Hi Shoppers,

As parents we always remember the major milestones in our children’s lives.

Those “first time” moments.

Here at our house, we just had one.

My son is a senior, he is eighteen years old.

I wanted to meet my husband in Dallas for a long weekend.

My son did not want to join us; he didn’t want to miss school or his weekend at home.

Our high school basketball team may be going to state, so the kids have been way into going to those games.

And they will be playing at the United Center in Chicago. That’s a pretty big deal.

I remember when my high school baseball team played at Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field) where the White Sox played.

It’s a pretty cool thing.

So, we decided our son is mature enough to handle staying home alone for the first time.

I won’t deny I had visions of a rager party going on at our house and someone getting hurt.

That is scary stuff.

I know it’s been a long while, but I remember those parties as a teenager.

I never did it at my house … my parents would have killed me.  

Everyone was afraid of my Dad (he was a Chicago police lieutenant) so they probably wouldn’t have come anyway. 

You want to trust your child and you want them to know you trust them.

This really helps your communication, which we know is difficult with teenagers, and your relationship with each other.

If they haven’t done anything horrible, you should trust them.

It is a big deal. It boosts their confidence and helps them along to maturity and adulthood.

So congratulations to our family on this new milestone.

Continue for my Seven Core Principles to help keep you on track in this crazy market turbulence.

My 7 Core Principles For Discipline

1. Stick to your trade plan.  

As soon as you veer off your plan, you involve emotion. And frankly, there’s nothing worse a trader could do.

Once your emotions enter, and discipline goes out the window, the likelihood of you making smart decisions goes down logarithmically.

2. Know your target entry and exit prices before you enter a trade.  

Anyone out there ever chase a trade?

Anyone?

I know I’m guilty. And shockingly, it rarely works out in my favor. 

Know how much you are willing to pay to enter the trade and how much you are willing to lose if the trade goes against you.

3. Check for stock news before you enter a position.  

Is there an upcoming earnings report?

Did bad news just come out about a clinical trial?

This step may seem insignificant, but it could be the difference between a winning trade and a losing one.

This mistake is COMPLETELY avoidable … it’s just a quick internet search.

Do yourself a favor and don’t skip Principle 3.

4. Always be learning.

The second you think you know everything is the second you’ll plateau.

Learn from your mistakes.

Learn from traders who are smarter than you.

Learn from the mistakes THEY make. Never stop learning. 

5. Cut Your Losses. 

Never let a loser run so far you cannot come back and trade the next day.  

You can always re-enter a position with a new and improved trade plan.

The most important thing is to keep yourself in the game. The second you let a trade slide too far into the negative is the second you bench yourself.

And if a trade really runs away from you, you could bench yourself for good.

To make money trading, you have to stay in the game.

That starts with cutting your losers early. For me, I respect a 30% stop loss on all trades.

That might be too much for you.

Maybe your risk tolerance is higher.

It’s up to you to decide what you’re comfortable with — and more importantly — to respect that stop loss.

6. Understand that you are not bigger than the market. 

This is critical. The sooner you embrace this, the better off you’ll be.

You have to realize that the market will always outlast your trading account, no matter how big it grows.

Not to mention the market often moves in unpredictable and irrational ways. Do not try to bend the market to your will.

We take what the market shows us, and find ways to position ourselves to make money around it. 

And finally …

7. Stick to your trade plan.  

This one’s so good, I put it twice.

If you adhere to one core principle on this list, let it be this one.

You’ll thank me later.

Thanks for Reading … See You Next Tuesday!

Licia Leslie