Sunday, April 16, 2006
The Fictionalized Biography
As I was browsing a Forex forum on ForexFactory, I came across a recommendation from a fellow participant for a true financial classic titled Reminiscences Of A Stock Operator by Edwin LeFevre.
First published in 1923, the fictionalized biography of immortal speculator Jesse Livermore, is timeless because "it accurately captures the mind of a trader--the recollections of mistakes made, the lessons learned, the insights gained."
Some valuable quotes from the book:
'I did precisely the wrong thing. The cotton showed me a loss and I kept it. The wheat showed me a profit and I sold it out. Of all the speculative blunders there are few greater than trying to average a losing game. Always sell what shows you a loss and keep what shows you a profit.'
'Things got worse and worse. Finally there came the awful day of reckoning for the bulls and the optimists and the wishful thinkers and those vast hordes that, dreading the pain of a small loss at the beginning, were now about to suffer total amputation -- without anaesthetics. A day I shall never forget, October 24, 1907.'
'Instead of hoping he must fear; instead of fearing he must hope. He must fear that his loss may develop into a much bigger loss, and hope that his profit may become a big profit.'
First published in 1923, the fictionalized biography of immortal speculator Jesse Livermore, is timeless because "it accurately captures the mind of a trader--the recollections of mistakes made, the lessons learned, the insights gained."
Some valuable quotes from the book:
'I did precisely the wrong thing. The cotton showed me a loss and I kept it. The wheat showed me a profit and I sold it out. Of all the speculative blunders there are few greater than trying to average a losing game. Always sell what shows you a loss and keep what shows you a profit.'
'Things got worse and worse. Finally there came the awful day of reckoning for the bulls and the optimists and the wishful thinkers and those vast hordes that, dreading the pain of a small loss at the beginning, were now about to suffer total amputation -- without anaesthetics. A day I shall never forget, October 24, 1907.'
'Instead of hoping he must fear; instead of fearing he must hope. He must fear that his loss may develop into a much bigger loss, and hope that his profit may become a big profit.'
# posted by Camus @ 7:30 AM 