in the market without a concrete plan, the equivalent behavior in the market! This book is a valuable addition to trading literature. Most traders, even if they have heard or been told that the psychological aspect of trading is the most important, don’t take this caveat seriously, and opt, instead, to concentrate on timing and selection methods or other techniques that “can’t miss”. They would be well advised to obtain this book and study it closely over and over until its valuable message is inculcated into their attitude toward the markets and trading. Note: I wrote the above review of this book when it was published in 1994. It was very popular and sold well, until it went out of print several years ago and became difficult to obtain. Used copies, when occasionally available, commanded high prices and were highly sought after. Tragically, one of the authors, Jim Paul, perished in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Co-author Brendan Moynihan has graciously made arrangements recently to make a limited number of copies available again. They are available solely through him and by special arrangement through Traders Press, Inc. While available, the book may be ordered on http://www.traderspress.com
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Jim Paul