Praise for Trading from Your Gut

Keeping Up
New trading technology comes out all the time, so master
traders are constantly evaluating the latest tools. They are aware of
the best tools, and they try out new technologies as they become
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available because they know that the right tools will help them use
their intuition more effectively and with greater precision.
When used properly, technology becomes an extension
and assistant to both the right and left hemispheres.
It amplifies not only the capabilities of the intellect,
but also those of the intuition.
When used properly, technology becomes an extension and
assistant to both the right and left hemispheres. It amplifies not only
the capabilities of the intellect, but also those of the intuition. It can
also help you maintain the balance between your two minds because
it can help you develop a trading process that uses each part of your
brain most effectively. 
Your left brain knows that the right brain is better at finding pat-
terns, reading complex pictures, and seeing the forest for the trees.
When you use technology to amplify the best skills of each part of
your mind, you build trust between the hemispheres. Your gut can
find patterns more effectively if it knows that the intellect will be
there to serve as a backstop. You can be more confident in your trad-
ing when you have used technology to sort through years of data to
hone your intuition. 
Technology is just a tool, but it can be a powerful aid if you use
it to develop balance as a trader.
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CHAPTER 9
A Careful Balancing Act
“Well-bred instinct meets reason halfway.”
—George Santayana
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When I was young, I believed that my most important focus was
controlling my emotions and living a life based on logical, reasoned
principles. I attributed my early success in life to my intellect, my
brains, and quite a bit of luck. I underestimated the value of my
intuition.
When Stanley Angrist interviewed me about 20 years ago for
The Wall Street Journal article he was writing about the Turtles, he
asked me why I thought I had been so successful compared with
many of the other Turtles. I answered that I thought it was because
I had less fear, probably because of my younger age. I felt that some
of the other Turtles had let their fear cause them to hesitate in their
trading, especially in the beginning.
Over the years, I have changed my opinion of what accounted
for my success as a Turtle. In my book, Way of the Turtle, I said that
emotional and psychological strength were the most important
ingredients in trading. I now believe that although this statement is
true, it is incomplete and can even be misleading. I underestimated
the value of my intuition.
It is not sufficient to be strong and tough, to have an intellectual
sort of machismo. Trading is not a battle among the world’s strongest
traders. The source of the psychological confidence and strength
matters. Traders who combine intellect and instinct—smarts and
intuition—will have a much easier emotional ride. Traders who fight
their gut instincts and let their left brains dominate when their right
brains are screaming “No” will find it much harder to keep trading
in the face of adversity.
I found it easy to trade as a Turtle because I followed my gut
instinct. I was trading intuitively, so it wasn’t difficult for me. Others
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who did not trust their instincts—who were looking for left-brain
explanations for every possible action—had a much harder time.
It comes down to a level of trust. No matter how you prepare, if
you don’t trust your trading strategy, you won’t be able to confi-
dently execute your plan. You won’t be able to display the “emo-
tional and psychological strength” required to be a successful trader.
If I seemed to overemphasize intuition’s role in trading in this
book, it’s because I believe that most traders underutilize their intu-
ition and instincts, not because I believe that intuition alone can
work, or even that intuition is superior to intellect.
Your reason and instinct must meet in the middle
and agree to complement each other
if you are to perform at your best.
Success requires a balance between your smarts and your intu-
ition. It requires that you permit each part of your mind to do the
job that it can best perform. Your reason and instinct must meet in
the middle and agree to complement each other if you are to per-
form at your best. This is the middle way of trading.