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104 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Complete Insight Into The Disciplined Trader, March 27, 2003
The number one reason that I like The Disciplined Trader is that Mark Douglas has no formal training in psychology. Rather, Douglas was trained in the only classroom that matters-the battlefield of actual trading. Even though this book was published in 1990 and there have been a plethora of trading-psychology books published since then, Douglas' material stands out has an innovative classic. He just uses his own gift for seeing the mental shortcomings of the losing trader and spells out his own fresh insights on what we, as traders, need to do to experience real success in trading. Douglas starts the book out from a perspective that many traders can identify with-crushing defeat. Humbling himself to the higher power that the market is and analyzing the formula for defeat, Douglas shows how he was able to reverse-engineer it to find the formula for success that many of the book's readers over the years have found useful in exorcising their own psychological demons. Central to Douglas' thesis is that the elements of character that produce success in most of life's endeavors are completely different from those that will make you successful as a trader. To thrive in business or some professional career, you have to work hard to develop the skills that will allow you to be in control of your environment. To build a business empire, you have to be a great leader of people. To become a heart surgeon, you have to learn how to control your scalpel. To be a good mother, you have to know how to discipline your children. But successful trading, says Douglas, is the process of yielding to the market and being in control only of yourself and the way you respond to changing market conditions. When the idea of being in control of yourself sinks in, you realize that you as a trader get exactly what you deserve from the markets. If you consistently get poor results, you deserve this. If you consistently get great results, you deserve that. The market doesn't care, one way or the other. As with any book filled with original and profound ideas, The Disciplined Trader isn't always an easy read, particularly as it slogs through the painful process of pummeling away at our self-destructive mechanisms. Fortunately, as with life, the journey provides a reward and Douglas spends the final chapters of the book explaining practical techniques that will help you to "get it together" as a trader.
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