“But you said . . .” “Page 63 says to . . .” “This line crossed that one . . .” “It’s trading day of month 11; shouldn’t I . . . ?” Those are typical comments I hear every day from readers of my books, and these illustrate an important part about being a winning trader.

Not only is this business not black and white, neither is life. We all know that (I think), yet as traders we want absolutes so badly that we absolutely forget to think. It’s just like math. Math is an absolute, but when applied to the imperfect world of stocks and commodities it reverts to being a tool that simply gives more clarity and definition to the imperfections. Please, never forget that above all else, speculation is a thinking business. If you are not good at thinking, or at least getting correct answers, I’d look for the off ramp if I were you.