Jan 20, 2014

TTP in the Workplace

Hi Chief,

Today my manager talks to me. He tells me that not only himself and the team members, but also his boss, the VP and CEO are happy about my performance. I have been working hard past few months since I join the new company. My project has the highest visibility in the company now. He says he is hiring another engineer and surprisingly, my predecessor, who leaves the company before I join, or who creates the open position which I fill, is coming back to our company. The manager says I am still going to do the same project and the returning guru is going to start with some supporting jobs, then he is going to do the next generation of our product line. The manager also wants me to join the next gen product. I say thanks to him and he leaves.

I have mixed feeling about this and feel a little uncertain and fear. The biggest thing I realize is that I forget to share feelings. I can ask my manager how he feels about the situation, I might also get opportunity to share with him my feelings. And obviously for now the management is taking care of my feelings. I can use this as an opportunity to create rapport with managers and coworkers. Sharing feelings so far is still not an automatic response for me.

I realize TTP Intimacy-Centric sharing feeling technology is the best system I can see. It offers very good reward risk ratio. It can enable me to be able to get what I want, without the need to change or control others, and at the same time create rapport with people I relate to. To be able to stick to this system I need more practice and more TT meetings and Rocks Process.

I am seeking more opportunities in this company where I can improve Intimacy-Centric skills and create rapport with coworkers.

Thanks,

Jan 20, 2014

Airing Feelings

Hi,

Is this really a place where I can air my feelings?

Well, I'm FRUSTATED!

Yeah! I'm crying it out loud with the tightness in the chest!

Every night I print my "candidates'" 5-minute charts. And can I ever SEE those beautiful trends! They jump at me, right off the page! Gorgeous, FAT trends, with EMAs climbing (or descending) at 45-degree angles! L-O-N-G trends, representing thousands of dollars! There they are, I knew it, I was sure they were there!

And yet, during the day, my positions turn against me, almost in unison! The rare winner is small, puny, rachitic.

Arrrrgh!

Feelings? FRUSTATION. Anger, even. Anger that I can not follow those stupid trends. During the day. Yet so easy at night!!! Can we swap night for day?

I'm tempted to invent a new strategy: "[Name]-contrarian". When I want to go long, I'll go short. And vice-versa!

(Sigh)

And yet, at the end of it all, I know that I just have to keep at it. I'm almost there. Again. Is hope a feeling?

Best regards and Good Martin Luther King Day!

Jan 19, 2014

Back-Testing

Dear Ed,

I mentioned that I intend to purchase Mechanica software to get more accurate results in my testing.

Is there any other testing tool that you recommend?

My next project is to test a stock portfolio across Asian stock markets, namely the ones I mentioned in my previous e-mail. My guess is that trading those markets in one portfolio would offer good opportunities and better diversification as when trading Vietnam and Hong Kong only.

Thank you.

Jan 19, 2014

Govopoly: Seventh Grader Gets It

Chief,

I thank you for taking the time and other valuable resources to publish this epic book.

I am in the second iteration of reading it and I still marvel at the clarity that your writing method - SVO-p without "to be" offers. My seventh grader comprehends the book very well and he tells me that Govopoly belongs to mandatory reading list for all schools. And I agree.

This book is the only one out there that I know of that presents the truths about our pseudo-capitalistic society, how to deal with it as a society and as an individual.

Your treatment of the section on system dynamics is super and I feel joy just reading it and playing with the models.

I find EcoNowMics page on trading tribe website as an excellent resource for those who might have further interest in learning modeling. Another resource I think is useful is - "Thinking in systems - A primer" by Donella H. Meadows. Finally, the Road Maps from M.I.T is also a useful resource but is now in a package that Systems Dynamics Society sells. I think it might be useful to readers if you include these in the resources page of the book website.

The extensive web references are awesome. I am not a web designer but I appreciate the amount of work that goes into such a resource. Web sites or their contents frequently change and I suppose over time, some of these resource links may not return the reference page(s). I wonder if there is a way to copy the original reference pages and embed them on your server or site to prevent this possibility.

There is a trivial typo on page 147 paragraph two: "In position 2, .....height. At at smaller ....". The second "at" is the typo.

Thank you very much for your contribution to my growth and that of my essential tribe.

Jan 19, 2013

Rocks Process Report: Down 24 Pounds Since Spring

Hi Ed -

I am hoping you are experiencing happiness and health.

Today I am Working on my back yard towards an organic vegetable garden / green house result, cleaning dishes from hosting a Pot Luck dinner, mopping the kitchen, vacuuming the house, making organic split pea soup and Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Tapioca pudding, listening to Stephen Hawkins "A Briefer History of Time". I believe I am understanding on a rudimentary level the double split experiment regarding light as particle and wave effects and canceling out theory. I am remembering a discussion about the propagation of light and the "Ether" theory many moons ago with you.

Currently I have lost 24 pounds since the Rocks process last spring. No weight gain over holidays in fact giving up to the universe 2 pounds of stored energy I do not require. I am discovering I enjoy rowing on a rowing machine - 2.7 miles in 30 minutes while keeping heart rate at 120 or below (fat burning mode) and am able to row up to 1 hour. I am attracting people into my life who are helping me be more athletic.

I am volunteering my apartment as a meeting site for the [City] Trading Tribe which is planning to resume after a winter break.

I am enjoying the gift of another day.

Love to you Ed.

Jan 18, 2014

Re-Programming Through Re-Writing see previous

Ed,

Thank you for your insightful reply to my contribution regarding intimacy and control. I catch my breath when I see your diagram and the existence of "Both" as a possibility that I preclude by my "either-or" language. I feel eager to experience whatever comes out when I re-write.

First, I print out and re-read your translations of "Be" sentences into more direct and lively language (from a previous post).

I start my re-write by visualizing and wanting "both". I feel the wanting in my body and can't find any words for it. I feel an expansiveness in my chest and feel my heart opening. I still have no words.

Later I re-read my original post and find it almost impossible to follow. I only notice the feeling words, like "disappointment", "fear" and "pain".

I again feel into my body for what I want, and the images begin to flow into my mind's eye.

My re-write writes itself after that:

Jan 17, 2014

Gradually, Then Suddenly

Ed,

In Reading Govopoly, can relate to Earnest Hemingway as he wrote in "The Sun also Rises"

"How did you go bankrupt?" Bill asked

"Two ways" Mike said, "Gradually, then suddenly."

Jan 16, 2014

Devil Baby (Video)

Ed,

I wonder how you might handle a baby like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUKMUZ4tlJg

Powerful Argument

Dear Ed:

Thanks for your handsome and powerfully argued new book. I am surprised that you organized it and got it in a hard-cover publication so soon. The book is unique in the way you have handled illustrations.

I hope the message becomes widespread.

When I published "World Dynamics," I went to a newsstand that had out of town newspapers, found columnists and editors who looked like they would be interested, and sent each a copy. That launched a world-wide debate. If you have not yet done so, you might try to reach the comparable people now. Are they the TV people and bloggers and those who communicate through Twitter and Facebook?

Best wishes,

Jan 16, 2014

Swinger

Hi Ed,

Do you have any recommendations for books or publications on swing trading?

A trader I work with indicated a 'swing low bracketed by a new high failure' triggered a stop and sold NUS yesterday, Jan 15, 2013, prior to today's further drop.

Ex. I am informed NUS swing low 130 on Jan 3 2014 and no close above Dec 30 2013 52w closing high is the swing low bracketed by a new high failure.

The trader gave no reference work and I want to read more on swing trading before back testing.

Thank you,

Jan 14, 2014

Control-Centric / Intimacy-Centric

Ed,

Accepting and moving on after confessing our infidelity feels challenging and like a roller coaster. At one moment I feel fine and the next I replay the infidelities in my head and I feel sadness and anger. I hear and register my wife's statement of willingness to continue our marriage monogamously. I witness her actions are in line with her statement, however I still feel hurt, anger and distrust. I allow myself to feel these feelings as best I can.

I get to a point where I start to feel her side of the coin. My feelings of distrust persist and I assume time and actions consistent with our agreement will ease these.

I feel a burning, white hot, pain in the lower right quadrant of my back that persists for days. I wonder what is the intention of this. For some reason yesterday I lie on my stomach and take off my wedding ring ... pain subsides ... Aha!

My intention is to remain faithfully married and to work through problems no matter what however I intentionally leave out the option of moving on if things don't work out. I now see that as a positive option and either way "I win." I also realize I cannot control what she does and slowly feel less of a desire to do so.

I find myself floating between control-centric and intimacy-centric behavior patterns, the main shift is I now quickly recognize myself in "control drive" and choose more often than not to shift to "intimacy drive".

Thank you.

Jan 14, 2014

Tribe Meeting Report

Hi Ed,

I feel happy to return activities in our local tribe.

I feel all members excited about the work, the progress we make and the wiliness commit to this fellowship group.

I comment on the last reply from Ed regarding that thinking can protect us from knowing by not allowing your feelings do the work. Ed call our attention to the feeling to want to figure it out.

One member question the necessity of the thinking and that he likes thinking and we discuss the balance between both thinking and feeling as a balanced and symbiotic relationship. It is the dialogue between CM and Fred (SM).

We perform the drumming and I feel in the beginning we drum out of sync then the drumming slows down and when it comes louder it gets into a nice and pleasant groove and when the drumming settles it always bring a feeling of relaxation.

As we start of a new year we share our progress and goals for 2014. Some wants to get a better relationship with wife and family, some wants a fun job connected to his passion, some wants to think like a stoic philosopher and some wants an abundant life.

One member in particular shows very much willingness to work. All members support him to develop his forms and feelings regarding the underlying issue.

He wants to improve the relationship with his wife regarding a stimulus that trigger feeling on him. It concerns his wife the urge to keep the house neat and tidy. As for him he find a certain level of disorganization acceptable and one do not need to rush cleaning the house and organizing things as the visitors approach.

That situation bring deep feelings and he show forms on his lips by contracting extending like a duck beak. (That's my best description). Tribe members encourage him to intensify the feelings and crank it up. I really feel a observe a field of acknowledgement of members encouraging him feeling with no judgement, just receiving him.

PM freezes the form as he thinks it peaks.

HS finds an incident that calls the same feeling and tells that his grandmother once tells him off that if he keep not observing the house hygiene he may kill his parents. He then got really upset and run to his mother and tell the incident. His mother gets really mad at her own mother attitude and says HS not to worry about her and that it is absurd.

We discuss the matter and identify a rock given by mother (the donor) to cope with the stressor (grandmother) attitude to avoid HS dealing with the situation of receiving advice regarding hygiene.

We role play the incident and carry though to the end role playing several times and donating a new resourceful heart rock to deal with the same patterns.

We check out and adjourn the meeting.

Next day I receive an e-mail from HS thanking for the good work on tribe. I feel humbled and happy as I commit just to show up.

I notice that the relationship with my wife improves a lot this week. I am very proud that I listen more to her and whenever I have an opportunity to overreact I observe the gap between my stimulus and I chose to behave in a different way and chose not to engage in drama. Even though at the heat of the moment my wife get really upset I just keep on receiving and acknowledging her feelings. I notice that eventually dissolves and her attitude towards me gets better.

I order some books on business and personal development and my wife got interested reading them ahead of me and I feel very happy for that. Then do the most strange thing happen. She says two things that I would never thought she would ever be able to say. She says to me in two different occasions.

"I never have the courage to leave my job and open my own business because I do not want to take 100% responsibility."

"I now wake up every morning and I am thankful for my day and it changes the way it unfolds."

I think. Gee... she have an encounter with Napoleon Hill on her dreams. I am happy and astounded at the same time.

I always pound on her head those ideas and she never fully accept it... or accept it half heartedly, but now it just happens naturally and I do not need to say anything. I am very thankful for the universe bringing that outcome. That just motivates me to keep doing the work.

If the response to my wife changes and our relationship improves I wonder how the HS relationship with his wife is doing.

Regards

Jan 14, 2014

Rather Than / Does Not Mean / But / To Be

Ed,

I want to expand on my feelings of wanting my partner to "show up" rather than expecting him to be responsible for taking care of me.

"Show up" means be present when we are together, and to speak from the heart. It does not mean he must be focused on my needs. It is my job to express myself, both what I feel and what I want.

If my partner fails to "show up", meaning he is unresponsive, I want to be able to share how I feel about that without trying to control what he chooses to do. That is where I get a bit confused, since I don't "demand" or "expect" that he will always be emotionally present (show up), but I do want to express my disappointment, if that is how I feel. Is that different from "complaining", which strikes me as a control-centric behavior?

If he thinks I am complaining and trying to control him, and I think I am simply sharing my feeling of disappointment, then what do we do? I can imagine a repetitive "sharing" back and forth in which we each want to be received by the other but are both feeling misunderstood.

Or maybe I am trying too hard to find a formula that will help me to avoid the fear and pain of that lonely feeling.

Jan 13, 2014

TTP Workshop

Dear Ed,

Happy new year to you and Ed !!

Do you already have a schedule for seminars / workshops this year ?

I would like to plan early in advance since I would have to travel from overseas...

Thank you in advance.

Jan 13, 2014

Hedge Fund Results

Dear Ed,

Nice to catch up with you, below FT article might interest you.

Sincerely,

-----

January 12, 2014 7:24 am
Hedge fund stars suffer sharp losses

By Madison Marriage

Brevan Howard, Cantab Capital and Bluecrest were among the worst-performing hedge fund managers of 2013 as uncertainty around the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy triggered sharp losses for commodity and emerging market managers.

Several trend-following hedge funds also suffered losses, with Cantab's flagship CCP Quantitative fund finishing the year down 27.7 per cent and Bluecrest's Bluetrend fund down 8.7 per cent as of November, although most funds still made gains, according to leaked analysis of 500 funds compiled by HSBC's Alternative Investment Group.

Brevan Howard, the world's third-largest hedge fund group, also suffered a 12.8 per cent loss in its $2.4bn Emerging Market Strategies fund. Known for taking punchy bets, it significantly underperformed the HFRI Emerging Markets index, which gained 5.2 per cent.

Commodity funds similarly struggled, with Brevan Howard's $805m Commodities Strategies fund down 4 per cent and Armajaro's STS Commodities fund losing 7.8 per cent.

"In the absence of sustained trends, most commodity managers have a problem. We just run the fund to ensure we don't blow up," said the head of a large commodity-focused hedge fund.

The worst-performing fund monitored by HSBC, however, was RAB's mining-focused Special Situation fund, which lost 31.4 per cent, its third straight year of double-digit losses.

Michael Alen-Buckley, chairman of RAB, who has seen the fund's assets sink from $2.4bn in 2007 to just $22m, said: "There is no getting around the fact that this was very poor performance. Large mining stocks got hammered and anything involved in gold mining was pretty much destroyed, but we are hopeful for a recovery."

Brevan Howard, Cantab Capital, Armajaro and Bluecrest declined to comment.

Morten Spenner, chief executive of IAM, a London-based fund of hedge fund manager, said: "2013 has been difficult for some of the bigger hedge fund names across the board [due to] declining volatility and the difficulty of deciphering what is happening with the tapering [of the Fed's bond-buying programme]."

But many rival funds managed to produce positive performance. Former Goldman Sachs oil trader Pierre Andurand saw his recently launched Andurand Commodities fund return 23 per cent, while the London-based Merchant Capital Commodity fund was up 15.8 per cent.

Emerging market funds run by London-based Pharo Trading and Brazil's BTG Pactual were also up 18 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively, while Man Group's trend-following AHL Evolution returned 12.7 per cent.

Alex Allen, senior portfolio manager at Sciens Alternative Investments, attributed the disparities to differences in risk management and diversification, and the fact that some managers struggled to time when to pull out of challenging positions.

With uncertainty over Fed tapering diminishing, many hedge funds could see their performance rebound, according to Mr Allen.

"Managers that did badly should find conditions more conducive to better returns. They will not snap back, but you could call it a recovery year where returns stabilise," he said.

Jan 13, 2013

Golden Mean

Dear Ed,

Pl find attached one pic. You may find it useful.

Attribution

Jan 11, 2013

Kaboom

Hi Ed,

http://youtu.be/t8whVxTj7iQ

I am reminded I experience similar results when trading too hot

Regards,