If I’d Only Just Listen to Myself

A reader recently commented on a blog post which I originally published on August 24th. In this blog post, I was brainstorming out loud about a possible trading strategy. The strategy involved buying long-dated straddles in stocks trading at low volatilities. Out of a hat – I picked $GE as a possible trade to make, with the January 2012 $15 Straddle (at-the-money at the time) trading around $5.00.

Well, this reader asked me if I had made that trade that I discussed, because if I had, I’d be sitting on a nice gain now (40%+ on invested capital). Sadly, the answer is no. I did not make that trade. Nor did I make any trades similar to that one.

The reason I’m pointing this out is not to show what an idiot I am for not following my own advice, or to praise the trading strategy I discussed as clearly being the wave of the future to my pile of F*ck You money. The goal of this exercise is to point out the importance of writing down your ideas.

I write this blog for me. I don’t sell anything. There are no ads. I am not inviting you to seminars.

The act of writing out my thoughts is the best way I know how to solidify ideas in my head. I often have ideas swirling around in my mind, but they are usually disconnected jumbles of frayed thoughts. It isn’t until I commit to writing them down in this blog or in a trading journal that I exercise my brain in such a way that my thoughts become actionable. This is powerful. And the fact that I can share my thoughts on a forum such as this greatly expands the benefits due to the ability to gain insight from others. If you the reader gain anything from my exercise, then all the better!

I’m often asked: “What should I blog about? What do people want to read?” My answer is always the same. Write for you.

Blogging and Journaling your thoughts will – through time – build an impressive database of nearly actionable ideas that perhaps you weren’t ready for at the time. But upon later review and with greater experience or a new perspective, you are able to add the finishing touches to a brainstorm and push it across the goal line and into action. This is a lesson that I was happily reminded of thanks to an anonymous reader’s comment on this blog today. Thank you.

Links:

My previous post discussing the $GE trade

Why Blog? (The Big Picture)

Blogging: A means, not an end (Abnormal Returns)

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

You might be interested in:
blog comments powered by Disqus