Claude Monet, famous Impressionist painter, said he was only good for two things: painting and the garden. His life was spent protecting the time around those two activities that filled his life with meaning, joy and provided a living. He purposely kept other things inside boundaries that might interfere with his two main passions and so he was a success. I am learning the value in this limited focus in relation to our immersion in the markets. There is never a shortage of work on 15 acres, in a big house, with two businesses to run. But for now, learning the intricacies of the market is in the ascension in our lives. If a narrow concentration and concentrated usage of energy made Monet great, it can work for all of us.
Our lives are shifting with a focus on trading the markets. We are immersing in studying technical analysis and finding our edge. It seems hard sometimes to fit in “one more thing” – especially one as compelling as the business of daytrading/swingtrading. Oswald Chamber’s words give some sense of direction about refining our purpose to a few activities. Affinity isn’t a word that is used much today. In my case, it means attractions. I am implementing limiting down the things I am attracted to. Living in a resort setting here with biking, hiking, the lakes and more, it’s hard to hunker down and get to work. But I am learning more and more to focus and concentrate on less in the hopes of gaining more in the end. It’s the people with laser like focus who achieve their goals.
I met a man who said he wouldn’t take up golf because he felt he didn’t have the time to master it. He was a millionaire in commercial real estate. He understood that dilution of his focus would cause his work to suffer. I understand that this is a major key to my success as a new trader.
As so often happens, the environment at Adytum participates to drive home the lesson. Donn burned weeds today with the propane torch (no chemicals here, just forest fires evidently) and caught a subterranean root from an old rotten tree on fire. The old stump has a fully grown Hemlock growing up out of it. The long branches sweep down over the stump, which was now smoking and shooting flames into the air. Subterranean fires are sneaky. All this drama was going on while we enjoyed a nice lunch inside. This is the second experience I’ve had with subterranean roots smoldering unseen only to burst into full blown flames at some later date; sometimes three days later…
Sometime after lunch, I glanced out the tower windows as I headed upstairs only to see Donn fighting the fire with a garden hose. Smoke billowed out threatening the dry timber on this hill and several homes. I joined him with a sledgehammer, pick axe and trimmers for the overhanging branches and manned the hose while he excavated the burning stump. The branches were a prime concern as they are so full of sap, they catch fire with a vengeance and could have the whole tree ablaze in minutes; I know, I have experienced it at our old house.
We both exhausted ourselves working for several hours digging out the burning middle reaching the powdery old bark in the center. A pile grew at the base of the tree yet smoke continued to billow out the top. We considered calling the Fire Department- on the 4th of July….tearing them away from their families to come clean up our mess. Instead, we kept at it steadily until Donn was simultaneously pouring with sweat yet with frozen hands from working in the freezing water, coming deep from the earth. Finally daylight emerged through the blackened wood and the acrid smell diminished a little. All the clutter, rotting wood, insect homes that Hemlock was sitting on gave way to streamlined roots free of the year’s accumulations. The charred wood spoke of its survival and I’m sure the Hemlock was registering some level of anxiety when its base burned hot below it.
I got the visual. I had been contemplating Oswald’s words in regards to my trading education “We must be limited and concentrate our affinities”. This tree was living on top of a lot of superfluous dead wood that didn’t produce or contribute. It was actually a huge fire hazard, especially in light of the lightening storm we had yesterday. Yet no one had ever cleaned it out. All the unnecessary excess is now gone.
What if I did that with my life and time? What if I limited my focus and energy to ONLY those things (in as much as is possible) that would push my trading education forward and serve me vs. the unproductive or habitual habits that no longer serve me? What if I declined some social interactions where small talk is majored in instead of interactions with new trading friends that are encouraging me and guiding me along my way? It sounds ruthless, but for now maybe that is more productive than the same scenario to achieve balance after I’ve learned what I need to know. What if the TV remained off unless it was important to watch something? What if some housework went undone and my level of cleanliness gave way just a bit to a higher level of proficiency in the markets? What if I sat more, instead of moved- just for awhile- so that I could read and learn from some of the masters? What if I got up an hour early and went to bed just a little bit later so I could review my trading decisions and study the outcomes?
A woman’s life, in particular, can be amazingly full of unnecessary activities designed to bring everyone’s experience up a notch. You don’t hear of men making homes; we do it. Yet we don’t have “a wife” to do it for us. They say there is no gender bias in the markets, that men and women alike have the same advantages, yet the background support a woman provides to keep meals coming, laundry done and the house clean isn’t really addressed. Unless we have help, our time is not as well focused. Some houses share the labor better than others. There is a pull between established patterns and the changes that are struggling to bring themselves into existence. We are both agreeing to let some things slide now.
The lesson from Oswald and the burning tree are there for men and women alike. If we just bring a little more focus and concentration to bear on our goals, if we just leave off with a few affinities or mundane tasks narrowing our focus to achieving those goals we will get there. I am opening to possible areas of excavation in my days. I am willing to cut my life back, clear out dead wood and clutter down to the bare underpinnings of what will provide me with the greatest support.
I hope we don’t have to have any more near forest fires to show me the visual on my lesson of the day. It is forever burned into my mind, along with the message that the truly successful people have learned -to be limited and concentrate their affinities on achieving a few select goals in life.
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