At the end of every year, I ask members of The Kirk Report to offer their feedback not only about the site itself but also to share some personal perspectives. For example, in the annual membership survey I asked the following question:
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Trading management is just as important as stock selection.
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Think about the risk versus reward before taking any position.
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When you’re caught up in the moment take a step back and think.
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Capital protection is always the top priority.
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Cutting losses is the holy grail.
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Don’t play chicken using mental stops. Set hard stops and manage the risk.
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Avoid large losses always. Keep loses small and you can survive anything.
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There will always be another great investment.
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Don’t overpay or be afraid to sell.
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No edge means no trade.
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Sitting on your hands can often be the best trade.
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Don’t participate in the market, just to participate. Make sure the conditions are favorable to your method of trading.
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Only losers add to losers.
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I used to be an all in and all out trader, but scaling methods have improved my performance.
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The trick is to get on board and stay on board until the trade fails.
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Limit the number of trades you make every day forces you to be choosy and place better stops.
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When you are up the most is when you are most likely to break your rules.
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When having trouble dealing with the market, reduce your position size and raise cash.
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Proper position sizing is key to risk management.
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There are no risk free trades or investments.
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The stocks and sectors that are considered safe are usually anything but safe.
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Without taking risk, there is no reward.
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Keep it simple. Simple works.
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Trade what you see not what you think.
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Learn to think for yourself. Trust your gut.
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A good trading system must fit both my strengths and time limitations.
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Focus on things that help you make money in investing/trading; tune-out all the noise about day-to-day news & opinions.
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Follow the price trends rather than the pundits.
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Less is more. Learn one “bread and butter” strategy and trade the hell out of it.
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Be calm, have a plan, and ride it out through the rough times.
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Be flexible & sensitive to what the market is doing rather than trying to tell the market what to do.
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The importance of not having and trading a biased opinion.
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Execute the plan – don’t just “think” about it.
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Trying to pick tops is a sucker’s game.
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Price action is king, volumes, divergences, oscillators all come after.
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I now consider various scenarios, not just one, and assign percentage probabilities which has made all the difference.
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You must fight the feeling that you have a good idea of which way the market is headed.
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Don’t overload on technical indicators. Price is the only thing that pays.
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When you become an expert of one basic simple trade, results can be truly outstanding.
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Let your setups come to you – do not chase. There will always be another day, another setup.
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Stay in the course until evidence proves the other way around.
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Don’t overtrade. It is the sitting that makes the difference.
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Playing both the long and short side of the market is important than just sticking with a long strategy.
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Your analysis must involve multiple time periods.
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The more time spent at the keyboard, the luckier I get.
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The importance of having a system and sticking to it especially when your emotions are working against you.
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Inaction due to fear of the unknown is the worst thing one can do.
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You only need to be correct on one or two themes per year and overweight them to have acceptable performance.
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Employ a two-week watch system in place before adding any new position.
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Using stock screens for idea generation is far more effective than listening to other opinions.
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Buy good companies when their stocks are distressed due to perceptions of bad news.
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Keep your universe of stocks to review small. Only work on a limited number of instruments until you have mastered your strategy.
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Follow trends, not all investments follow a random walk.
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Having a plan, even a flawed one, is key to survival.
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Trading is like painting – all the hard work is in the prep if you want to do a good job.
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Understanding yourself is as important as understanding the markets.
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Stick with what you know and are good at and leave the rest.
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There are many ways to trade, find what works for you.
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I am not smarter than the market.
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To succeed, you must be mentally strong.
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Learning to letting profits run is has proven far more difficult than I realize.
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The emotional part of trading can be a deal breaker.
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To be honest, I am a terrible trader. But that’s is because I don’t work hard enough.
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Patience is a virtue in lazy portfolio investing.
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To be honest, I’ve learned just how much I don’t know.
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It’s up to me and no one else to make it all happen.
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There is no “silver bullet” with success in the stock market – just a lot of hard work and determination.
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The results don’t come without the work.
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It is not a hobby to trade, it is a job.
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It is much harder to trade than I imagined it to be.
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Early success is no guarantee of future success.
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Lose the ego.
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It is tough not to get discouraged.
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Watching the market too much is detrimental to my performance.
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You have to find your own niche and be good at it. Practice!
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You have to be on top of your game all the time to trade well.
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For good or for ill, the importance of making my own decisions.
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Paper trading and building confidence can be a useful tool in development.
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Tips are for waiters; make your own decisions based on facts not on others opinions.
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There are a lot of people who are perceived as knowledgeable about the stock market, but actually don’t really understand what they are talking about.
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The professional traders who seem to succeed all had good mentors. I don’t have one and I need one.
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My emotions are my worst enemy. My discipline wanes because I get burnt out and lose my interest.
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Like Socrates, I’m ignorant and finding it hard to progress beyond ignorance.
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Constant practice ultimately increases development more than any other thing.
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Anything can and will happen in the markets.
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The stock market does not follow conventional wisdom.
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Do not underestimate the risk appetite of the stock market investor.
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Traders think quite differently than investors.
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In the new normal, market moves often last much longer and are much stronger than most expect.
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Predictions are absolutely meaningless, don’t waste your time or energy. It’s only about whether you are making or losing money. Trade like a robot.
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The market is never wrong. My opinions however, often are.
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The trend is your friend, but also can be your enemy. Know the difference.
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There are continual opportunities in the market.
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There is way too much information and very little good information.
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Don’t fight the Fed.
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The government now plays a much bigger role in the market than I thought they ever could.
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As J.M. Keynes said “The market can be irrational longer than you can be solvent.”
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The stock market is a casino and the it is controlled by the big traders and small traders can get killed.
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The importance and influence of the algos on the market.
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The value of seasonality as a factor in making investment and trading decisions.
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Momentum is a powerful thing. Fight it at your own peril.
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