Trading on Target: How to Cultivate a Winner's State of Mind

A TRADER AT EFFECT

A trader named Ben was externally motivated but wanted to change the source of his motivation. Everything was going well for Ben until he turned six and started school. He was raised in a happy and stable family, but soon discovered that his happy and sheltered home life left him vulnerable to attacks and manipulations of a trio of aggressive and unhappy classmates. These three little miscreants took one look at the sweet and innocent kid and instantly identified him as their prey. For the next year, they told him that he was fat, ugly, and stupid. They teased and taunted him, until this once happy and self-confident child could barely stand himself. Of course, the truth was that he was a very intelligent, beautiful, and slender young child. But, he did not know the facts. He knew only what he was told. His parents went to the school and pleaded with the teacher to stop the attacks but they were told that there was nothing that could be done.

If we fast-forward thirty-some years, we find Ben trading at home, fighting to stay ahead of the bank, the tax man, and the bill collector. He is struggling with his trading and unable to understand why he feels so powerless in his efforts to make headway. What Ben does not understand is that his sense of powerlessness, hopelessness, and passivity are a direct result of his self-image. A large part of that image was forged in the first grade classroom and playground.

What Ben tells himself intellectually is that he is working ...