Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

What an incredible and unique book covering the psychology of investing!!! Mr. Whistler's writing style is concise yet very approachable. It really is applicable to everyone from a trader to a novice investor and I have personally recommended it to my friends and coworkers!!!! 5 stars!!

This deeply researched and eloquently presented piece will serve everyone that is seriously engaged in the markets. If you have capital at risk, money to invest, or simply want to better understand your place in the economy, don't just read this book; take it to heart and find your purpose!

Zachary Springborn
Chairman
Rialto Technology, LLC

This is my first review on Amazon, and I felt I needed to voice my opinion of this book, since it has helped me immensely. I've been a full-time equities trader now for over 5 years. After a large drawdown in the first week in January, I was searching for something to help me get back on track as well as expand my knowledge about the realm of trading. While reading this book, I felt a shift in my perspective about what trading really means to me. By practicing and applying the concepts discussed in this book, I immediately noticed a difference in my trading. Mark also shares his own personal insights and experiences, many of which I really relate to.

This is the first book I've read from Mark, and it definitely won't be the last. It has helped me on my path, both in life and trading. This will be one of the few trading books that I will reread a couple times every year. Worth it's weight in gold, it is one I highly recommend.

This book fills in the huge gap that most other trading and investing books completely miss:YOU. You are the most important element in trading. If you are not mentally tough, disciplined, have a good work ethic, and able to deal with stress, NO trading system or plan will work for you. If you are all of the above mentioned things you will be successful at almost any system that gives you an advantage over the market.
This book asks you to write down the purpose behind your trading. Why are you trading? This defined purpose will keep you on track. It asks you to have confidence in your abilities after you have done the necessary work to be a trader. Successful traders must have healthy self esteem and be honest with themselves."People with egos want to look good,self esteem comes from being good".
The book really focuses on how to think correctly as a trader. Trade in the present, leave emotional baggage behind in your trading just keep the lessons. You will learn ways to manage your fear. You will read about ways to manage anxiety and stress while trading. One of the underlying themes in the book is cause and effect. You must take responsibility for trading decisions, it is not the markets fault or "them", you made the decision to buy or sell and you must accept the outcome of your decisions as your own. This book is all about managing your emotions, stress, and thoughts while trading. This book is all about you and me, the most important element in any trading plan. I highly recommend reading this book to become a better trader, no matter where you are on your journey to success in the markets.

Whistler does a great job covering issues that many new traders may think are unimportant to trading, but ultimately they are the most important because they have to do with psychology. Trading has its ups and downs, and handling them is the most important thing a trader can learn how to do (at least in my humble opinion after about 2 years). The most encouraging thing for me were those parts where Whistler talks about his own mistakes. I don't know anything about Whistler's trading career or success, but I assume that he's more successful than me at trading, so when he talks about making many mistakes, some of them costly and some of them more than once, I took heart, since I have made and continue to make mistakes. Eventually, with books like this one, one can learn to become an excellent trader, but it definitely takes a lot of work and emotional turmoil.

My one gripe with the book is the lack of copyediting. I'll give two examples. First, at the top of p. 155, where Whistler is talking about the importance of gratitude and having an attitude of gratefulness, he says this: "I can assure one thing: Because of the constant emotional struggle trading brings forward, a sincere lack of ungratefulness only expedites one to burn out or blow up." Obviously, this should say "lack of gratefulness" not "lack of ungratefulness." A copyeditor should have caught this. The second example comes on the very next page: "At this level we are losing the ability to recognize that we have erred and forgive ourselves in a healthy manor." Obviously, the last word should be "manner." These may seem like trivial complaints, but there must be at least one per page of such typos, and after a while it gets distracting. (Besides, I'm a copyeditor myself and want to show that my profession has at least some value!)

All in all, though, this is an excellent book. The two-star review makes some good points, but the fact that Whistler raises these issues in the first place is important enough for a fairly high rating.

This book is great. After reading Trading in the Zone of Mark Douglas, I was still having problems pulling the trigger in my trading and this one made it.

Apart of all the good things other reviews mention, It made me sit and write 'everything I know' about the markets and that made me come with a trading plan with the best ideas that I had tested on the markets. Actually it made me organize myself and discard the less important aspects and be able to confront the market with the objectivity I needed.

Somehow I knew I had many good ideas and that my study had been intense, but I was not able to discern which were the best of the concepts that I had in my mind.... so I was reluctant to enter the market.

Now I know that I can not expect to win all the time and that I only have to worry if I have not prepared myself enough... and 4 years studying and paper trading is enough to let you know what works and what doesn't.

So now, after 11 trading days with real money, I have been able to increase 20% of my trading account, going for just 1 point per day in ES emini. I know I am bragging, but I am so happy...please understand me.

The book is great, it won`t teach you how to trade, but it will put you in a position to use what you know well..... without a doubt.

This is a fantastic book. Many thanks Mark, you have done an excellent masterpiece. At the end Trading is like the Olympism, it is the discovery of oneself through an activity that force us to express all our potential.
This book will bring the reader into an intimate journey inside his soul and spirit. Thanks again Mark. Pier-Luigi Pellegrino