The Paradox of Time in Caylum

Things we do now happen for a reason. One may say we write our own destiny as we shape our fate with the actions or inactions that we do. The people we meet have great influence on how we act and react to the circumstances we face in each of our daily battles. Seemingly, today is one of those days I would call a time paradox – as if today has been etched in the walls of history awaiting to happen as I uncover my destiny with three questions in our last Best and Worst Trades session for the Caylum Trading Institute Recruitment Course.

1.) What was your biggest takeaway from the entire Caylum course?

I gave this question a thought, and without hesistation, I instantaneously remembered that sometime around last year, I have something similar that resonates with me when Cosmos Kairos (of Team Money Growers) recommended that I read “Trading in the Zone” by Mark Douglas. I have saved in my One Note a very interesting scribble that resonates my biggest takeaway in Caylum.

At that time, I barely had a clear idea of what the FTSR framework was all about. I did have not yet even come across Caylum then! But alas! It was Caylum all along that “felt was lacking” when I drew this doodle. I knew the concepts then, but could not properly put the theory into practice. A year after this May 28, 2018 insight, I find it amazing that now I find everything in place. All along, I had a myopic view of what the stock market was all about, and Caylum helped me realize the vast potential of trading global markets! I find it amazing to finally understand how market timers participate in finding the right opportunity. Indeed, I can say that Caylum has helped me unlock the path to “trade in the zone”.

2.) How do you plan on personally applying the lessons you’ve learned here in Caylum?

When I saw this question, I knew what I wanted to do and partly my motivation to enter Caylum was influenced by Trader Bicksby. For some reason, I think he saw in me something I couldn’t see at that time and made me read the book “One Good Trade”. The entire book was about the humble beginnings and progress of a proprietary trading firm and how they developed their floor traders and their system along the way. This is how I also got inspired that there is a local company in the likes of CTS Global that I see in action how a proprietary trading firm is run. Hence, I came up with this answer:

I realized that to take trading as a business seriously, my first main goal is to ensure that my cash flows never cut off. Absence of my sustainable cash flows means losing the ability to make mistakes and hindering my trader development. Thus, I have to use my Strategic Theme to ensure that I have a sound game plan on how I will manage my resources. Putting aside money actively for stock trading is not something I have not considered in the past year. However, like any other business needing capital, I have to ensure to put commensurate capital infusion to my trading business stream if I want it to be successful. The investment I have to make does not only involve effort, but a logical flow of money towards the trades I want to make and the business growth I wish this business stream to make in the next 5 years.

3.) How will you continue to refine your trading skills once Caylum is done?

Going back to my doodles, I remember having another significant insight drawn out from reading “Trading in the Zone” when I realize one important point: my Unique Value Proposition. Most often than not, we tend to look up to others and try to mimic what they do in order to be good. But this step has one major flaw – they are not YOU. As trading is highly a composition of human emotions, your individuality and self-awareness plays a major role. Surely you can “copy” a great traders’ system. You can mimic the way they prepare their trades. However, you will surely find difficulty doing the exact trades that he does. This is simply because you cannot fully copy one’s behaviour and mindset in trading. You have your own biases, weaknesses, happiness, goals, and aspirations, among others. You are driven by emotional states that are uniquely yours. You hold principles and values that only you can fully understand how it affects your ability to execute those trading plans. With this understanding, I remember how I see myself in trading:

My understanding of the entire trading process is heavily influenced by my work as an ISO auditor. I fully understand that since it is a business, it follows a landscape that considers the behaviour of the market and its interested parties. Hence, I have to only focus on the elements that I can control to ensure my trader progress over time. My mindset and accountability will surely play a big role in this endeavor, but I have to understand that I must not limit myself by doing things on my own if I want to become truly successful in trading. I have to leverage the resources, my own time and other people’s time to the best possible scenario so that I maximize my own and other talents’ competitive advantage when dealing with the business growth.

However, it does not end there. Being able to properly put up a business stream means essentially completing the necessary processes to plan, do, check and act on my trading business. Organizational vision, mission, goals and objectives need to be set for everyone in the team to be guided with the path we wish to be in 5 years from now. We need to have a sound game plan, while using all the available time, money, and relevant resources helpful in realizing our vision and mission. Operations has to be seamless from trade planning to reviewing trade executions. Each member has to be monitored of his organizational targets and nurtured to help him achieve these numbers. Lastly, innovation and continual process improvement projects need to be in place to help every member of the organization grow their individual strengths while mainly becoming an asset in the organization.

Hence, I am now excited how things may unfold now that I have a strategy in place and an infallible conviction to run this trading business stream together with my consultancy and training business start-up. I believe that things happen for a reason, and I thank those who shed light on my initial journey in the trading world. Moving forward, I am even more excited what is in store for me and effect that my Caylum journey will bring upon my future adventures. For what new paradox in time this Recruitment Course has brought upon, only the future can tell.