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Ep. 381: Ben Whately Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Ben Whately
Ben Whately

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My guest today is Ben Whately, a serial entrepreneur and education innovator. While studying Experimental Psychology at Oxford, Ben became fascinated by the ways that our brains learn. After graduating, he moved to Qiqihaer, a remote city in northern China. He is a memory expert and Memrise co-founder.

The topic is memory.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • Memory, a composite of previously formed memories
  • How memories are encoded in the brain
  • To the brain, remembering equals imagining
  • How the most effective way to teach is to be entertaining
  • Technology, and how it affects our views on memory

“People have this experience of being taught to memorize something, and the way they’re taught to memorize it is through sheer boredom, when in fact the most effective way to memorize it is to make it entertaining.” – Ben Whately

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Trend Following Feedback

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Dear Michael,

First off, I would like to thank you on the excellent work you have done. You should be very proud of your efforts. The courage you have shown at times is highly impressive.

I am not a particularly good writer, but I will try to keep this concise and accurate. I have been working in the finance area for roughly ten years, but until recently I didn’t know of you. In fact, I only discovered Richard Dennis and the turtle story a few years ago. I read up on them for a bit, then as daily work took over and whatever else, I never went back to them. I then lost my job, became pretty sick, moved country…well, a lot happened. I have always been surrounded by fundamental type fund managers and analysts, who never really wanted or asked my opinion, I was just their operations or trader guy. I never had the confidence to voice my opinion. Listening to conversations with lines like ‘China mobile is cheap at twelve times earnings’ or ‘I should really tweak my estimates slightly on mediatek’. The usual blah blah, by guys who only cared about beating their peers, despite meaning that could mean their clients losing money. While I never believed it, I never really took the time to seek an alternative way. I was generally more interested in sport. Also, I never had any kind of mentor. I know these sound like lame excuses, maybe they are.

To use your words Michael, I am ‘making a commitment to change’. My motivation is one for change in my life. I have consumed a lot of your work in recent months, mostly the books and podcasts (an outstanding service). I am very interested in purchasing your training program. I am more than humble to admit, I can’t turn things around without help and sound advice. I am not seeking a Holy Grail as mentioned on your site. I want to give myself minimum one year full effort and commitment, part of a plan to turn things around. Of course, it will hopefully be one year or many more.

About the program, I am concerned that I may wander off course, so to speak. There is a lot of reading material. Can I read that over time? Can I educate myself with the systems at the same time? I worry that without checkpoints along the way, the books will gather dust. I guess that is up to me. My capital for investments at the moment is relatively modest. I also worry that I should have more questions to ask, but don’t.

Thank you for your time. I am happy to call you if you have a spare five mins, I understand you are a busy guy. Email is more than fine.

Regards,
[Name]

Sure, we can talk. I look forward to the chat.

In advance of that call listen.


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10 Overlooked Truths About Taking Action

Great excerpt from “10 Overlooked Truths About Taking Action”:

1. Action is Cheaper Than Planning

Do you know why the Wright Bros. beat out all the mega-corporations they were competing with in the race to taking the first flight? Action.

Robert Greene explains in Mastery that the Wright Bros. had a tight budget and were forced to make small, cheap tweaks to each model. They would fly a plane, crash it, tweak it, and fly it again quickly.

2. Action Allows Emergence

Taking action creates possibilities that didn’t exist before.

We always look out at our future from the place we’re standing. Yet we forget that this is only one spot.

Imagine walking in New York City. All you can see are skyscrapers, neurotic humans, and taxis. You turn down the next street and you’re looking out into the trees of Central Park.

A completely new possibility has emerged.

3. Inaction is Scarier

The pain of action is acute. It’s right in our face.

Inaction tempts us because it’s slow.

You don’t get to escape pain.

4. Motivation Follows Action

Motivation (and passion) will follow you if you have the balls to go without them.

5. Action is an Existential Answer

It is only in the flow of action that life can make sense. There are no abstract ideals there, just life.

6. Action Creates Courage

Now I’m looking for the next corner. What’s the next abyss to jump into? What is something else I “know” I’m capable of but don’t know I’m capable of?

7. Explanations Follow Actions

When we know our stories are probably wrong we can give them less power. Don’t let your scary stories paralyze you. Act and let the narrative follow (just as courage and motivation do).

8. Action Beats the Odds

Your obstacles are yours to face. It doesn’t matter how they compare to the obstacles in history or those of your peers. It’s a waste of time to consider anything except how you will overcome them.

9. Action Makes You Humble

After the young realize they can’t do everything they become disillusioned. They stop trying anything. They fall into inaction.

This is why most adults end up so dull. They don’t do anything because it’s probably going to fail. They mistook early failures for a sign that they should stop trying.

That’s why they’re bored, depressed, and lethargic.

Instead, our failures should strengthen us. We should recognize that failures are how we learn and grow.

Just ask, “What would Leonidas think?”

10. Action Isn’t Petty

Action isn’t concerned with opinions, it’s dedicated to reality.

Action doesn’t leave room for gossip.


How can you move forward immediately to Trend Following profits? My books and my Flagship Course and Systems are trusted options by clients in 70+ countries.

Also jump in:

Trend Following Podcast Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
Performance
Research
Markets to Trade
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Trend Following is for beginners, students and pros in all countries. This is not day trading 5-minute bars, prediction or analyzing fundamentals–it’s Trend Following.

Ep. 380: Lessons from Ken Tropin with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Ken Tropin
Ken Tropin

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Please enjoy my monologue Lessons from Ken Tropin with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio:

  • Recognizing that without a strategy, you’re at the mercy of the machine
  • Embracing uncertainty
  • Understanding that knowing every market move won’t help without a plan
  • The importance of setting your strategy beforehand
  • Seeing that media personalities are paid to pretend to know all
  • How the principles of trend following apply to other disciplines

“Trend following is one of the most mature and well-established systematic trading styles with a thirty-three year track record of profitability.” – Ken Tropin

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Trend Following is for Everyone

Feedback in:

My only beef with Michael is that he advocates long-term TF as a strategy for everyone. I only wished he would emphasize that long-term TF ‘works’ because of diversification (I believe he is very much aware of it; so, there is no need for him to be ‘told’ so) and would alter his message to include such. Otherwise, I think, he is a good source of information on long-term TF.

Thanks for the nice words, but TF is for everyone. Whether they invest with whatever fund, manager or DIY (futures, ETFs, etc.).


How can you move forward immediately to Trend Following profits? My books and my Flagship Course and Systems are trusted options by clients in 70+ countries.

Also jump in:

Trend Following Podcast Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
Performance
Research
Markets to Trade
Crisis Times
Trading Technology
About Us

Trend Following is for beginners, students and pros in all countries. This is not day trading 5-minute bars, prediction or analyzing fundamentals–it’s Trend Following.

“The more time I spend among humans, the more I love my dog…”

Listener: The Mona Lisa of them all IMHO. On my 5th listen!

Covel: Why?

Listener: Maybe its just me, but it struck a chord. The fact that average folks cannot equate to large sums of money is bang on. I mean if one spends there time looking for bargains at Walmart, how can they possibly comprehend millions let alone billions. The brainwashing and their ignorance prevents them from that. The Kevin Bruce story is simply amazing. What a humble human being. He understood what most never will at such a tender age that its all about the freedom and not the bling. Truly inspiring for the masses that want more out of life than the status quo or as I like to call it the neighbor quo!

Listener: David Harding calling the SPY a system, who the heck would ever have the courage to go on CNBC and tout that? The Godfather clip, inner confidence at its finest. As human beings we seek the answers everywhere but from within, where they truly lie. Truly inspiring and motivational at least for me, and this is coming from a guy who’s favorite quote is;

“The more time I spend among humans,the more I love my dog.”

As always thank you for what you do.

Covel: Thanks!


How can you move forward immediately to Trend Following profits? My books and my Flagship Course and Systems are trusted options by clients in 70+ countries.

Also jump in:

Trend Following Podcast Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
Performance
Research
Markets to Trade
Crisis Times
Trading Technology
About Us

Trend Following is for beginners, students and pros in all countries. This is not day trading 5-minute bars, prediction or analyzing fundamentals–it’s Trend Following.

Ep. 379: John Casti Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

John Casti
John Casti

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My guest today is John Casti, an internationally-recognized complexity scientist and best-selling popular science author, mathematician, and entrepreneur. He has written more than 120 scientific articles, seven technical monographs and textbooks on mathematical modeling, and sixteen books on popular science. His book, Alternate Realities, was awarded the Association of American Publishers prize. Prey for Me is his first work of fiction.

The topics are his books X-Events: The Collapse of Everything and Mood Matters: From Rising Skirt Lengths to the Collapse of World Powers.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • The fundamentals of socionomics
  • The science of surprise
  • Understanding that social mood is time-dependent
  • How X-events can trigger mood reversals
  • Isolating the collective social belief
  • The mindset of “the crowd”

“So you’re gonna have a lot of small losers. But, hopefully, you have a few homeruns that pay for the losers and leave you something extra for your efforts.” – John Casti

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