Nutella

Is Nutella Healthy?

Growing up I didn't get to eat a lot of Nutella.  ...and I'm glad!  Here is why:

 

What most people don't realize is that it's about 80% crap and a very small amount is made up of hazelnuts.  To put it in perspective, if you spread Nutella on a slice of toast, you are consuming one hazelnut, a pinch of cacao, and the rest is sugar, palm oil, and skimmed milk powder.  Hardly the breakfast of champions.

 

If you're like me though, you love the taste.  Well the good news is you can make Nutella yourself, a healthy version that you can eat guilt free every day!!

 

 

Home Made Nutella Recipe

 

Ingredients

• Hazelnuts
• Maple Syrup
• 100% Cacao
• Almond Milk (optional)

 

The key is roasting the Hazelnuts first.   Just spread them out on a backing pan and put them into your oven at 190C (370F) until you can smell that awesome toasted hazelnut smell and they turn darker in color. About 10 to 15 minutes.

 

Let them cool down and then put them in your blender or food processor.  A small blender will do.  They are actually easy to grind.    Blend them for a bit then add 2-3 tablespoons of 100% Cacao.  Blend again.   Then add a tablespoon or so of maple syrup.    Blend again and taste.   Add cacao and maple syrup as you see fit.  You'll be surprised how little maple syrup you need to make it sweet and tasty. 

 

Optionally you can add water or almond milk to make it creamier and blend again. 

 

That's it!  How healthy is that!!?   If you are able to restrain from eating it all then you should keep it in the fridge and eat it within a week.

 

What does this have to do with trading?  Easy, keep your body & mind healthy and reward yourself with a treat once in a while.





Two Things That Will Kill Your Account

There are two things that you need to control.  Two things that in trading as well as in life will kill you.  These two things will kill your forex account.  Guaranteed.

Fear

More likely to affect seasoned traders.   Newbies will be somewhat fearless like young kids thinking they are invincible.  Too many action movies perhaps.  Too many daredevil friends that got lucky and didn't hurt themselves.  Yet.

Once you have traded for a while, especially if you had a great start, when that bad trade hits, it's like monsoon season.   When it rains, it rains good.  Your life will suddenly spin out of control and that confidence you had is in an instance gone.  Just like when you are a fairly good boxer and suddenly you face an opponent that is always a couple steps ahead, you can't even get in a punch and you are left on the defensive time and time again.

Fear is a Bitch.  Sure you gotta get back on that horse and get up every time you fall down.  Chinese proverb:  Fall down 7 times.  Stand up 8.   Easier said than done.  If you're reading this and you say "whatever"  "won't happen to me" then book mark this page for when that day comes.  It will come.  I guarantee it.   It's like a bad action movie where the hero suddenly can't fight anymore.   Like an NHL goalie suddenly not being able to stop pucks anymore.

At this point F.E.A.R. stands for Fuck Everything And Run.  You are in a bad spot and before you fix it, you need to acknowledge it.  You need to sit back.  Stop your trading.  Take a deep breath (more on a great breathing exercise later) and rewind to the good memories of trading.  How you are good at what you do and you just have been beaten by the market, and rather than getting up only to get knocked down again, you are going to fight smarter, not harder, get up and figure out what's going on before you enter another trade.  What you need to do is Face Everything And Rise.

Face your mistakes.  Study, analyze, and don't you dare make another trade until you have truly faced and figured it out.  Better drop your lot size, heck even go back to a demo account.  And then Face your Fear and prove to yourself you still got it.  Take your time. And if you have to then reach out to someone that can help you.   Tiger Woods has a coach.  Not one but several.  He makes mistakes.  He comes back. Who's right there behind him?  His coach. His mentor.    It pays to have someone in your corner. 

Greed

Many traders are in it for the money.  The good traders are in it for the lifestyle and freedom.  Money isn't everything but it sure helps a lot.  But it can also be the death of you.  That greed of always wanting more is like a gambler with an addiction.  He wins at slots and instead of walking away keeps playing only to lose it again and again.  Itching for that next win.

Just like with fear, greed you can sense.  You will feel yourself not being your usual calm self but instead you feel this need to make money, more money, always more.  

For a lot of traders it's all about the money when they should be counting pips.  And you have to be satisfied with the pips you make.   Don't let emotions take over.  Stick to your trading plan and Take Profit.  Sure you made 50 pips and the market kept moving for another 30.  That's half glass thinking.  You made 50 pips.  End of story. It's a good day.  Who cares if the market kept moving for 200 pips.  If your trading strategy didn't have a signal then it's not worth the risk.  The reward is big, but so can be the risk.   You don't need an emotional rollercoaster ride.  So do yourself a favor and stick to your take profits and your trading plan.   Your coach should be there slapping you on the fingers everytime you do something silly.  Impulse trades are the worst.

Fear and Greed are the great demise for many people.  In life. In Business. In Trading.  Keep your emotions in check and be happy with what you have.  There will always be someone smarter, taller, better looking, and funnier.  There will always be someone making better trades.   Who cares.  All that matters is who you are and that you are happy with yourself and your trades.   Happiness is making good trades consistently and making profit consistently.  End of story.

Bad Trades are Good

Another week of trading is coming to an end. Here in Thailand I'm already relaxing at +35C.  If you're in Europe the trading day just started while in the US it's middle of the night.   I typically stick to the saying Don't Trade on Monday's or Friday's and today it sure looks like it's time to call it a day.  I've made my pips this week already.  I hope you have too!

 

I hope you've had a good week.  And if you've had a bad trade then this article is for you!  You see Bad Trades are Good!  Bad trades are a learning experience. 

 

The worst thing that can happen to you is making too many positive trades when you start trading.  It gives you false confidence. I know because it happened to me.  When I first started trading I made nothing but positive trades.  I think 79 in a row was my record.  It gave me a false confidence.  I made some bad trades here and there but by far I felt unstoppable and on top of the world.  Positive time and time again.  Until one day I had back to back losses.

 

I couldn't believe it.  Back to back losses.  Big losses.  What was wrong?  I had been a rising star and now I'm in the minus for the day. The week. For the month!   What the hell?

 

Well it was the best thing that happened to me and I wish it would have happened sooner because you learn the most from your mistakes.

 

So if you've had a bad trade.  Shake it off.  Go on with life.  Stop trading for the day.  Then when you have a clear mindset, maybe after you slept on it, then go back and retrace your reasons for going into the trade. Then determine what went wrong and what you can do in the future to not make the same mistake again.

 

The most common mistakes are:

 

• Trading shortly before, during, or shortly after news.  The market is too volatile.  Like that high wind crashing wave after wave into the ocean shore.  Wait to ride a good wave when things settle down.
• Trading before Market Open times.   Make a note when the Europe, US, and Asian Markets open.  Try not to trade shortly before that time.
• You feel the market is turning.   Unless you are a seasoned trainer or can predict the future, don't get caught up in trading potential reversals.   Trust me, you'll know when a currency has reversed direction.
• Your analysis wasn't thorough.  Always get a feel of trend and market conditions on ALL timeframes.  Monthly, Weekly, Daily.   Technical analysis on the bigger time frames is key to taking calculated risks.   If all the major timeframes say down and you are going long based on a signal on a 5m chart you are asking for trouble. 
• Your lots size was too big.   Bigger isn't always better.  If you are sweating just a little bit when the market isn't moving the way you thought it would, well then you are using a lot size that's too big for your comfort level.   You can minimize your risk and maximize your reward by using a lot size that's proportional to the "strength" of the signal and your analysis.   The more certainty the bigger the lot size.  For example,  I will trade a full lot if several indicators confirm my signal.   If the confirmation isn't strong then I'll half the lot size. 
• You can't stay out.   Many people will be somewhat addicted to trading and want to place a trade every day either because they want to prove to themselves they can do it or because they feel this need to trade all the time.  It's like overeating.   You get thirsty and instead of drinking water you opt for a Big Mac.   And after you're done with the meal you didn't really need you hit up a coffee shop and suck back an iced latte and a couple donuts.   Self control is a must in trading.  All those calories add up.  All those trades out of boredom or lack of discipline will add up too.
• No confirmation.  Some people see an entry but jump the gun too quick and place their trade before waiting for the confirmation..  For example CCI or RSI are great indicators for confirmations.  Candle closes and opens are too.   MACD.is another great oscillator for confirmation.    You need to wait for a candle close before your signal is valid.

Whatever the reason for your bad trade.  Study it and find out what you're doing wrong. 

One of my students has a big problem with this and hence she is struggling.  She just wants to place a trade and make money.  When she makes a bad trade she throws her hands in the air and complains, instead of analyzing her mistake.   And when she does analysis it's only for the signal and not for the confirmation or "red flags" like a major trend line or upcoming ECB or FOMC News Event.

You will learn more from your bad trades than your good trades.  So don't be afraid to make mistakes, just be committed to analyzing your bad trades.

Skin In The Game

I recently met someone that was struggling to make ends meet.  He wanted to start a business yet wasn't well grounded and worse he was unwilling to put any skin in the game.   In other words he wanted to have no risk and all the reward.  No plan, just results.   No negative (his words, my words "realistic") feedback, and just positive thoughts.     While I agree that positive thinking brings positive outcomes, there is a time to be realistic and consider the worst case scenarios.  Or just bad scenarios.  He didn't want to hear it. In his mind he had it all figured out. Yet he changed his mind so many times it showed he had a lack of commitment.  Why?  Because he had no skin in the game.  To him it was just a free ride, let an investor pay for his business (good luck on that one) and have him run it.   No commitment on this part.  There is a reason why some people struggle while others make success look easy.  Remember, the professionals always make it look easy!

The risks you take should be directly proportional with the rewards you are looking to attain.  No risk, no reward.  Foolish risk.  Foolish reward.

Putting "skin in the game" changes the game entirely.   Using your own hard earned money to start a business is some serious skin for example.  Your mind set changes and you are (hopefully) more careful making decisions that impact your bottom line.

Trading is no different.  You need to put some skin in the game.   I'm not talking about money either.  Sure you need money to get started.  A lot less than most people think or will tell you.  I'm talking about serious commitment.   Time. Effort. A willingness to learn.  A willingness to make mistakes.  A willingness to learn from you mistakes.  And the ability to persevere. 

Some people believe in throwing money at a problem.  You know "money fixes everything".  Well to an extent perhaps.  But to an extent it's like the drugs you take to mask the root cause of the problem you're having.   For example if you have a headache your body tells you have a dis-ease.   Something is wrong and your body is saying fix it.  Your body isn't telling you to pop aspirins...   Unfortunately most people want the quick fix and just start swallowing pill after pill.  The better approach is to look at the root cause.  Why do you have a headache?  Is it from something you ate?  Stress?   Perhaps your spine is off balance (think nervous system)?  Are you getting enough sleep?   Exercising enough?  Relaxing enough?     Sure you can pop that aspirin, in the short term it will help mask the symptom but in the long term ignoring (masking) those symptoms will do nothing but make the problem worse.  So does throwing money at problems.  You need to understand what's going on.  Why are you making bad trades? Why aren't you profitable from your trades?  Why do you constantly blow your account (and hard earned money) after successfully trading for months?

When you have skin in the game, the game changes, and you change.  If you are new to trading you should have someone teach you and coach you about the "game" you are about to play.   If you have been trading for a while and want to make the most out of your trading you should consider doing the same to protect your skin and maximize the profits.

If you are not willing to put skin in the game then do yourself a favor and do not trade the Forex market.

And you have to be sure you can afford to walk away from the money you are about to invest.   Especially new traders.   I see it far to often.   New trader thinks he has found the holy grail.  Puts a few thousand dollars into an account. Loses it.    Business man trades for a little bit and then puts big money into an account, loses it.  Managed accounts in my opinion are the worst.   Seriously if anyone is so good that they can make you profit trading with your money, why are they doing it?  Why don't they just retire on an island?  Why they don't put a risk free guarantee on it?   Simple.  Managed accounts don't work either.  If it's too good to be true, it seldom is.

Counting Pips or Dollars?

Don't count your dollars before you have made pips.  Measuring your goal and success in dollars can be a serious mistake for traders.   Sure you are in it to make money.  You are also in it to make profit.  That profit you should count in pips.   Just like you don't count your chickens before they hatch. You don't count your dollars before you can make pips.

Pips are scalable (to an extent, more on that later).  Money is not.  If you are thinking constantly about money then you are developing a bad habit.  It's the wrong mindset to have. It can be very damaging.  Not everything is about money.  Sure money helps a lot but it isn't everything.  You need to focus on profit, in pips.  Then and only then can you truly analyze your performance.  In Pips.  Over the month. Over the quarter. Over the year.   And then and only then can you put some dollar figures to it BUT you need to also keep your risk reward ratio in check and know your emotional threshold.   You don't want to overextend yourself.

A Chick in the Hand is Better Than Two in The Bush

My Thai Tutor was by the other day.  He is a Yoga Teacher and has been out of a job for quite a few months.  He needed some money "for a friend" so I made a deal for him to tutor me in Thai.  He speaks Thai fluently and being a Farang (Foreigner) like me it helps to have someone that speaks fluent English.

Just last week the topic of him needing work came up and I had asked why he didn't open a studio.  I suppose my previous life as a business coach got the better of me and I started running some numbers on what it would take for him to open a place and started quizzing him on what is required and gave him some suggestions on what is needed to run a business.

Wouldn't you know it he is now looking to raise money to pursue his dream.   As we got talking his sales instinct kicked in, and he started to try and sell me on investing with him.  I made it quite clear that what he needed was a business partner and the risk of investing was too great for me.   The funny thing is he doesn't see it that way (of course).  He only sees the upside.  Why wouldn't he.  He is looking for me to finance the studio 100% and put money in his pocket so he can afford to pay rent and put food on the table for him and his wife.  All the while adamant that he carries the risk.   I told him to give his head a shake but I suppose his stubbornness just doesn't see the forest for all the trees are blocking his view.

A couple days ago he came by again trying to sell me.  At this point I had already given him more business advice than he was able to retain.  So we touched on the partnership agreement again and I made it quite clear that there was no chance of me financing 100% of the venture to get only 49% ownership. In other words he would have complete control of my money and the company.  His reasoning was that if he wasn't the majority shareholder he would be still an employee.   Which of course isn't the case.   The conversation shifted somehow to the potential of the company and reeling him back into reality I said look, "A chick in hand is better than two in the bush".   A phrase that implies that a guaranteed profit is better than two potential leads.   At this stage I'm not sure if he was just stubborn, or wanted to prove out of the box thinking, or simply didn't get it but he wanted to argue that the possibility of catching 2 chickens is better than having one in the hand.  

In any event he clearly still has the mind set of an employee.   Employees want no risk and just the rewards, they want a steady paycheck, a 9 to 5 gig, and the ability to just shut off when they feel like it.  If you have owned a business you know that as a business owner you work harder than all your employees, carry all the risk, and you are not guaranteed a pay check.   You also know that a chick in hand is better than two in the bush.   Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow.  

As a day trader you have to know your risk, your reward, and not let go of good trades because you are chasing more trades.    As a trader you don't have a steady paycheck.  Just like a business owner you have to be careful not to chase rainbows.  You need to be very well grounded and take baby steps in your trading.   Risk. Reward.  How many pips are you willing to risk to make your take profit?  When you've made a good trade and you're in the plus, don't get tempted to look for more trades.  You have a chick in hand.  Hang on to it and don't trade it for two in the bush.

You have probably been there where you are just itching to make a trade.  Waiting for conditions to be just right.  Maybe you missed a good trade and now you are kicking yourself and dying to make up for it. Or your ego is getting the better of you as you're reviewing your account history and you say to yourself a couple more trades and I'm done for the day. When you should be focusing on the one and only thing that matters.  The chick in hand.  Don't chase dreams. 

Ground yourself and be realistic.   You should have a trading plan and some rules about when you will and will not trade.  When you will and will not cash out.   You need to look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you cannot trade every day.  You might have to wait a week or two to make a trade. So be it.

Rotten Fruit

Arriving home from Thai Language class I went to grab a banana and had ants and fruit flies everywhere due to the bananas' ripening.  Don't you hate it when you have to throw out food?  All the best intentions in the world justify your decision to buy fruits, vegetables, and other food with expiry dates.  And for whatever reason you then are faced with having to throw out rotten food.

Once in a while we need "rotten fruit" as reminders.  Growing up in a world where there is a surplus of food, we take it for granted and don't realize how good we have it.  Others are starving.  My parents often told me about their experience growing up in Post World War 2 where they counted how many peas one could have for dinner.  And that was the only dinner.  Potatoes and other vegetables were traded on the black market.  Not only do we not appreciate today's abundance of food, but it hinders our creative thought process and drive.   Arnold Schwarzenegger when asked what made him successful said "Stay Hungry".  Overfed hunters lose their ability to hunt.  The well fed are not hungry enough to strive for more.   When you are constantly hungry you strive to do better, to do more with less.   So in a way when it comes to shopping and cooking, today's meals aren't as creative as they used to be.  In the post world war 2 days one had to come up with creative way to make do with what they had.   Don't be fooled by so called "peasant foods".  They are nutritious, delicious, and filling.  Here in Thailand I get more satisfaction from cheap food rich in herbs and taste, say Pad Kaprao, than from a meal that costs me 10 times as much, perhaps Thai but mostly Western.

Shopping only for the next dinner is far more rewarding. It eliminates waste.  Your ingredients are fresh.  And if you are in a bind because your fridge is somewhat bare, suddenly that one vegetable, fruit, or food item, that would have been overlooked in a full fridge, becomes inspiration for creativity.  You tend to think more about what you are going to cook and how, rather than think about eating, and perhaps eat more because you just have to have the pudding, crepes, and yogurt because it's there looking at you.  And after you are full and over nourished.  Intoxicated by overstimulation.   If you had to go hunting again, you'd have not will or interest.  Worse yet you are going to get fat and your body and mind will be stressed.

Trading is not dissimilar.   There are plenty of trade opportunities. Plenty of pairs.  The market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days week.  You can go long on EURUSD, short on USDJPY, heck you can hedge your trades if you feel the market will swing either way.   Is that a good thing?  Or are you juggling too many balls?   Too many moving parts.   Too many eggs in the basket.     Bitten off too much to chew.   You might get lucky and all your trades go well.  Or you could choke on that big bite and with more at risk, you lose more.

Stay hungry.  Go for low hanging fruit and only pick what you need to eat today.   There will be low hanging fruit again.  Don't over trade.  Trade only when the market conditions are strongly in your favor and you have minimized your risk.