How to Become a Stressfree Trader: The Accidental Discoveries of an Applied Behavioral Science Student [Paperback]

Jason Starzec (Author), Mark Crisp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2003

Who would have guessed that studying about adult human behavior would lead to a successful and stressfree investment strategy?!Jason Starzec, owner of the investment strategies company YIC Incorporated, and seasoned Wall Street trader Mark Crisp team up to reveal just how important and delightfully simple it is to become a stressfree trader.What is a stressfree trader and how do you become one? Surprisingly, those questions are not as difficult to answer as you may think. Learn the patterns, mindsets, tactics, and ideals of the most successful traders. But most importantly, learn how to develop your own trading plan and stick to it NO MATTER WHAT!In section one of the book, youll follow Mr. Starzecs classroom stories and learn the connections between being an adult learner and being an adult investor. Then in section two, youll be able to apply that newfound knowledge to one of the exciting and refreshingly straightforward investment strategies developed by Mark Crisp.Youll relate to the stories. Youll marvel at the connections. Youll be relieved about how easy it is to become a stressfree trader. And then youll laugh all the way to the bank!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After working in management and as a Finance Controller for five years, Jason Starzec founded YIC Incorporated in 2001. He has since teamed up with co-author and veteran trader Mark Crisp to offer straightforward investment education systems to novice and seasoned investors alike.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: Good Karma

I was amazed to find out exactly what can be learned in a college Adult Behavior and Applied Behavioral Science class. At first it certainly sounded as though I would learn a great deal about how to talk to others in an adult and professional manner. Perhaps I would learn some of the differences between adults and children. Whatever it was that I stood to learn, the one sad truth is that that was the first time I really realized that I was an adult (the only child in an adult learning class just didn't seem as feasible as it may have a few years ago)!

It all started innocently enough. All the students sat down in the chairs that were arranged in a circle...so that everybody could face and see everybody else. For a while we just looked at each other. The teacher hadn't arrived yet and we weren't quite sure what we were supposed to do or what we were to expect. Eventually, several of the adults began to talk to each other. Do you have any kids? How long did it take you to drive here? Why are you going to school at age 55? The simple kind of talk that adults seem to crave and employers seem to cringe at.

After about thirty minutes we all started to get a little uneasy. We started to openly question whether or not we were in the right classroom. Had the teacher sent us all an email that we just missed? Did the class really start the next week? How long should we wait until we go home?

Then Maria (who we all found out had no children and drove 45 minutes to get to class) decided to stand up. At first I thought for sure she was going to be the first person to leave the classroom. She was going to say, "I've had it with this class today...if the teacher wants to be an hour late that's fine but I have better things to do with my time than sit here and wait for a teacher to show up for class!"

To all of our shock (and none of yours if you read the introduction!), she announced that she was the instructor for this Applied Behavioral Science class. It was an old trick. She simply wanted to show us how easy it is for humans to communicate. It is in our nature to get together with each other and talk about things that either are important (like children and money) as well as things that aren't so important (like what kind of car we would like to drive if our spouses would let us). Adult communication is an innate characteristic of humans. We like to talk! That is one of our universal behaviors.

She went on to explain that she was going to run this class a little differently than we may have expected. By this point that was inevitable! She didn't exactly tell us how she was going to instruct the class but she wanted to make sure that we were prepared to have an open mind. She also wanted to make sure that we understood that Applied Behavioral Science is a rather broad subject. The goal of the class and the entire college program was to integrate the knowledge gained in the educational sources into our own lives. We were to analyze and ultimately improve our life systems!

For instance, if Maria were to tell us that she wanted us all to get in a group and talk about the items that would be most important if we were stranded in a desert, then we should truly believe that we were stranded in a desert. We should totally remove ourselves from ourselves if only for a moment in order to maximize the learning potential. Total displacement.

She then told us why she doesn't drink caffeine anymore because of the dangers caffeine poses to our body and mind. At that point we were all given a fond farewell and were allowed to go home early. So I drank the rest of my coffee, packed up my books that had gone completely unused during that first session, and ran to my car...quite eager to get home in time to catch the rest of Monday Night Football!

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (April 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595275052
• ISBN-13: 978-0595275052
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,220,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for beginning stock traders ..., February 12, 2005

By 

Michael E. Strupp (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Become a Stressfree Trader: The Accidental Discoveries of an Applied Behavioral Science Student (Paperback)

This is a good book for the beginning stock trader as it foregrounds the role of psychology in the overall scheme of trading. Novice traders who take to heart the book's admonition to "plan your trade and trade your plan" will be in a much better position than most traders who decide to trade by the seat of their pants. The narrative style of the book, as it covers different topics in behaviorial science and then applies them to trading, is unique and more entertaining than most other approaches you typically see in stockmarket books.

The only drawback I find with this book, quite frankly, is some of the super-optimistic, carnival-barker-style talk about the potential success of the trading strategies given in the end of the book. Even though I agree with most of the ideas presented in this book, anyone who proclaims that making 50% or more a year in the stock market is "easy" (especially without providing any performance information the past profitability of the strategies presented) is being disingenuous.

To be sure, this book is not the end-all-be-all of books on stock market trading. However, it's a great place to start and there are A LOT worse ways to spend $15.95 if you're interested in learning how to trade stocks.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars how to start your stock trading success, March 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Become a Stressfree Trader: The Accidental Discoveries of an Applied Behavioral Science Student (Paperback)

this book is the only one i found that shows you what you have to do. It shows you how to enter how to exit and most important that there are other things you have to know when you want to succed -

thanks a lot for this book

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, March 19, 2004

By 

Nathan Buse (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Become a Stressfree Trader: The Accidental Discoveries of an Applied Behavioral Science Student (Paperback)

This is one of my favorite books written on trading. I have read many other books on trading and this book is by far the best book I have read. Trading like Mark Crisp says I have made well over a 30% gains in my portfolio. This year is going to be even better with using some of his other ideas found on www.niftyinvesting.com (Also if you search ebay you will find some deals ;)) Great book I look forward to reading some more from this author. Thanks Nate