TraderEducatorOnline.com

Honesty and Depth in Trader Education

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Risk Warning
  • Trading Dictionary
  • Jungian Dictionary

The Taoist Trader: You Get What You Need

October 11, 2011 by Terry Chitwood Leave a Comment

The Taoist Trader: The Transformed Trader
The Taoist Trader: The Tao is the Mean

Tao Te Ching (Chapter 41)

When the best seeker hears of Tao

he strives with great effort to know it

When the average seeker hears of Tao

he thinks of it now and again

When the poorest seeker hears of Tao

he laughs out loud

 

Tao is always becoming

what we have need for it to become

If it could not do this

it would not be Tao

 

There is an old saying,

The clear way seems clouded

The straight way seems crooked

The sure way seems unsteady

The greatest power seems weak

The purest white seems tainted

The abundant seems empty

The stable seems shaky

The certain seems false

The Great Square has no corners

The Great Vessel is never filled

 

A beginner may be clumsy

but after practice—what talent!

A large drum may sit silently

but when banged—what noise!

Tao lies hidden

yet it alone is the glorious light of this world

(By Lao Tsu, translated by Jonathan Star)

What You Need

“Tao is always becoming what we have need for it to become.” If you adopt a trading style from someone else, the Tao may oppose it because you need to develop your own unique trading style. If you enter a trade with an egotistical attitude, the Tao may give you a loss to teach you humility. If you are discouraged with your trading, the Tao may give you hope. “You can’t always get what you want . . . . You get what you need” (“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones).

“The sure way seems unsteady.” Number of wins isn’t the main criterion by which to measure your trading. A few large wins can be more lucrative than a 60% win ratio populated by small wins. Although percentage of wins seems like a self-evident way of measuring trading success, it isn’t.

The Clear Way

“The clear way seems clouded.” Many times the market is shrouded in fog. The path through the mist feels like one to be avoided. But if you push onward, you may discover the Tao. “Tao lies hidden yet it alone is the glorious light of this world.” A light in the middle of the mist? Lesser traders may “[laugh] out loud.” And if it weren’t laughable, it wouldn’t be the Tao.

The Taoist Trader: The Transformed Trader
The Taoist Trader: The Tao is the Mean

Related posts:

  1. The Taoist Trader: Red Dragon Swooping
  2. The Taoist Trader: Grace Provides
  3. The Taoist Trader: The Tao, the Feminine and Trading
  4. The Taoist Trader: Drifting
  5. The Taoist Trader: Claim Titles, Lose the Tao

Filed Under: The Taoist Trader Tagged With: Lao Tsu, Tao, Tao Te Ching, Tao Te Ching Chapter 41, trader, trading, You Get What You Need

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Translate

Popular Posts

  • The “Sinking Bonds” Dream
  • The Christian Trader: A Trader’s Prayer
  • The Christian Trader: Bread from Heaven
  • Light from Darkness
  • Zen Kernels, Insights for Traders: Raven Moon
  • ETF Snapshot – Utility Sector SPDR (XLU)
  • The Taoist Trader: The Tao Teaches Trading
  • The Christian Trader: Angel Wings
  • The Christian Trader: God’s Money
  • Celtic Images, Insights for Traders: The Otherworld

Archives

Search

Categories

Copyright © 2022 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in