Category Archives: Truth

Looper

Posted on by
Reply

I know, that Bruce Willis sci-fi movie… 

… is also called Looper. 

Know any other Loopers? 

There’s one in your body. 

In hardware terms, it’s your brain. 

In software terms, it’s your mind. 

Its ability to loop can become a tendency. 

Any problems with that? 

Sure. 

Big ones. 

Imagine a trade. 

Goes wrong. 

You’re drained. 

You get out. 

Loss.

Done? 

No. 

At this point, don’t let your mind loop. 

It will, if you allow it the leeway. 

If it loops, you’ve lost the energy value of two trades or more (fatigue) while losing one trade. 

Don’t delve on the loss. 

Move on in search of your next winning trade. 

Define conditions that stop your mind from looping. 

For example, when entry value is small enough to not be bothered about, its partial or even full loss might not be enough to cause your mind to loop. 

And that’s the position you want to be in. 

No looping.

No overthinking. 

Just trading. 

🙂

The Pinch of Minuscule Loss

Posted on by
Reply

Did I drop the 200 bucks this morning?

Hmmmm…

…naehhh.

I don’t drop cash.

It was probably nicked from my rucksack.

You know what, this incident is pinching me.

I’m trying to brush it off.

Was I careless?

Yes.

Why?

God knows.

Over-confidence?

Maybe.

Do you see?

Even minuscule loss has it’s thought-process-baggage.

Minuscule loss pinches too.

Where does that leave us?

We’re market-people.

We’re faced with minuscule losses everyday.

Hopefully miniscule.

Meaning, hopefully everyone has by now graduated to putting stops.

Don’t underestimate the business of stops.

The human mind gets used to stops very slowly indeed.

Society teaches us to win at all costs. It doesn’t teach us to take a small loss and get out.

Trading works differently, however.

You can’t will a losing trade to win.

Society teaches us to book a winner and post it on social media immediately.

Again, trading is so different.

A small winner needs to be left alone, so that it can grow into a multibagger.

When we enter into the world of trading, we have to first swear to ourselves that we will start to program our minds from day one.

Otherwise, we’re dead-meat.

We need to teach our minds to let winners win some more.

And, we need to programme our minds to cut many, many small losers while they are still small, simultaneously and slowly getting immune to the pinch of minuscule losses by taking these in stride, one, after another after another…

…, till, the rest, as they say, is recorded as successful trading by History.

Incorporating the Satisfaction Factor 

Posted on by
Reply

How do you wish to leave your portfolio? 

Leave as in… 

… you leave. 

Let’s paraphrase this. 

In what condition do you envision your folio to be at your time of ultimate departure? 

Why is this question necessary? 

Why are we putting together our folios? 

What do we want out of the whole shebang? 

Are we playing the game just because everyone else is doing so, without thinking any further? 

Stop. 

Think. 

Do. 

We want satisfaction. 

Everyone searches for happiness. 

We want to have led full lives. 

We want to leave with smoothly outlined pipelines which won’t be blocked by any surviving party’s antics. 

Auto-pipelines are a reality now. It takes a standing instruction, that’s it. 

We want to have done some CSR work, as in charity. 

We want to leave a legacy. 

We don’t wish to make our surviving family slaves to an inheritance. We want them to be self-sufficient with trouble-shooting acumen. However, funds need to be accessible at times of emergency. 

And blah blah blah blah blah…, list can be endless. However, you get the gist. 

All this requires planning… 

… NOW.

Take out the time to do some basics. 

Nobody’s asking you to do a doctorate on this. 

Just do the basic nitty-gritty. 

The whole with some basics leads to successful and satisfactory implementation. Leave out the nitty-gritty, and you could be left without the success and satisfaction part too. 

Do it properly, come on. 

🙂 

How do you manage your Fiefdoms? 

Posted on by
Reply

Are your subjects happy? 

Is there surplus going around? 

Is dealing smooth and efficient? 

Are you content with your performance? 

Do you have the vision and the energy to enhance your fiefdoms into a kingdom? 

What are we talking about? 

How are these questions relevant for a career in finance? 

We all establish some position or positions of power, in the many areas of our lives. 

These are our fiefdoms. 

Inside these, we rule. 

Inside these, people or objects seem to be temporarily under our control. 

The micro reflects the macro. 

Our behaviour while governing a fiefdom hints at what / how we’ll be like when governing a kingdom. 

Get your acts together, people. 

Good governance is a habit. It starts small. Ultimately, it becomes a way of life. 

Your many fiefdoms multiply as you progress into a kingdom of sorts. 

Applied to finance, your kingdom is then your market footprint at your peak. Good governance thrown in, you’re rocking already. 

How did it happen? 

Baby steps of good governance multiplied into giant ones. 

It’s as simple as that. 

The most coveted things in life are also the simplest ones. 

🙂 

How much is too much? 

Posted on by
Reply

Risk? 

Sure. 

No risk no gain. 

However… 

… I’m sure you’ve also heard… 

… “want gain not pain“.

How do we achieve that? 

It boils down to the level of risk. 

How much risk is too much? 

Do we have a measure? 

Sure. 

Meaning, without getting into any mathematics?

Yes. 

What’s a hands-on everyday TomDickHarry dumdum yet practical cum successful measure for risk without any hype or brouhaha? 

Sleep. 

Sleep? 

Yeah. 

How? 

Are we sleeping well? 

Is our sleep getting disturbed because of the risk we’ve taken? 

No? 

We’re fine. 

The risk we’ve taken is bearable. 

It’s not disturbing us enough to disturb our sleep. 

Yes? Sleep disturbed? Because of risk? 

We’ll, too much then. 

Reduce the risk. 

By how much? 

Till your sleep is not disturbed because of it. 

It’s as simple as that. 

That nagging nagging push towards action 

Posted on by
Reply

Yeah, it’s always lurking… 

… in the background…

…waiting for an opportunity… 

… to catch you unawares… 

… and spring to the forefront. 

Market-play is a mental battle. 

Your mind wins or loses it for you. 

Make your mind understand the value… 

… of action… 

… and of inaction. 

Make your mind pinpoitedly choose… 

… the time for action… 

… and for inaction. 

Make your mind automatically switch from…

… a state of action… 

… to a state of inaction… 

… and vice-versa… 

… and feel perfectly normal doing the switch… 

… again and again and again. 

The above by itself is a winning state of mind for you, which you can build upon. 

🙂 

The Promise of Far 

Posted on by
Reply

I like “far”… 

What promises me far? 

Science fiction films. 

The Interstellar, Gravity, Inception and Contact types. 

Such films relax me. 

What relaxes you? 

Have you identified it? 

Why is this important? 

Many times, we must just sit. 

Action is harmful at such times. 

We are tense. 

We suffer from the fallacy, that action is better than inaction at all times. 

Relaxation-source identification is exactly for such times. 

Go ahead. 

Get your acts together. 

Your full acts. 

Your planning needs to incorporate strategies for inaction too. 

“The Promise of Far”  strategy works well for me.

It’s not my only inaction-strategy. 

However, it’s a successful one. 

It Boils Down to Good Governance 

Posted on by
Reply

India’s at the Olympics and all. 

We’ve had near misses. 

Sure. 

Athletes qualified fair and square. 

Not a word against India’s squad. 

They’re really trying very hard. One of our gymnasts has even risked her life by vaulting a successful Produnova. Rio-presence is achievement-based, not nepotism-based. It’s tough. It’s incorruptibly monitored. Footfall is highest ever. Indians have made the international cut in many events, like never before. Finishes are all decent. A few finishes are very, very decent, missing the podium by decimals. Our athletes deserve some podium finishes. 

However, what are 80 Indian officials doing in Rio, accompanying a squad of 119? Only a few of these 80 are allowed arena access. The rest are what? Long live the exchequer? We build up the exchequer by paying our taxes. We’d like to see its contents used judiciously. 

Let’s cast a glance at how our officials are conducting themselves at Rio. Actually, we’ll leave it at the official warning they’ve just received to behave themselves. SHAME SHAME. 

Is this good governance? 

NO. 

Do our officials deserve a podium finish?  

No. 

We’ll have to spend where it counts, on facilities, proper diets and trained physios. We’ll have to save on useless paraphernalia. Red-tape be damned. We’ll have to embrace good governance. We do want podium finishes, don’t we?

One looks up to one’s peers. If they’re corrupt, out of shape and / or out of whack, even the best athlete suffers a psychological downer. Our officials will need to trim down and get their acts together. All of them will need to behave like exemplary ambassadors of the country. They will need to give their wards that psychological boost. Coaches will themselves need to be in shape, to set good examples. Podium finishes will then be around the corner. 

Cut to stock-selection. 

The biggest and first thing to look for is good governance. 

Just cut all the nonsense out of the way, first up, because where you find good governance, you won’t find nonsense. 

It all boils down to good governance. 

When Push Comes to Shove 

Posted on by
Reply

Genetically… 

… we’re savers. 

Indians. 

Save. 

That’s a good thing. 

Since the ’00s though, our banks have started pushing loans as if there’s no tomorrow.

The motto seems to be : we don’t care who you are, just borrow. If we know who you are, here, borrow some more. 

That is dangerous policy. 

It sets the stage for a push comes to shove scenario. Savings are being lent further, and they might not come back. 

What counts when push comes to shove? 

Deposits in the bank? No. Gone. 

Real Estate? No. No buyers. No renters. Illiquid stuff just won’t move. 

Equities? No. Dumps. Good entry levels though. No resale value for a while. 

Bonds? Perhaps. Short duration ones, provided underlying doesn’t go under. 

Gold? Yes. Big. 

Trading? Yes. Options, forex, commodities, what have you. 

Cash? Yes. Provided there’s no hyperinflation. Use it for day to day life. Use surplus to acquire great bargains. 

Farmland? Yes. You’re then sorted as far as food and water are concerned. 

Use your imagination. 

Prepare for a push and shove scenario. 

It probably won’t happen. 

However, you’re prepared, just in case. 

Making Friends with Poison

Posted on by
Reply

You’re thinking cruise control… 

… when life asks you to step in. 

What just happened? 

Is cruise control a myth? 

Life in the ’10s is about variables. 

Balance arrives, to become imbalance. 

Body-chemistry. 

Most of us are far away from equilibrium because of our inner and outer environments. 

We exist for the longest time in a poisonous state of pseudo-equilibrium.

It’s become a game of how well we cope with such state.  

What’s the fine line here? 

Shying away is not an option. 

To achieve, one delves deep into the world. 

One becomes habituated to body-chemistry being regularly out of whack. 

One makes friends with one’s poisonous state of non-equilibrium. 

One achieves. 

Simultaneously, one keeps killing accumulated toxins, or pumping them out. One doesn’t let them overflow. 

Exercise. Metabolizes toxins at a fast pace. 

Anti-oxidants. Straight-away attack and break-up cancer cells. 

Water. Dissolves water-soluble toxins and flushes them out. 

Smoothies. Micronutrients. 

Fruits. Micronutrients. 

Veggies. Micronutrients.

Sleep. Recuperation.

Meditation. Recuperation. 

Chanting. Recuperation. 

Family. Rejuvenation. 

Harmony. Rejuvenation. 

Recreation. Rejuvenation. 

Etcetera. 

Do what you’ve come to do. 

Make sure you do this stuff too. 

Cheers! 

🙂 

When are you doing it Right?

Posted on by
Reply

There’s something called the Line.

You feel it.

It’s abstract.

You have to be its master.

Then, you’re doing it right.

Controlled, the line won’t disturb your life.

It’ll very probably add to your life, in terms of wealth.

If you let it control you, everything is finished.

Goodbye.

Life. Wealth. Peace of mind.

It pays to master the line.

How do you feel the line?

By being invested, or in a trade.

How do you master the line?

By being invested or in a trade, again and again, again and again, and then some. Simultaneously, you’re nipping your bad behaviour in the bud, while the line is on.

You control your temper. You don’t lose it.

You develop patience with loved ones.

You learn how to position-size the line, while winning or losing.

You attenuate all kinds of disturbance.

You keep going on and on like this, till one fine day, the line’s presence becomes a part of your life. Line-switch being on doesn’t change you or alter your behaviour in any negative manner anymore.

That’s when you’re doing it right.

Effects?

Trade on = like when trade was not on.

Investment? You’re not thinking about it.

You sleep well.

Good family life… not disturbed by the presence of the line.

Yeah.

Line.

Master it.

Discipline or Brilliance, what would you have?

Posted on by
Reply

Both?

Ha!

Getting cocky already?

That’s brilliance for you.

Over-confident, lazy, show-offy, indulgent, holier-than-thou…, the list goes on.

These are some of the things brilliance also leads to, apart from displays of itself.

Would you still have it?

Many would.

The average being likes being spared the spade-work.

And you know what? I don’t even desire it in this form, with all these poisonous side-effects.

However, it’s acceptable to me in a different form, without the poison.

How does that work?

Ever slogged?

Hard work and discipline, people?

Heard of these?

These two have the side effect of – sparks of brilliance, without the poison.

How?

Bell curve of human effort – imagine.

You’re working at it’s edge.

Miniscule parts of you stray over to its beyond.

Rest of you eventually asks – hey, where are those miniscule missing parts?

Back they come.

They’re bring back vibrations from beyond the bell-curve.

These vibrations diffuse into you.

Some of them get absorbed. The rest dissipate.

Those getting absorbed find thought patterns they can cling to. That is how they are absorbed.

This energy from outside of our three perceivable dimensions, now fused with nascent but constructive thought patterns – what does it do?

It brings these thought patterns to fruition and to their logical conclusion.

Such actions are perceived as sparks of brilliance by humanity.

Such actions change humanity for the better.

That’s the kind of brilliance to strive for – through hard work and discipline.

Is it just the Japanese?

Posted on by
Reply

No.

It’s us too.

We’re all whacky, at some level.

Humans have quirks.

Different ones to make the world go round.

Normal for me would be idiosyncratic elsewhere.

And vice-versa.

So there we are.

The other day someone was talking about panty-automats and strawberry-excretia. Way off the bell-curve, thought I. What was it about the Japanese?

Then, how were we perceived, as people?

We do have some ugly habits, us Indians.

Ever seen a guy doing an ayurvedic nasal-cleanse on the road? Sure.

Most leave the ayurvedic out.

Occupying someone else’s seat – we’re champions at that.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Indian Standard Time.

Cleaning house and throwing the dirt on the road outside our house – yeah, we’re geniuses.

However, one of our quirks is actually positive.

We SAVE.

It’s inborn. In our genes. Adding up. Compounding. All this comes naturally to us.

Yeah, silver lining. Does redeem us a bit, since this particular quality is in short supply, the world over.

Here’s hoping that we infect other nations with the savings bug.

Also, every nation has some positive quirks. Let’s look for these, to adopt.

Cheers!

🙂

What is an Antifragile approach to Equity?

Posted on by
Reply

Taleb’s term “antifragile” is here to stay.

If my understanding is correct, an asset class that shows more upside than downside upon the onset of shock in this age of shocks – is termed as antifragile.

So what’s going to happen to us Equity people?

Is Equity a fragile asset class?

Let’s turn above question upon its head.

What about our approach?

Yes, our approach can make Equity antifragile for us.

We don’t need to pack our bags and switch to another asset class.

We just approach Equity in an antifragile fashion. Period.

Well, aren’t we already? Margin of safety and all that.

Sure. We’ll just refine what we’ve already got, add a bit of stuff, and come out with the antifragile strategy.

So, quality.

Management.

Applicability to the times.

Scalability.

Value.

Fundamentals.

Blah blah blah.

You’ve done all your research.

You’ve found a plum stock.

You’re getting margin of safety.

Lovely.

What’s missing?

Entry.

Right.

You don’t enter with a bang.

You enter at various times, again and again, in small quanta.

What are these times?

You enter in the aftermath of shocks.

There will be many shocks.

This is the age of shocks.

You enter when the stock is at its antifragile-most. For that time period. It is showing maximal upside. Minimal downside. Fundamentals are plum. Shock’s beaten it down. You enter, slightly. Put yourself in a position to enter many, many times, over many years, upon shock after shock. This automatically means that entry quantum is small. This also means you’re doing an SIP where the S stands for your own system (with the I being for investment and the P for plan).

Now let’s fine-fine-tune.

Don’t put more than 0.5% of your networth into any one stock, ever. Adjust this figure for yourself. Then adjust entry quantum for yourself.

Don’t enter into more than 20-30 stocks. Again, adjust to comfort level.

Remain doable.

If you’re full up, and something comes along which you need to enter at all costs, discard a stock you’re liking the least.

Have your focus-diversified portfolio (FDP) going on the side, apart from Equity.

Congratulations, you just made Equity antifragile for yourself.

🙂

Still Looking for those Two Minutes of Freedom?

Posted on by
Reply

Why?

Meaning why haven’t you found them already?

It was just two minutes, right?

What was so difficult about that?

Perhaps you didn’t understand the task?

Ok.

Fine.

This is what we’re now going to try and look for.

Two minutes in the whole day. Where we feel absolutely free.

No shackles, no bondage, no worries, no tension.

Just sheer freedom.

Complete freedom.

We’re going to find them.

We could be doing an activity while we experience them.

Or, we could be doing nothing.

Depends on person to person.

Sleeping is a different matter. It doesn’t count for our exercise.

I’ve already shared with you where I find my freedom.

Right here.

I feel free when I write.

You need to find yours.

Now.

Why are we doing this exercise?

There’s something about freedom.

As you’re feeling it, it’s also freeing up stuff inside you and around you. Quality of life goes up several notches. You’ve got to experience it. Words won’t suffice.

So go for it.

What’re you waiting for?

🙂

Learning to live with (temporary) imperfection

Posted on by
Reply

Perfectionist?

You?

Brace up.

Something small goes amiss.

You still have to get your act together.

If you have lots going under your umbrella, well, then even more so, exponentially.

Life’s about permutations and combinations.

Something or the other goes astray, almost always.

Make sure you don’t.

Go astray, that is.

Yeah.

Explain to yourself.

Hold your act together.

The other stuff under your umbrella hasn’t gone astray.

Only the one thing has.

That’s not a bad score.

Move on.

Times change.

You will get a chance to set it right.

Such is time.

Meaning, take care of your other stuff.

Well.

Take care of it well.

When the time arrives, set your astray business right.

Now you’re good.

See?

Didn’t hurt, did it?

You held your other stuff together.

You set your astray stuff right.

All came out perfect.

What more could you want?

It paid to keep your cool.

You didn’t blow it.

Worry could have blown it.

Your other stuff could have suffered.

However you were stronger.

You had learnt to live with imperfection…

… because you had also learnt…

… that time is the great equalizer…

… and that you’d get the opportunity to make it perfect again…

which you did, while you kept your world balanced…!

Well done!

🙂

Order, Order! Have you Ordered?

Posted on by
Reply

Back in good old college days, Professor Weyrich used to teach us about entropy.

He taught us so well, that we’ll never forget what entropy is.

He began by taking away the hype. He knocked the wind out of the “monster” in our minds. We were able to learn once and for all what entropy is.

“Entropy is a stink-normal measurable quantity”. These were the learned professor’s catalytic words.

What does it measure?

Disorder.

Aha!

Million dollar word.

Aren’t we so in the middle of it?

It causes us to stall. Daily. Hourly.

It grows. Engulfs us. Disarray.

If we do nothing, yes.

What if we do something?

Will it still grow?

Not if we counter it.

How do we counter it?

By creating order.

Remember these three words. Someday, they’ll make you invincible.

How do you utilize your spare time? What about your normal time?

In fact, spend the whole day creating order. Systems. Pathways. Inroads. Efficient shortcuts. Approachable strategies. You get the gist.

Why?

Why not?

Who doesn’t want a smooth life?

What makes it smooth?

Order.

One needs to make that order exist first.

Relevance?

Order is the backbone of any financial strategy. It counters market disorder and tries to translate this into profits.

Let go of all laziness.

Start creating order.

If nothing else, do it for your families, for your children.

Go for it.

🙂

What’s the mild pain for?

Posted on by
Reply

Carrying forward a niggle?

Something that doesn’t stop you from performing, though?

However, something that nags?

Can’t stop to get it out of your system?

Momentum doesn’t allow you?

When you do stop to get it out, it doesn’t go away?

Is it more mental?

Or more physical?

Can’t decide?

Don’t know what to do?

Who to ask?

What if the hospitals grab you?

Make your wart into a cancer?

Are they then ever going to let you go?

Naehhhh.

Totally stumped?

We’ll, I’ve got something for you.

Are your ears standing up?

Can’t believe your luck?

Could Nath be bee/essing?

How does he know about all this stuff?

What makes him an authority?

Why should I trust him?

Well, don’t.

Is it costing you to listen?

Well, then listen. No harm.

So, as I said, I have something for you.

Are you ready?

Here goes.

Two words.

Embrace it.

Yeah.

Yeah, embrace the niggle.

Make it drive you on.

Make its mild pain give you quality output.

Milk it.

Make the niggle your advantage.

What if it goes away?

Halleluyaa.

You’re pain-free.

What if it doesn’t?

It then becomes your secret weapon.

That’s like buttering your toast on both sides.

🙂

Where’s the Love?

Posted on by
Reply

Bro…

… it’s there…

… and it’s not.

You don’t find it, right?

You look and look.

You try everything.

Still not satisfied.

You think you’ve found it in something…

… or someone…

… is it there?

Possible… possible… possible…

… till it’s not.

It could’ve been there.

Then, it could’ve just gone.

Yeah, just like that.

Where does that leave you?

Are you to die without finding love?

Are you to find it beyond your current incarnation?

No point then, right?

Why not here?

Meaning right here, right now.

In the moment.

There is love in the moment.

It occupies a dimension.

You need to vibrate resonantly.

That’s when you start to mingle with its vibration.

You find it.

Your vibration warps.

You lose it.

Stay with it.

For a while.

The moment teaches you about the nature of what you look for.

Start to graduate.

Find it in ventures.

Some find it in finance.

Some become doctors.

Entrepreneurs.

Blah blah blah.

Post-grad to people.

Tough ball-game. We fail. Then we try again. We keep trying, till we kinda learn. Or not.

PhD in your life-partner.

Whoahhhhh, now you’re rolling.

Found it in your life-partner and stayed with it?

You’ve come a long way, bro!

Bully for you!

🙂

Action Oblique Inaction Upon Field-Proof

Posted on by
Reply

You.

Field.

In.

No theorizing.

Just get into the field.

Act upon field-proof.

Or, don’t act…

… upon field-proof.

That’s just about it.

There’s a time for theory.

It’s to tune your mind.

Learn the ropes.

Baby-steps.

Away from the field.

So you’re yet safe.

Fine.

That stage gets over.

The onus is on you.

Real world is different.

It’s not like theory.

If it were, everyone following theory would be a billionaire.

Today’s professors don’t even put their own money on the line.

If you don’t get a feel for the LINE, your paper-knowledge has no value whatsoever.

On the field, LINE is big. Very big. You have to handle the line well. Otherwise, your money’s gone.

So, gauge the field.

What proof are you observing?

Is it compelling you to act?

Yes?

Act. Forgot about everything else.

Is it compelling you to sit still?

Yes?

Don’t act. Sit still. Forget about everything else.

Carve your own dazzling destiny.

🙂