I have the pleasure of staying at a place right next to ocean. It really is lovely.
I've talked a lot with the guys on the team and they all say the same thing.
As a trader, it's so valuable to spend time looking at the ocean. It gives you a tangible appreciation for something larger than yourself.
The waves of the ocean have massaged the shore long before we got here and will continue to do so long after we've gone. As such, we all understand that we can't stop the force of the ocean.
Markets are the exact same.
Some traders get fixated on the idea that there are secret players manipulating the order flow. But that's like trying to blame a group of swimmers for controlling the tides. The market, like the ocean, is a force of nature driven by millions of participants – from retail traders to institutions, each adding their drop to the vast expanse of liquidity. No single entity can truly control these waters.
But even if they could, they're certainly not out to get you.
This morning, I decided to take a plunge into the water. My mind had been stuck in charts – an analytical myopia that can sometimes blind us to the bigger picture. But the moment that cold Pacific water hit my face, everything shifted. The shock of the water forced me into the present, washing away the tunnel vision of technical patterns and trend lines. Sometimes we need that jolt to remind us that there's a world beyond our screens.
The ocean has the capacity to teaches us this. Just as no wave remains at its peak forever, no market trend continues indefinitely. The key is not to fight the current but to respect it, learn from it, and move with it.
Like the rhythmic patterns of the surf, markets will rise and fall. Our job isn't to get lost in thought about what or who control these movements but to merely observe them, understand them, and find our place within their natural flow.
Sometimes that means riding the wave, and sometimes that means having the wisdom to stay on shore.
