Today's tuition and Play Like A Champion

As I stated to some of my fellow daytraders yesterday, I would either be a fish or lucky after selling the last casino from the portfolio. As of this afternoon prior to tomorrow's earnings announcement, I'm looking like a fish, since its turning out to be a $225 tuition lesson.

Unfortunately, I have let some of the doodad distractions in the past month interfere with my overall performance. Ironically, my year to date performance closely mirrors 2006, which is both optimistic and frightening. Frightening in that this same time last year, foreshadowed a bleak seven months on a personal finance level.

The thing to watch out for is that "playing not to lose" is a horrible way of thinking. Whether its trading, sports, activities, or life in general, I have yet to see anyone successful who adopted a "not to lose" strategy. It's ok, not to be arrogant when it comes to your decision making ability; but if you allow distractions to interfere with your profits, something needs to be changed or the next time, the tuition lesson will not be so forgiving.

Although The University of Notre Dame is reviled by many parts of the U.S., one thing adversaries and allies of the university agree upon is the slogan affixed to the top of the doorway upon exiting the football locker room. The slogan says "Play Like A Champion Today", and its customary for each team member to slap their hand on the slogan as they pass through the doorway before a home game. Before you allow negative thoughts to interfere with your day, focus on what you want to accomplish today. The rest of the world's problems will still be there.