Why There Is No Such Thing As ‘The Future’

 There Is No Such Thing As
‘The Future’

Richard Machowicz

This
is an edited transcript of a live
TM chat session with 10-year Navy SEAL veteran Richard Machowicz
on May 14, 2003.

 

Brice: Today we have a special guest…
Richard Machowicz is in the house

Richard Machowicz: Hello.

bunky1: Hello Richard.

Richard Machowicz: How the hell are you guys?

beaman: Richard, Brice did a super job of taking

your first interview and putting it in print.

Richard Machowicz: Please tell me you’re kickin’ ass and taking names….
Brice is a friggin’ stud.

Brice: Thanks beaman, lol.

Highlowsel:
No time to take names…just kicking a lot..
;-)

Brice: Anybody have any questions for Richard?

Richard Machowicz:
I’m here to serve you guys.
Special orders don’t upset us.

beaman:
Richard,
your book should be required reading for all traders.

Richard Machowicz: Thanks beaman.

Brice:
I like the C-A-R-V-E-R matrix, beaman.

Highlowsel: Richard….I wasn’t “live” when you were here last, but

the transcript was good….you’ve some great thoughts. The mind is definitely the hardest thing to control….

beaman: That’s a lot to say for this retired Army guy.

Richard Machowicz:  ARMY training, sir?

beaman: The thing I like best is your emphasis on focus and discipline
— but you SEALS are
a lot better at that than us Army pukes.

Highlowsel:
LOL! Actually, I’m a military brat…’ol man was in the Communications Squadrons
of the Air Force…

Brice: Who here has a great strategy, but at times finds it difficult to get into a
trade when they get a signal?

Highlowsel:
I’ll put my hand up…sometimes I second-guess myself…

Richard Machowicz:
Sometimes in Zen training, the mind is considered a crazy monkey
that jumps from place to place.

Highlowsel:
Richard…whooo BOY is that ever the truth…

Richard Machowicz:
Their whole training is about quieting that monkey so that it performs what you
want it to do,
rather than flying from one thing to another.
Has anyone ever second guessed themselves?
The answer would be yes for everyone.
When has second-guessing ever changed the past?
The answer is it can’t. The past is the past.

Highlowsel:
Yup…you have only the “now.”

Richard Machowicz: Exactly. All you can do is the best job right now, this moment.
That’s all that exists.
For most people, the future is simply the projection of the past.

Highlowsel:
Funny…I was thinking that very thing this morning…

Richard Machowicz: There is no such thing as the future.

traderbal: Why?

Richard Machowicz: We don’t even know what’
s going to happen from moment to moment.

traderbal: What about Miss Cleo?

Cyberray: The future is a continuation of the present.

Richard Machowicz: We can only take advantage of what we currently see in the present.

Brice: …i.e., trade what you see….

Richard Machowicz: The future is something we make in the present.

Highlowsel:
Richard…..but to take advantage is to plan…in other words, allow for future
possibilities…

Richard Machowicz: There are literally only successive moments of “now” until the day we die.

Cyberray: That’s right. We only really experience the present

Richard Machowicz:
A good plan is based on what do you see currently and how do you take advantage of
what you see currently?

Brice:
Richard, are there times when people should not trade?

Richard Machowicz:
Yes, if you’re not committed to being a trader. Being a trader comes with certain calculated risks.
just like being a SEAL comes with certain calculated risks. Though the possibility as a SEAL is that I could lose my life.
The possibility as a trader is that I could lose money. My job is to calculate the risk, then perform the task at hand
and stay connected to THAT
rather than fixate on all the things that could go wrong.

texastrader: Richard, my problem (and I’m sure many others) is that I trade well all month
and then have one or two days where I blow up and give up a lot of my gains.
Mainly I get outside my plan and hold losers for too long. What do you think?

Richard Machowicz:
Texastrader, if you have a good plan, and that plan delivers consistent
results, what benefit do you get out of not sticking to that plan?

texastrader:  Richard, greed I think. Wanting more.

Richard Machowicz: At some point you think there is some kind of reward
or maybe even a punishment for deviating from your plan.

Brice: Punishment?

Richard Machowicz: By punishment, sometimes we want to avoid the responsibility of being successful
or we consider ourselves unworthy of success and we will start to behave in a
way, in other words, take actions that will sabotage that success, i.e., punish
yourself.

texastrader: I could see punishment as a factor too for getting outside the plan.

Cyberray: Pain causes people to deviate from their plan.

traderbal: What about not letting outside factors which may screw up your trading?
Like my car was in the shop for no reason for two weeks and it literally killed my
concentration.
I was calling the service every day to get my car and they kept lying to me. How do you inhibit outside factors so that you can focus on trading?

Cyberray: How do you cure that?

Richard Machowicz: You may be holding on to some guilt baggage…
What’s important is to recognize those things, those conversations that use you
rather than drive you toward the thing you want to accomplish. You must always keep in mind what needs to be accomplished because in those
moments of weakness,
every other conversation that is not relative to the thing that you are trying
to accomplish will actually impede the thing you want to succeed at, the thing
you want most. This is what it means to be courageous. We all second-guess, we all hesitate…

texastrader: Thanks, Richard. Good insights.

Richard Machowicz: A warrior moves beyond these things to focus on what must be DONE.

Brice: The target?

Richard Machowicz: Absolutely. The more clearly you see the target, the more naturally things will fall into
place

Cyberray: The darned target keeps moving,,,

Richard Machowicz: That’s the nature of life. The target keeps moving. Close the distance to the
target.
The further you are away from the target, the harder it is to hit.
The closer you are to the target, the easier it is to hit.

Highlowsel:
Richard, you aren’t per chance Buddhist?

Richard Machowicz:
I am in training to become a Zen priest —
just another skill in my arsenal.

Highlowsel: Ah… good skill to add…

Brice: What would an example of a trading target be?

Richard Machowicz: A good example of a target is a very basic trading strategy.
Above all things, keep it simple. Limit your responses.

Brice: If you don’t have a strategy, develop one
ASAP.

Richard Machowicz: That way, you can clearly see what is actually taking place
and eliminate the need or the pretending to be confused.
By pretending, we don’t actually see what’
s happening. We avoid the responsibility of acting appropriately.

Brice: What about daily targets?

Richard Machowicz: In a perfect world, one would have daily targets.
In other words, things that would make the day worth living for.

rbuden:
Richard, please comment about focus on the long term with an eye on the target.

traderbal: What if you realize your target does not make sense?

Richard Machowicz: I would not call that a target.
Targets are things you can clearly see.
Even if they seem impossible to achieve, you can clearly see them.

traderbal: Yes, but what if that target becomes meaningless?

Richard Machowicz: In essence we like to think that life has some great meaning
and maybe it doesn’t
but our true power is in being able to decide what meaning we give our lives
and the beauty is, it doesn’t have to mean something to somebody else,
we just have to give it meaning for ourselves. Some people may see trading as a hobby.
Some may see it is as their occupation. Some may see it is as that is who they are.
Each one is great
as long as you clearly see which one you choose to be,
and take responsibility for the actions you need to take in order to see that
become reality.

Brice:
Richard, what is one thing people can do to avoid self-destructive trades?

Richard Machowicz: Create a good plan and stick to it.

2bits: Richard, In the world of Zen, logic and reason is taboo…

Richard Machowicz:
2bits, you may want to examine your concept of Zen. There’s a saying in SEAL teams,
“Plan Your Dive; Dive Your Plan.”

Brice: There’s that plan again. if you don’t have one, create one

Richard Machowicz: It is designed to allow you to see the
Absolute but function in the Relative. We live in a relative world. The Absolute gives us enough space to see it.
Now that was heavy :) I would say it was mostly to a lack of commitment to follow through on a plan.
Even bad plans can be executed successfully if you are committed to them

Brice:
...which is why traders make bad trades….not following through on a
plan.

Richard Machowicz: You guys are awesome.

Brice: Thanks Richard.

beaman:
Brice please tell me you’ve captured this interview again!

Richard Machowicz: Listen guys, if this
interests you at all, come to the seminar. If it doesn’t speak to you, don’t worry about it.
Do what you do. It’s all good. I just want people that want to be there. If you think I can help, I want to serve you.
Take care guys. Thank you so much for your time.

Brice: Richard is presenting an online seminar this Saturday, May 17,
2003. If you’d like to
attend,

click here
or call 888.484.8220 ext. 1.

Highlowsel:
Be safe out there..