Trade With Passion and Purpose: Spiritual, Psychological and Philosophical Keys to Becoming a Top Trader (Wiley Trading) [Hardcover]

Mark Whistler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wiley Trading | Publication Date: March 9, 2007

Successful trader Mark Whistler draws from the fields of psychology, spirituality, and philosophy to emphasize how self-honesty, self-esteem, emotional balance, and confidence form the foundation of successful trading. He demonstrates how adherence to a small number of core principles vastly improves chances of success, and shares interviews from top traders to exemplify his point that even the most successful traders have had to overcome setbacks.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Trading in today's markets can be extremely stressful and oftentimes, traders—even those with years of experience—make irrational decisions as a result. Overcoming these pitfalls can be a difficult task, but with the right approach you can turn any setback into a great success.

Over the course of his trading career, author Mark Whistler has achieved significant success as well as taken a fair share of hits. During this time, he has seen firsthand what separates great traders from the rest of the crowd, and now, in Trade with Passion and Purpose he wants to share those insights with you.

In Trade with Passion and Purpose, Whistler draws from the fields of psychology, spirituality, and philosophy to illuminate the path to profitable trading. This engaging book acknowledges how difficult it is to consistently win in the markets, but at the same time, it demonstrates how adhering to a small number of core principles can vastly improve your chances of success.

Divided into three comprehensive parts, this book will take you on a journey of self-discovery that will help you hone your skills as a trader. Some of the topics discussed include:

• How being "in the moment," while knowing why you are doing what you are doing is essential to trading success

• The importance of understanding stress and how to work with it

• The roles that affirmation and visualization playin your trading endeavors

• How to recognize and defeat fear

• Why change should be embraced

• How to develop a game plan for trading success that takes risk management into account

• How world famous traders, sports stars, and business people handle stress, and how you can benefit from their success

• And much more

Achieving trading success takes time, guts, the desire to ask yourself some hard questions, and the relentless determination to take action. Anything less and you'll be nothing more than a mediocre trader at best. Filled with the hard-won knowledge gained through Whistler's own trading experiences as well as insightful interviews with proven traders and individuals who have overcome amazing adversity, Trade with Passion and Purpose will help you develop the personal strength and emotional intelligence needed to become a top trader.

From the Back Cover

"Well conceived and executed—any trader will find this a fascinating read."
—Rich Blake

Senior Editor, Trader Monthly magazine

"Knowing yourself is one of the most important, but perhaps most overlooked, aspects of trading. In Trade with Passion and Purpose, Mark Whistler has a fascinating and unique take on the subject. I'd highly recommend this book for any trader who is serious about improving their craft."
—Cory Janssen

Cofounder, Investopedia.com

"An indispensable resource for anyone who intends to trade for a profit on a regular basis . . . Mark Whistler has outlined and detailed an intangible skill set all successful traders must possess. You simply can't get it anywhere else."
—Alex Williams

Managing Director, Investment University, www.investmentu.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 257 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470039086
• ISBN-13: 978-0470039083
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Whistler
New York, New York, United States
Mark Whistler is a full-time trader and author. His books include: Macro to Micro Volatility Trading (CreateSpace, 2010), Volatility Illuminated (CreateSpace, 2010), 2034 The Corporation Post 2012 - A Modern Orwellian Novel (CreateSpace, 2009), The Swing Trader's Bible (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2008) co-authored with Matt McCall, Trade with Passion and Purpose (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2006), Trading Pairs (Wiley, 2004), Profit from China (Investment U/Wiley, 2006), and Profit from Uranium (Investment U/Wiley, 2006) Whistler has appeared on CNBC, worked as Senior Market Strategist to TradingMarkets.com and TheFXMarkets.com, and occasionally contributes to FXStreet.com, educating currency traders worldwide.

Mark is the founder of WallStreetRockStar.com, fxVolatility.com, ForexMetaTraderRobot.com, and 2034TheCorporation.com. Whistler also occasionally contributes educational articles to Investopedia.com (a division of Forbes) and TradersChoiceFX.com. Mr. Whistler also operates EatsForTheStreets.com and the MarkWhistlerGallery.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique psychological insights you won't find elsewhere, January 14, 2008

By 

Ziad Masri "Ziad Masri" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trade With Passion and Purpose: Spiritual, Psychological and Philosophical Keys to Becoming a Top Trader (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

One mark of a great book is how original its content is and how much it adds to the existing literature. This book gets 5 stars on both of these fronts. Having done an immense amount of psychological study and soul searching over the last 2 years in an effort to progress in my trading career, I was impressed by how this book was able to still take my trading (and life) mindset to another level. I thought I had read it all, but throughout the book I found unique insights and novel (at least as applied to trading) subjects. By the end of the book I felt a sense of liberation by immediately starting to apply some of the concepts I had read. This book will serve as a great aid to any trader no matter the experience level... it is certainly not limited to those wanting an intro to the psychology of trading. In fact, I find it ideally suited to the experienced traders (struggling and successful) who have already read it all and think there are no more new insights. For me, being a very ambitious trader with very high standards and goals, I found it the perfect aid in helping me find the balance of staying grounded in the good and bad times, and being self forgiving and accepting. You can't imagine the difference that acceptance can make, and this book is full of great practical advice on how to reach that. And it's not all just fluff- it comes from a real trader and is backed by much scientific study and a long history of reliability.

We all have read about traders being in the "zone"... well don't expect to reach there too easily without knowing the concepts in this book. They're truly indispensable no matter how much you already know about trading psychology. Great book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT BOOK!!!, March 15, 2007

By 

Victor D. Delprete "asus" (Delray Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trade With Passion and Purpose: Spiritual, Psychological and Philosophical Keys to Becoming a Top Trader (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

This book should be read by every market trader. It brings the investor to look within himself to find the path to success. When is the right time to pull the trigger and buy or sell that stock? Is fear driving us to make bad decisions? Like the mythological Greek figure Sisyphus, are we destined to repetitively pushing a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down for eternity? Whistler explains that the boulder and the hill won't change. Only you can change yourself and figure out how to make that boulder stay at the top of the hill.

The book first lays the groundwork to looking within to determine your goals and then to find the answers. It explains Eastern philosophies of Morita therapy and dogma, and overlays that with Western psychology, all in an easy to read and easy to comprehend style that is applicable right now to both trading or everyday life.

Self honesty, self esteem, emotional intelligence, ego, humility, pride, courage, fear, and greed clearly have everything to do with success in the markets, and Whistler helps the reader come to grips with himself. This is the edge any trader needs to maneuver through the markets against predators successfully.

This is the third book I have read by Mark Whistler and it amounts to his best work yet. It is very easy to read and I find myself inspired from every single page. Typically technical books don't have me yearning to read the next page, but Whistler has the unique ability to make it feel as if I am reading my own story. He's been through it all and isn't afraid to admit his failures. This book is the best investment for anybody that is fighting their way back once they realize that fear is already influencing their decisions negatively. I know I am a better trader after reading this book and look forward to the next in his arsenal.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to stay centered and focused ?, June 5, 2007

By 

Robert W. Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trade With Passion and Purpose: Spiritual, Psychological and Philosophical Keys to Becoming a Top Trader (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

This book will undoubtedly put you in the right frame of mind,in your tradeing and in moving forward in life.
When you are in doubt,and freeze up, when the markets move against you,Mark will teach you how to get centered and put it back into perspective and be decisive.
This is a book you will want to read again,because of how positively it makes you feel about yourself and your future! very nice work,thankyou!!!
RW Campbell