Sunday Snippet: Trading: Gaining The Cognitive Edge by Kent B. Woodard

Today’s Sunday Snippet is from the non-fiction book Trading: Gaining The Cognitive Edge by Kent B. Woodard. Whilst it is aimed at readers aged 18+, there is no explicit content in the book. Trading: Gaining The Cognitive Edge was Self Published by the author and is currently available as a Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1694333483 Oct 15 2019) and an Amazon ebook (ASIN: B07Y3TC5HM Sep 18 2019).

Synopsis of Trading: Gaining The Cognitive Edge by Kent B. Woodard

The book is about gaining the cognitive edge in trading and in life. This is accomplished through an understanding of epigenetics, nutrition, nootropics, meditation, sleep, technology, and exercise.

Whether you’re a Day Trader trading stocks, options, futures or any other financial instruments, or a fund manager, stockbroker or any other financial professional, split-second decisions can make or break your trades.

While this book was written specifically for traders, this is not a trading book, but an extreme mental clarity book that can win you extraordinary success in any area of your life.

Dive in, gain the cognitive edge and start achieving extreme success, whether in trading or any other area of your life.

Name of the chapter: Chapter 1

This book was written for traders, risk managers, and financial professionals seeking to gain a cognitive edge in trading, the financial markets, and in life. The principles in this book can be used by anyone seeking to gain the cognitive edge. I am a trader and decided to write this book after achieving an “ah ha” moment of elevated consciousness, awareness, and intelligence.

In this book, we will review how you can use diet, nutrition, exercise, technology, and life hacks to gain the cognitive edge to more effectively manage your trades, analysis, and overall lifestyle. In addition, we will review how you can enhance your health and spiritual well being. This will allow to better achieve your goals and live a longer, healthier, more satisfying and productive lifestyle.

We are in the new age of enlightenment. As we increase our intelligence through our thoughts, thinking, and epigenetic research, we can solve more problems with a greater probability of success. Most people believe this is still science fiction.

There are no limits to our potential. I will teach you through exercise, stress management, diet, nutrition, and fasting, how to become consciously and cognitively elevated above the general population. If you apply what you learn in this book, you will reach a new level of cognition. You will literally increase your intelligence and mental well being. If you apply the principles in this book, you will reach a higher level of consciousness and awareness than those in the world around you. This advantage may seem unfair, but it is something you can achieve by taking the necessary steps to gain the cognitive edge. As you are probably aware, most people are not willing to do what it takes to achieve success.

You will begin to notice the deterioration in the people around you. Most people consume processed foods, sugars, and eat for enjoyment. Many people smoke and drink far too much alcohol. You will see that most people are obese and cannot cognitively or physically compete with you.
This book is a great investment in your life and in your future. The price of a single bad trade resulting from a lack of sleep, neural clarity, focus, readiness, or a cognitive error can be enormous. Ask yourself, “What is the cost of a bad trade or a missed trade?” A bad trade can cost you hundreds, thousands, or millions of dollars. Worse yet, a really bad trade or poor trades can blow and cost you your account and possibly your life savings.
Now ask yourself, “How much is your life worth?” Most traders do not think about the value of their lives. They feel their life will always be there tomorrow, later, or in the future. They postpone their health for when they will have more time or ultimately when they retire. They neglect their physical or mental health. Unfortunately for most, deferring their health to the future results in the onset of disease and inevitably a premature and untimely death.

We all understand our bodies and our brains are our most valuable assets. Without our bodies and brains, we cease to exist as humans and spiritual beings. Traders usually dedicate their focus and attention on trading and the markets, but they cannot achieve their true potential without having a cognitive edge.

This leads us to the question, “Why do so many traders burn out and fail?” They are not focused on their mental health, physical health, and spiritual well being. The stress gets the better of them. They slowly degenerate and over time and lose their edge.
Some use drugs like marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and sugar, to get them through the trading sessions and the days. The traders who use cocaine are the first ones to disappear. Eventually most traders will succumb to stress related diseases like heart disease, cancer, or degenerative illnesses like Alzheimers. Diseases can be avoided by focusing on nutritional, exercise, and cognitive needs.

Our trading careers, like our lives, are a marathon, not a sprint. We all understand if you don’t take care of your body and mind, you will not last. Yet financial professionals are surprised and shocked when they encounter health issues and disease. Many will justify these diseases as some unlucky predetermined fate or genetic inheritance that was simply out of their control. In this book, we will discuss how genetic predeterminism is a fallacy and a myth.

The overall premise of this book is simple, if you can change your focus, you change your life. We need to first understand that we live in a complex, fast paced, and rapidly changing world today that is much different from the world once occupied by our relatives and ancestors. Despite this rapidly changing environment, we are still in control of our lives.

Trading today versus a decade ago has completely changed. Today’s world is dominated by brilliant minds and traders, computers, algorithms, bots, and ever evolving technology. Trading in the financial markets requires a cognitive and technological edge in order to survive and excel by performing at a maximum level of efficiency and cognitive effectiveness and awareness.

We are rapidly approaching the singularity: the merger between humanity and technology. Gaining the cognitive edge will prepare you for encountering and competing in the singularity. Traders and financial professionals must be aware of the latest bots, algos, and statistical indicators, to compete and be profitable.

Professional traders reading this book will already understand how to avoid blowing an account or minimizing downside risk through a combination of effective risk management, position sizing, technical analysis, and a mature understanding of market fundamentals. These skills can be enhanced by gaining a cognitive edge. The best professional traders in the world have excelled by having an edge.
While there are many books on trading strategies and trading psychology, few focus on the nutritional and exercise requirements for risk managers and traders. Most trading psychologists are not traders or financial professionals. This book will take the conventional wisdom you have learned regarding health, psychology, nutrition, and exercise, and turn it upside down. This book is best suited for professional traders and risk managers focused on trading different financial markets, especially those markets like Bitcoin that operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

This book should be a starting point for your journey and exploration into gaining the cognitive edge. By no means is it a complete manifesto. This book is more of a guide to providing you with the latest basics of gaining the cognitive edge and will point you to additional resources so you can continually update and learn the new advances in psychology, technology, science, exercise, human health and nutrition.

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This post was submitted by Kent B. Woodard

If you enjoyed reading this free chapter from the non-fiction book Trading: Gaining The Cognitive Edge by Kent B. Woodard, please purchase your own copy via your favourite retailer or using my Amazon affiliate link. This book would be useful to you if you’re interested in becoming a Day Trader trading stocks, options, futures or any other financial instruments, or a fund manager, stockbroker or any other financial professional.