Lessons of a Lifetime: My 33 Years as an Option Trader

In Lessons of a Lifetime: My 33 Years as an Option Trader, Mark Wolfinger Shares some of his experiences as a trader. Including his trading philosophy, advice for risk management, random thoughts on trade situations.

Author’s Introduction:

This book contains a series of commentaries on a variety of topics related to trading options. It’s my attempt to share lessons that were learned along the way. Some lessons came easily, while others had to be repeated before I even considered altering my way of doing things. I’ve also developed some ideas about trading that are not in accordance with mainstream thinking. Those ideas are included in the book.

I began trading options as a professional in 1977. I’m not so egotistical to believe that these ideas are gospel and that if you fail to follow them you are doomed to failure. Rather, this is my method for sharing important lesson’s that I’ve learned. This book is clearly not comprehensive. It was written with the hope that you can spare yourself some of the anguish that I experienced when learning these truths. Okay; I shouldn’t exaggerate. They are truths to me, and not every lesson will be suitable for you, your investing style, your risk tolerance, comfort zone boundaries, etc. But, they are helpful to me and I hope they will be helpful to you.

Some topics are mentioned more than once. That’s the result of the way this book was compiled. It was not written as a separate book. Instead, it’s a collection of ideas. Most chapters are 100% new. A small number were previously published or discussed in my books or blog. But each was rewritten, updated, or modified in some way. The writing is fresh.

This book is not filled with trading lessons. It is filled with my philosophical ideas, or my way of looking at options related situations that I encounter. I believe this way of looking at the world will help you make those difficult decisions when you are faced with them. I know they guide me through both normal and difficult times. If you gain confidence in your ability to think through a problem, or recognize that something you always thought to be true may be worth further consideration, then this book will have served its purpose.

There are always life lessons to be learned. This book does not contain the definitive way to view the world. Indeed, some readers will strongly disagree with at least one of my tenets. But that’s a good thing. If this book achieves no other purpose than having you reconsider the way you approach decision-making or view the world, then something positive has been accomplished. It’s not necessary that you change your mind. The fact that you take the time to reconsider – regardless of whether you change your way of seeing a specific situation, or continue as before – is valuable all by itself. It gives you increased confidence in your ability to be successful in your trading career. And confidence is an important quality for a trader. Confidence, not overconfidence.