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c02 JWBK182-McDowell April 25, 2008 15:39 Printer: Yet to come

CHAPTER 2

Confidence in

Your Plan

I

f you don’t believe your plan will work, it won’t. That’s a rule that ap-

plies to most anything, kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Many things

may stand in your way, a good plan but poor self esteem, an ego that

doesn’t think you need a plan, or maybe just a poor plan. If you don’t be-

lieve in your plan (or don’t have one), get to the bottom why and make

adjustments; it is now or never.

YOU GOTTA’ BELIEVE!

One of the greatest challenges for any trader is to finally come to the point

where he or she sincerely believes to the very core of their being that a

sound money management program is vital.

It is a stumbling block for a great many, since most individuals partic-

ipating in the markets today just don’t believe that money management is

particularly important. Analyzing the crucial and latest fundamentals, using

the best technical software, most traders and investors believe that those

items are the magic pill and should take priority over and above everything

else. They think money management “just ain’t sexy.”

It’s one of those things where a trader is convinced, “What happened

to that guy, that’ll never happen to me. I’m smarter than that, I would never

lose that much money. I’m not that stupid—my fundamental and technical

analysis is flawless...”

Truthfully, to satisfy your ego’s need for feeling brilliant, it’s all a mat-

ter of probabilities and has nothing to do with being “smart” or “stupid.”

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