Go Deep For the Magic

For those of you who have spent any time around me, you’ll sooner or later hear me say the phrase “Find Your One Thing.” This is a nod to the famous line from Jack Palance in the movie “City Slickers” where he explains the secret to life. (If you’ve never seen this scene, then stop reading this and immediately search for “Curly One Thing” on youtube…it’s a three minute video, do it now!)

This one concept allowed me to pursue the opportunity of my dreams, trading the Market every day for a living. 

What drove me to that point was frustration; I knew a lot of things about the Market and about trading, but these little disparate scraps of knowledge weren’t being translated into “profits.” I’m sure you’ve felt the same way at one point or another, perhaps that’s exactly what you’re feeling NOW. 

I literally swept my desk off and swore that I would, from that point on, only trade ONE strategy and ONE chart until I was successful. I would narrow my approach and attention to that of the tip of a spear, and I would not quit until I mastered that ONE THING. After a quick audit of my skills vs. available charts and strategies, I chose iron condors on the SPX. (it was an excellent choice at the time based on what the market was providing) 

And wouldn’t you know it, before long I was really going DEEP. The new-found success that I had attained encouraged me to keep going down the rabbit hole. 

I realized that I was never taught the skills and tactics of DEFENSE. Most firms at that point were just advising to “play to max loss” but I wasn’t buying that. I studied and crunched the numbers and quickly came up with my initial approach, centered around offense/defense/exits. 

It wasn’t very long before I realized that I knew MUCH more than those that were instructing me just a month or two before. I was on a MISSION…I traveled to every discussion group that would have me to show them what I had discovered. Man, if you REALLY want to learn something, there’s nothing like the pressure of teaching others. 

Most of us pursue things on a superficial level; we kick the tires, trying this or that, and then we panic and quit when we don’t get immediately positive results. Then we’re off to the next “new thing.” We’ll never get there like that. 

But when you discover what your “ONE THING” is, you’ll find that you can’t get enough of it. It will give you the “rage to master” which is so necessary. You’ll discover things that no one else has thought of, simply because you’ve narrowed your focus. 

And when you go deep, that’s where the magic is. 

In your corner……..Doc Severson