Today's Quote: "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” Confucius.

“The Search for the Holy Grail”. In a literal sense, it is a quest of biblical proportions. However, in our everyday lives, it has become a metaphor. Many people may not even know of the true meaning. Many may only know it as an old Monty Python movie. You hear the reference in many walks of life. It has become the search for perfection, for the one proper method or answer. Nowhere do you hear this expression more than in trading.

What is interesting is that the phrase is never really used in a positive sense. No trader ever says, “I am out to find the Holy Grail”. It is always someone from the outside who is criticizing another’s search. Perhaps that says much about the situation. Traders do not feel that they are spending their time looking for the Holy Grail or they would not. Now there is nothing wrong with using a variety of tools to help achieve better odds at trading. The question becomes whether or not you are trying to take shortcuts and avoid the work by looking for a ‘system’ that automatically gives you winning trades.

There are plenty of ads and commercials out there that are embarrassing to most traders. There are promises of instant riches, just by knowing that the country uses more heating oil in the winter months. Guaranteed profits if you can tell green from red boxes on your computer. Do these commercials work at getting people to buy products? Yes, they do. Why? People are looking for the Holy Grail. Advertisers know this. They are counting on it.

Can you imagine a similar commercial in the medical profession? “Yes, now you too can perform complex heart operations on your family and friends with the new 1-2-3 Surgery CD. Just play on your computer and follow along”. No one would buy this. There is something different about trading that all feel it is easy. No one enjoys the commercial telling you to work hard to learn your profession. Yet, isn’t that the only way to become good at any other profession?

There is no magic that controls the markets. The futility of trying to discover this is just what makes most traders fail. Learn what it is you want to do, and come up with a process that works for you. Many scholars have agreed that there is only one place to find the Holy Grail, and that is within you.