Hunters and Gatherers

How did cavemen and cavewomen feed themselves? They hunted and gathered. Wikipedia describes this concept as: “A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either.” Cavemen and primitive tribes went out to hunt the animals and gather the plants, fruits and vegetables to feed themselves.

What does a hunter do? Looks for a kill. He or she would develop strategies, investigate the patterns of the animals to hunt, notice their regular patterns, their strengths and weaknesses. They would be very focused for the signs, smells, and evidence of where their kill was, is or will be. A hunter would have one or two tools to use when the opportunity arose. The hunter would wait for the right moment. When one came up, the hunter would act lightning fast, and go for the kill. There is no room for procrastination, hesitation, contemplation or deliberation. If you do not go for the kill, if you do not succeed, you (and your family) will go hungry. When the kill is done, you bring it back and rest till your next adventure.

What does a gatherer do? He or she also needs strategies and to do investigation. Their primary aim is wandering around and gathering plants. This is a much less risky activity. They can take their time, they can gather any kind of plant you like be it fruit, plant, leaf, or anything that is edible. They may even go in circles as they are wandering and gathering. Anything that looks attractive or has potential, gets into their bag. They are collecting and have a big bag. While the final outcome is the same, feeding the family, there is less pressure. When they find something they like, they can take their time picking it up. There are no split second decisions, just gathering of skill, wisdom and food. At the end of the day, they wander home, taking their time, contemplating where they may go the next day.

Now let’s bring in trading to this scenario. Where do you think lies the skill set of a professional trader, a super trader: a gatherer or a hunter? You need to be a good hunter to go for the kill. Wandering aimlessly from this to that is not going to get you anywhere. As a hunter, you need to specialize. Killing one kind of beast requires different skills than killing another kind of beast. Hunters bring back the big prize, the beast. In order for you to bring home the big prize and the big profits, you need hunting skills.

Those who gather collect books, courses, workshops, studies, indicators, systems, markets, pagers, broker screens, accounts, software, tips, and techniques. They keep gathering, day after day. Do they get to feed themselves with what they gather? Rarely! Some of what is gathered stays on bookshelves, saved charts, half completed back tests, no-show seminars. They have impressive gatherings but not impressive profits.

If you want to grow your profits tenfold, would you rather be a gatherer or a hunter?

Believe, achieve

Sinan Koray