Archive for January, 2010

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Making Money Is Easy

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

(View The Video Online: Market coach Doug Hirschhorn, PhD, advises traders that making money really is easy. Keeping it, however, is a bit more challenging.)


This week’s trading lesson: Making money is easy. In fact, making money in any market is easy. It’s keeping it that’s hard.

You see, most traders are right about 50 percent of the time. Successful trading really isn’t about how much you make when you are right. Rather, it’s about how much you lose when you’re wrong.

We all know most traders fail to reach their potential because of poor discipline. That’s not new. And as the trading coach to Wall Street’s elite, I’ve been able to pinpoint three common factors that cause that loss of discipline:

  1. Holding a position for a long time and getting out because you’re either bored or lose patience.
  2. Staying in a losing position, thinking it can’t possibly get any worse. Invariably, it does.
  3. Having a winning trade on but being afraid of turning the profit into a loss. You book the trade only to watch it rip in your favor a short time later.

If I just described you, welcome to the party. But don’t worry too much — Dr. Doug has the cure for your trading ailment.

Every day, before you begin trading, look around and see what the price action or the vibe is. Is it quiet? Is it fearful? Is it passive? Is it aggressive? Then I want you to ask yourself one question: “Is today a day to make money or limit my losses?”

Once you have the answer, trade that way. Remember, your job is to make money, not to be right. And sometimes, the best way to do that is to sit on your hands and not lose any.

Think better, invest smarter.

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For Conan (and other elite), Becoming Great Is Not About The Money.

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Just because your severance check is over 30 million, doesn’t mean getting fired is any less painful.

Everyone is talking about Conan and grappling to understand what the big deal is. He has millions, got paid tens of millions to leave AND within months he can basically sign a new contract with a competitor. How bad can life possibly be for him? That’s a problem I would love to have, wouldn’t you?

I’m Dr. Doug Hirschhorn, the premier coach to the Wall Street elite. My clients make tens of millions each year, every year. Unbelievable, I know. No, they don’t break laws. No, they are not shady characters. And as I clearly explain in my new book, 8 Ways to Great (Penguin/G.P. Puntam’s Sons), they are not the ones responsible for the economy falling apart. They are just regular guys who are highly skilled entrepreneurs, faced with great opportunities, just like Conan on TV or like Steve Jobs in the technology world. The mentality of these titans, as I have discovered in my decade of leadership coaching, is remarkably similar, and it does not seem to matter whether they are an athlete, business mogul or media star. Their path to finding that place called great, is identical and can be condensed to six words in a single sentence. And here it is, “IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY.”

For Conan, Leno, Steve Jobs, Hedge Fund Titans or even Oprah Winfrey, what motivates them to tap into and unlock their inner greatness are things like ego, passion, inspiration, fear of being mediocre, desire to improve the lives of others, or even low self-esteem that got engrained in them somewhere in their childhood and it has served to push them to prove those doubters from way back when that they were wrong. The bottom line is it is lots of things, just not money.

What does this have to do with you and your career building? Well, instead of being just another person who writes this Conan thing off as a ridiculous example of rich people crying over how big their pile of gold coins is or isn’t; think for a second about how much work and sacrifice Conan had to endure in order to reach his dream of being the top dog in the late night media. Have you ever made tremendous personal and professional sacrifices to have a shot to reach your goals? If you haven’t, then that is a shame; but if you have and my bet is most of you have, then you know exactly how Conan must feel right now.

He worked his entire life to get his shot – and he got it. And then it was taken away from him seven months later. The reason why is less important than the reality that it was. What I mean is, it doesn’t matter if he was fired because his ratings were down or because of politics; all that matters is Conan, just like many of us, had a dream and for decades worked towards achieving it. Then he goes into work one day and is told it’s over, here’s a check, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Is Conan pissed? Of course, he has to be, he is human. Is his ego bruised or maybe shattered? Probably. Does he feel like he was wronged, cheated by people he trusted? Yep. Has he stayed awake at night these past couple of weeks asking pointless questions like, “Why is this happening to me?” I sure bet he has - just like you or I would.

One thing I have learned from my elite clients on Wall Street is that these inflection points create huge potential opportunities for them to create a greater life if they are willing to remove the emotion and take smart risk. And for Conan, it is no different.

Conan has a CHOICE. He can choose to stay bitter, focus on the past, the empty promises, the mud slinging, the anger, emotion and remain stuck in time or he can choose to compartmentalize all of the anger, animosity, fear and doubting and create a new, career building plan for the Conan brand. He is still the same guy. He has the same unique quirky edge and comedic skills. The situation has just changed. Now it is up to him to choose to reinvent himself or not.

For this reason, I believe Conan is no different than any of us out there who thrive on finding our greatness. Stuff that is out of our control happens to all of us at some point in lives. Sometimes it has to do with our employment and other times it may have to do with our relationships. Yes, I know, plans are destroyed, effort is wasted and resources are exhausted but in the end, all that is going to matter for Conan, me, you or any other human being on this planet dealing with this type of situation is what choice we make after unexpected, uncontrollable events occur in our lives.

Conan, feel free to email me if you need a wake up call because I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what choice you make in the face of adversity.

Dr Doug

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Stick to Your Shorts

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

(Watch the Video Online: Market coach Doug Hirschhorn, PhD, advises traders to stick to their shorts for the time being.)


This week’s trading plan should be to stick with your shorts. The top traders on the Street have spent the past couple months positioning themselves for a 10- to 15-percent correction. As their coach, I can tell you it’s rare for these Wall Street titans to be wrong for so long. What does that mean to me? That it’s time to remember three important rules:

  1. Trust your original thesis Just because the market doesn’t respond in the time frame you prefer does not mean your trade thesis is wrong. More times than not, it just means you were early to the party. So stick around because it’s about to get good.
  2. Patience is the key to bigger profits When the market starts to sell off over the next few weeks, don’t rush to buy back your shorts and take small profits, like everyone else. If you’re looking for that 10- to 15-percent sell off, have the patience to stick with the trade and endure the pains that precede your gains.
  3. Stay objective Forget about how long you’ve had the trade on. When the market starts to sell off, ask yourself one simple question: “If I had no trade on right now, what would I do?”

That’s what I call calibrating your trading mindset. If you want to trade like the elite, you have to think like the elite.

Think better, invest smarter.

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Becoming Great

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Everyone likes the idea of becoming great. My elite Wall Street clients who are already great traders, want to increase their greatness factor. As Dr. Doug, I have built up a substantial consulting practice, media presence and just released my second book 8 Ways to Great (Penguin/G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2010) – and I now want to take my brand of finding greatness, to the next level. I am talking about the global level on par with Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Joel Osteen and even Oprah.

What about you? What do you want? Maybe you want to increase your greatness factor as a parent? A spouse? A friend? Or you want to live a greater life by improving your fitness or diet? Or maybe you just want to increase your self awareness and eliminate mistakes so you can stick to your goals?

I have been thinking, struggling, at times, sleepless and tormenting with HOW to crack and leverage the online social network so that Dr Doug – the coach to the Elite – can become a household name synonymous with finding your inner greatness.

My greatest critic and supporter (my wife of 10 years) sees the look in my eyes and reads my body language when we talk about what it is going to take to try to make that career building goal happen. The contacts I have to pursue, the relationships I need to explore, the tremendous effort – all while continuing to grow and maintain my current trading psychology coaching business. Oh, and did I mention, I have three incredible young children whose smiles make me realize what greatness really is?

Yes, I feel lost and scared and insecure – just like you. Yes, sometimes, I say to myself, maybe I should just slow things down and enjoy the NOW rather than pursue this global Dr Doug brand.

The list grows and grows each time we talk about it. And my body language says it all – it says, “Yeah, I want to build that brand and reach that goal of being the coach who helps people find their inner greatness…but am I really willing to do what it takes to make that happen. Because if I was, then the body language would be energized rather than flattened.”

I never doubted (at least not for the past few years) as to whether I could make it happen; but I do find myself wondering if I am really willing to make the personal sacrifices that are necessary to give myself the chance to find my inner greatness. I know first hand the kind of sacrifices that will be required along the way. I see it first hand with my elite wall street clients who I coach to becoming even greater traders. And many of those sacrifices they make along the way they never get a second chance at because time moves on, kids grow up, and seasons change.

Is it worth it Doug? Will it be worth it when you look back 30 years from now? Are you sure this is what you want from your life? And if so, are you willing to do what it is going to take to make it happen?

If you find yourself in a similar place, determining the different between Wanting to do something and if you are really WILLING to do what it will take to make it happen, then here are three things I discuss in 8 Ways to Great that I think you should consider when weighting this decision.

1)   Fear is OK.

Openly talk about your fears either to yourself or to a trusted resource. The more your express and identify your fears, the less of a barrier they become in your life. Remember, fear is normal and ok to feel. All that matter is that you do not make decisions based on that fear. For example, just because you are afraid of all the work that it will take to reach your goal is not the right reason to not go for it. So, identify the fears, greet them with open arms and then put them in a box so they don’t get in your way.

2)   Take a Process Approach

List all the things, that you need to do in order to reach that big goal. Then just pick 3, start there and do not move on until you have completed them; then pick 3 more and so on. By focusing on the process, you break down larger, more intimidating goals into smaller more digestible pieces. At the end of just one week, you will have worked your way through a good number of the items on the list. This will then give you hope and energy to keep moving forward.

3)   Focus more on WHY

Spend some time figuring out why you really want to achieve that goal. Most people only think about how they are going to get there or lose the weigth or find the time. Instead, ask yourself WHY you want to do it and if the WHY is powerful enough to you, then you will find that the HOW takes care of itself and you will be moving from Wanting to achieve a goal to being Willing to do what you need to do to make it happen.

Go ahead and find your way to Great!

Dr Doug

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Success in 2010

Saturday, January 16th, 2010
(Watch the Video Online: Market coach Doug Hirschhorn, PhD, discusses how traders can find success in the coming year.)

This year will prove to be challenging even for the elite traders out there. Here are four things traders can do to tip the probabilities of success in your favor:
  1. Trust your gut If something looks like crap and smells like crap, then chances are, it is crap. Listen more to your gut to tell you when to cut a loss and move on.
  2. Keep it simple If something is working, keep doing it. There aren’t any bonus points for being clever. The money is the same color no matter how you make it. So do the simple things and chip away at the profits. I once had a client who felt he had to do complicated trades in order to make money. Bottom line was, he was wrong. Keeping it simple is the proven strategy for success.
  3. Probabilities don’t lie If you’re not carefully tracking the metrics on your trades, you might as well be gambling at a casino. Make it a point to track the data on your trades and study them. That way, you can do more of what’s working and less of what’s not.
  4. Avoid speculating and predicting I can’t begin to tell you how many times I see traders blow up their accounts because they try to speculate or predict what’s going to happen in the future. The simple fact is, no one knows. Even the best traders have a winning percentage of around 50 percent. That means successful trading is not about being right, it’s about what you do when you’re wrong. The bottom line is, trade what you see, not what you think.

Think better, invest smarter.

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