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This is a short chapter, where the fund manager who had made hundreds of millions of dollars trading decided, if he revealed is basic philosophy for success his clients would withdraw their money because it was to philosophical. The chapter is anonymous and we don't know who he is but to me he seems to be talking a lot of sense. 

Zen in the Art of Archery

What was his trading strategy based on? It was based on the art of Zen and he made reference to one book in particular, Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel.Herrigel was a German philosopher who taught in Japan in the 1930s and is about a different kind of archery, where hitting the target is secondary to the focus and awareness the archer brings to the task – here is a quote which sums up a philosophy which can lead you to success in life and in Forex trading:

"In the case of archery, the hitter and the hit are no longer two opposing objects, but are one reality."

This is also referred to as going with " the flow" or being "in the zone." and there is a lesson for Forex traders here and its this:

Forex trading should be effortless when you place your trading signals, you shouldn't have to think about your executing your trades in the market it should be a natural and effortless proccess which comes from your understanding of the markets . You should not be thinking or imposing any of your opinions ( which most traders do on both entry and exit from a trade) and the author makes this point clearly in the quote below which I think is excellent:

The trick is to differentiate between between what you want to happen and what you know will happen … in trading, just as in archery, whenever there is force effort, force, straining or struggling or trying its wrong.... the perfect trade is one that requires no effort”

How to Become a Natural Trader

Think its a little bit wacky as a view of Forex trading? Well if you think about it its not. How many traders try to justify a view of market action to support their trade, even when they know it's wrong. 

Well I have done it and so have most traders and this is especially true of new traders, they constantly look for views to support their own, while they ignore what the market action is actually telling them which is they should get out of the market and liquidate their trade. Instead they let it run at a big loss and are eventually forced to take a big loss, where they could have had a small one.

How many traders think about placing a trade because their uncertain – plenty of them. A quick look around Forex forums, will show you currency traders asking other traders what they should do! There not confident, there uncertain and they soon lose with their currency trading strategies.

What all these traders are doing is their not freeing their mind and seeing the market as it really is but if they did this and had confidence in what they were doing the placing of trading signals would require no thinking or pondering, it would be effortless and instinctive. If of course you can free you mind trading requires no thought or effort, because you are seeing the market for what it is and not imposing opinions on it.

Eastern Philosophy and Forex Trading Success 

I am a great believer as seeing the world as fluid and this includes Forex markets. While many traders try and break down currency movement and look for order I firmly believe its chaotic but if you think and free your mind, you will see what the market is telling you and employ flexible trading tools at the right time and make money.

In terms of freeing your mind, its something most traders actually don't like doing – their frightened and society conditioning means, they want to consult so called experts to help them and fear being on their own. However once you understand that you have to think about your trading signals and see each trading set up as unique, you will be on your way to achieving currency trading success.

I am a great fan of Bruce Lee and he continually stressed, you have to think and adapt to any situation you see. If for example, your fighting style  is to mechanical, it will see you get beaten. You need to adapt and back away from your opponent and wait, for the moment to strike and when this happens , it's an effortless reaction, to the situation and this is what most Forex traders never learn.

Final Words

If you believe in Zen or not, I think there are many traders who can learn from this concept. Check the book out it's only short and good advice for currency trading and life in general. In conclusion, Forex trading success is in the mind – you only need a simple trading system to win but you do need to think in a way the majority don't - free your mind and think in synch with the markets. If you do this, you can make a lot of profits with your trading signals, with less stress and effort because trading becomes natural and effortless.

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