The Squirrel and the Grasshopper

The text below was forwarded to me a few years ago and I rediscovered it today. I've edited it to take out Australian specific references. The Squirrel and the Grasshopper story really resonated with me when I first heard it as a kid. I thought the squirrel was prudent. I’m sure other kids felt sad for the Grasshopper. I propose everyone can be divided into two groups – those who side with the squirrel and those who side with the grasshopper.

ORIGINAL VERSION

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.

A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving.

The media shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food and informs people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty.

Do gooders demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. A Lefty Politician rants in an interview that the squirrel got rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his 'fair share'.

In response to pressure from the media, the Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer, and creates The Grasshopper Housing Department. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders, for the work he was doing on his home, and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work.

The grasshopper is provided with a Grasshopper Housing Department house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile. The squirrel's food is seized and re-distributed to the more needy members of society - in this case the grasshopper.

Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize his home.

A 60 Minutes special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the Grasshopper Housing Department house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain it. He is shown to be taking drugs.

Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshopper's drug 'Illness'.

The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him.

Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery.

A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost $10 million and state the obvious, is set up.

Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers.

The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose.

The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison.

The squirrel’s taxes are increased to pay for law and order, and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.

Discussion Forum

TIPS FOR FINDING GOOD TRADES ON A SMALLER TIME FRAME

People find many ways to be successful in the market, some use price action, some use trend lines, some use moving averages and other indicator, some use the news and some use support/resistance, etc. Whichever method You use to bring You success, supreme discipline will make it even more successful. REMEMBER: Your biggest opponent to market success stares back at You from Your own mirror.

Since you never know what the market is going to do, always be prepared to cut a trade that has moved against You. If You are telling yourself, it will come back that is a trade You should have cut.

With a good signal, You are only likely to get 2-6 trades per 24 hour day that yield 30 pips or more on the EUR/USD.

Since the market doesn't trend most of the time, it is a good idea to master other forms of trading.

Let's talk about ways to increase your odds of getting some of those trade set-ups.

Know Your candlestick reversal patterns.

Understand support and resistance.

Understand trend lines, moving averages or any other indicator that you are using.

The more things You have confirming Your analysis the more likely You are to have entered a successful trade.

Example:
A hammer at a point of previous support that closes above a major moving average, at a Fibonacci retracement, with a MACD cross and an oversold Stochastic. That is a pretty extreme example, but more confirmations You have to Your advantage the better.

Always be sure that your flagship candle closes prior to entering the market, because like the hammer in the paragraph candles can drastically change form in the last minutes or seconds of a candle's closing.

Considering that You have so few really great trades in a day, You need to put as many odds in Your favor as possible.

Try to trade the more active liquid markets

If You are in a range bound market be sure to identify resistance and support. Only counter-trend off of resistance or support with proper candlestick confirmation.

Trade in harmony with an established trend.

Swing trade swing highs and swing lows in a swinging market.

Wait for a candlestick candle to close confirming a signal.

Have 2 or more things confirming Your analysis.

Take good candlestick reversals within a trend and against the trend. In an established trend You will have corrections and retracements, getting a strong reversal signal in harmony with the established trend usually makes for a good entry.

No trend goes on forever, at some point trends take hard dips and reversals. Candlestick reversals make valuable entry signals in these situations. The more confirmation to that signal the better.
If the next candle engulfs Your entry candle, GET OUT!

Often times reversals at the beginning of a trend is a trap. The more established Your trend; the more likely it is to reverse with proper reversal confirmation.

Trend lines and moving averages are good temperature gauges, they help identify a trend that has already started or they can show market strength or weakness. A price break and close above usually indicates strength and a break and close below shows market weakness, but these can also be market shake outs.

KNOW THAT UNLESS YOU ARE A GREAT SCALPER, YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE MARKET ALL DAY. AFTER A GOOD RUN, YOUR TRADE IS LIKELY TO RUN OUT OF GAS. Use this time to rest and wait for the next trade. YOU USUALLY DON'T GET GREAT TRADES BACK TO BACK. THERE IS USUALLY A WAITING PERIOD IN BETWEEN GOODTRADES. LIKE A BUS SCHEDULE INCLUDES WAITING PERIODS BETWEEN BUSES, SO DOES THE MARKET BEEN PROFITABLE TRADES. THERE IS A WAITING PERIOD, SO WAIT; OTHERWISE THE MARKET WILL TAKE BACK THE PROFIT IT GAVE YOU!!!!

THE VERY BEST SET-UP CAN FAIL. THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IN A SUCCESSFUL TRADERS TOOL BOX IS THE CUT SCISSORS TO CUT A BAD TRADE QUICKLY!!!!!!

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SUCCESSFUL TRADER AND THE UNSUCCESSFUL TRADER IS DISCIPLINE!


If You get tricked, CUT THAT TRADE SHORT AND TRY AGAIN LATER!

DISCIPLINE WILL DO FOR YOUR FAMILY WHAT DESIRE WON'T!!!

YOU CAN DO THIS (^_^)!

Moneyness

THINK PERCENTAGES AND MONEY MANAGEMENT

This was the Email Response I got from the $236 video challenge and I loved it so much that I had to share it!

People don't realize that it's not how much you have in your account that determines success. Whether you win or lose, its all based on percentages. Its still the same percentage of the account gained or lost on an account with $100 as it is with $10,000 or even $1,000,000. 5% gained is $5 on the $100, $500 on the $10,000 and $50,000 on the $1,000,000. The actual returns, money wise is different.. but the percentage gained is the same. People who say success isn't possible with a small account, don't know their percentages well.

You can successfully grow a very small account with proper knowledge and discipline. In fact, its smarter to start with a small live account until you can trade with discipline and confidence; that way you don't lose as much initially. A small live account is training grounds to build a larger account.

What's the point in adding funds to your account if you can't build the little you have in your account already?? If you're losing and not gaining consistently.. putting more funds into your account is just going to ensure that you lose more! It is the consistency of applying a good strategy, not the account balance that gives a trader the advantage.Hopefully traders understand the value of thinking 'percentages', instead of account balances.

If you think in percentages, you also understand the value of money management so much better.

For example, if a trader loses 50% of their account, it requires a 100% gain (double!) to get to break even. Whereas, a 25% loss requires only a 30% gain (a mere 5% over the loss) to break even.

A good trading system combined with strict disciple, and good money management will lead to success for any trader, no matter what their account size!
HAPPY TRADING!!!

Thanks Steve!!!
LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(^_^)!