I've posted this before, but it continues to help inspire me.

It's a passage from one of my favorite books, The Richest Man In Babylon.

Where the determination is, the way can be found

"Could it be that in this peaceful quiet I faced my end? My mind was clearer than it had ever been before. My body now seemed of little importance. My parched and bleeding lips, my dry and swollen tongue, my empty stomach, all had lost their supreme agonies of the day before.

"I looked across into the uninviting distance and once again came to me the question, "Have I the soul of a slave or the soul of a free man?" Then with clearness I realized that if I had the soul of a slave, I should give up, lie down in the desert and die, a fitting end for a runaway slave.

"But if I had the soul of a free man, what then? Surely I would force my way back to Babylon, repay the people who had trusted me, bring happiness to my wife who truly loved me and bring peace and contentment to my parents.

"'Thy debts are thine enemies who have run thee out of Babylon,' Sira had said. Yes it was so. Why had I refused to stand my ground like a man? Why had I permitted my wife to go back to her father?

"Then a strange thing happened. All the world seemed to be of a different color as though I had been looking at it through a colored stone which had suddenly been removed. At last I saw the true values in life.

"Die in the desert! Not I! With a new vision, I saw the things that I must do. First I would go back to Babylon and face every man to whom I owed an unpaid debt. I should tell them that after years of wandering and misfortune, I had come back to pay my debts as fast as the gods would permit. Next I should make a home for my wife and become a citizen of whom my parents should be proud.

"My debts were my enemies, but the men I owed were my friends for they had trusted me and believed in me.

"I staggered weakly to my feet. What mattered hunger? What mattered thirst? They were but incidents on the road to Babylon. Within me surged the soul of a free man going back to conquer his enemies and reward his friends. I thrilled with the great resolve.

"The glazed eyes of my camels brightened at the new note in my husky voice. With great effort, after many attempts, they gained their feet. With pitiful perseverance, they pushed on toward the north where something within me said we would find Babylon.

"We found water. We passed into a more fertile country where were grass and fruit. We found the trail to Babylon because the soul of a free man looks at life as a series of problems to be solved and solves them, while the soul of a slave whines, 'What can I do who am but a slave?'"

A: I was expecting price to pull back higher, but it tested Friday's naked close for a second time and didn't appear to be finding momentum to the upside. CCI was in a downtrend and creating a potential ZLR, so I got short. One and done for the day. +6

After the fact – My entry was at the also at the Ambush Zone area of Fibs drawn over Friday's high to today's OR low.

B: Price found temporary support at the MM of the above mentioned Fib measurement (4500V chart), then pushed further down.

C: This coincided with price bouncing at FE of the down-leg prior to my entry (3000T chart).

D: CCI was at extremes below -200.

E: C and D were the factors that created a nice place to get long here. Price extended to FE of its last swing and CCI had formed divergence after coming back up off of its extremes.

F: Done for the day so no entry, but I marked this as it was happening – just as if I had placed the order – because this is a primary setup for me: CCI trend had turned upward and had pulled back for ZLR, while price retraced to 50%.

G: However, I missed that price had made FE of the prior swing down, and this was a likely place for price to head back down again. Combined with the CCI divergence, this was a good place to short.

H: Price reached FE of the swing where I marked the long setup (50%) at F. This coincided with a test of HOD and yesterday's close, as well as a divergence on CCI. Another good place to short.

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Today's trading was frustrating and now it's embarrassing. But journaling and logging my trades this way is proving to be of value to me. Days like today show me where the holes are in my trading approach. And being consistent allows me to see more easily what's working and what isn't, and then to improve my approach in a methodical way. Tonight when I'm finished with my other work I'll being coming back to do just that.

I won't go into length about what I did today other than the notes below that I took as I was trading.

A: Long on pullback to 50% of prior RTH swing. Didn't like price behavior. Out at B/E.

B: Surprised that OS low held. Couldn't go long here.

C: Long on pullback to 50% of prior O/N swing. Trailed stop too closely and missed my profit for the day. Out at B/E.

D: Pullback to 50% of Yesterday's last swing high to today's OS low combined with FE of the OR and important prior S/R was good place to get short. CCI kept me out.

E: Long at OS/OR high against my FE rule. Out at B/E.

F: Short pullback to AZ. CCI trend still up though. Out B/E.

G: Short 50% of yesterday's RTH range.

H: Short again at 50% of yesterday's RTH range with possible CCI divergence. CCI trend is up though.

J: Long 50% of last swing and possible ZLR (with CCI trend). Didn't like price action – out at B/E. Would have been a winner.

K: Short. Out at B/E. Done for the time being.

L: Short at test of naked close and 50% of yesterday's RTH range.

M: Long at test of yesterday's close and 50% of yesterday's RTH range as support along with possible CCI ZLR (with the CCI trend). Stopped out full stop.

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In the FT71 trade analyzer, can you remind me what TSB stands for?

TIT is Time In Trade, right?

Mike

Big Mike 

In the FT71 trade analyzer, can you remind me what TSB stands for? TIT is Time In Trade, right?

Right.

TSB = Time Standing By

It's used to see how much time a trader waits between trades. Very little time between a series of trades can be a sign of someone who is potentially on tilt.

Have a good evening.

-AT

In the very brief but highly beneficial (to me) existence of this thread, I have come to a jarring clarity. I will discuss it in this new thread.