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Long-term profitable trading - how not to become greedy?

01.05.2025

Education

In the 1987 movie "Wall Street", Michael Douglas in the role of Gordon Gekko convinces shareholders of the unprofitable company Teldar Papers to accept his plan. In his speech at the annual meeting, Gekko says: "Greed is good."

Later, the financier will fall to the very bottom. And in the second part of the film, it was released in 2010, before returning to the top of the Forbes list, Douglas's character will again repeat the already legendary phrase "Greed is good."

In the final, Gekko wins. But the audience's attitude towards him is polar. Some consider him a negative character. And some - a positive one. Douglas coped with the acting task. The role is played brilliantly. In 1988, he will receive an Oscar and a Golden Globe for it. But the question hanging in the air remains unanswered. Is greed really good?

1. Everyone experiences greed

Everyone experiences greed. Greed is the desire to have more than you have now. More fame, influence, knowledge. More square meters, "horses" under the hood. More zeros in the bank account.

Everyone has their own greed. But we all have something in common. When greed gets out of control, we fall. The ancient Greeks would call greed an element of chaos. The chthonic beginning of man. The one who took it under control became the hero of Hellas. In our time, these are Gordon Gekkos. Legends of Wall Street.

If you do not fight greed, but focus on understanding the reasons for the weakening of control, a chance appears. A chance to stop going in circles. To take the steering wheel of trade into your own hands. And to maintain the right course when the wind of greed fills the sails again.

2. Long-term trading is no better or worse than short-term

Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" says, "If you wage war and the victory is delayed, the weapons become dull and the points break off. If you besiege a fortress for a long time, your strength is undermined."

The Chinese military strategist wrote about this in the 6th-5th centuries BC. Wars were fought constantly then. They also happen now, but less often. And Sun Tzu's advice remains relevant not only for the military.

The main resource in trading is the energy of the nervous system. When there is a lot of it, trading is easy. Mistakes are quickly admitted. Profits grow. But when the nervous energy runs out, the trader stops controlling greed. Strange mistakes begin. Emotions.

After "recharging" he is surprised. How could he have made such mistakes. He scolds himself. But this no longer makes sense. When he again reaches the state of "overtrading", the mistakes will be repeated. This is the very same "vicious circle".

And here it does not matter what strategy is used, long-term or short-term. In both cases, there will come a moment of fatigue. The best thing to do in such a situation is to rest. This is the only way to maintain the progress achieved. And rise higher on a new trading segment.

3. Exit from the vicious circle of overtrading

There are two ways to get out of the "vicious circle of overtrading". The first is automation of trading. In this case, a trading robot is created according to the trading system. Many people go this way. Although there are technical difficulties here too.

The second way is regular rest. This is not only about the schedule of day trading. For example, from 9-00 to 18-00. But also about a monthly vacation. For example, every 3 or 4 weeks. Depending on psychological stability.

A good test is the desire to trade. If it disappears. And even more so, if the market starts to make you feel sick, the "overtrading" zone has already begun. You need to urgently charge your nervous system.

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Antonio Gomez: €2000+ in Payouts from a Scaled-Up Chilli Pepper Account at SpiceProp