Athens, a Canary in a Deficit Mine

by Larry Levin


While watching the Olympics Saturday evening I had a thought: These athletes are NUTS! Some ski downhill at 90-mph on snow that is packed like ice, others jump on wide skis from the equivalent of an eight story building, a young US athlete almost bled-out on the speed skating short-track when a recent fall resulted in his razor sharp skate missing his femoral artery by an inch, snowboarders and skiers flip through the air like an out of control kite. And sadly a Georgian athlete died when his 95-mph sled flipped through a turn on the Luge track.

OK, these athletes are not like most of us. The rest of us live in a comfort zone far below what these folks would ever consider; they live "on the edge". Edges are where everything happens fast. People who live on the edge, like the aforementioned athletes, tend to place themselves in situations that stretch them well past their former limitations. These athletes were certainly not born risking their lives, they had to incrementally increase their level of risk thus leaving their prior comfort zone in the rear view mirror. However, being "on the edge" is uncomfortable for many; it's unfamiliar and risky.

By staying within your comfort zone, you live in a realm of the practical. If you head towards the edge, however, you can go for what you had thought of as impractical, even impossible. Those that live "on the edge" are changing their current comfort zones and can create anything.

You know I am not suggesting that a 50-year old machinist with a yearning for "something more" take up Alpine skiing or aerial ski jumping; however, if you're reading this blog, trading is probably the answer. If you haven't made that move yet, maybe you haven't specifically thought of being stuck in a comfort zone. Are you? Do you need to venture out "on the edge"?

Although the Olympic example is one fraught with danger, the point is that those athletes leave it all on the slopes. They had that chance to win; they went for it, and they were "on the edge" compared to the rest of us. No matter the outcome, they will go through life knowing they were not stuck in a comfort zone. They went for the gold.

Whether leaving your comfort zone means something other than trading matters not to us, we just that hope you find "the edge" you're looking for and get "on" it.

Previous Day's Trading Room Results:

Trade Date: 2/16/10

E-Mini S&P Trades*
(before fees and commissions):

1) No "Secrets" trades filled today.

2) Algorithm positions (7)

3) Reading the Tape positions (6) combined Secret's, Algo, & Reading the Tape total b/e



Sign up as an AvidTrader Member to receive "The Technician" Value Area's each day. The market then has an 80% chance of filling the Value Area. Many traders familiar with the Value Area and the techniques that go along with it use it to help them decide what trades to do each day. Join and see how this technique can help you trade more successfully!