Trading from the Gut Requires a Careful Balancing Act

Curtis Faith

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.

Over the years, I have changed my opinion of what accounted for my success. In my book, Way of the Turtle (McGraw-Hill, 2007), 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, ...