Many years ago I had a chance to travel from Hamburg, Germany to Flensburg, Germany along the Autobahn. I did it with 4 other students carrying 5 people’s luggage in a VW Bug. It seemed to take about 10 hours. The person that owned the 5th set of luggage had to work and didn’t start the trip until 4 hours later. He hitchhiked his way up. By choosing his vehicles right, a Ferrari and a Porsche, he got to Flensburg 2 hours ahead of the rest of us.
If trading is like a journey and the stock is like a vehicle passing by then where you buy and sell is based on the direction the stock price is moving. You get to choose what type of vehicle you get into and when to get out. Unless the stock price keeps moving in the direction you want to travel then you need to get out.
Don’t treat every trade like a cross-country journey where you get into your car at point A and get out at point Z with no stops or detours. Consider yourself a hitchhiker that only gets into a vehicle if it’s going to way you want to go. And if it’s not going fast enough for you look for another vehicle.
As always, everyone should take all precautions possible to eliminate risks when trading. Sometimes that means accepting rides from slower vehicles but remember to always only travel in vehicles that are going in the direction you want to go.
You may have to get in and out of many vehicles before you reach your destination. This is where patience comes into play. Along the way you may have to make a quite a few stops. But in the end you will eventually get to where you’re going.
I made a trade this morning that took me from surface streets to an on-ramp. After expenses it paid 26+%. The 20 minute ride could have been a day-long excursion but the vehicle ceased to continue traveling in the direction I wanted to go. I got out.
Trading with the picture that you are a hitchhiker along the stock market Autobahn just may make you profitable and keep you moving toward your trading goals.
Good Luck and Profits,
Patrick
