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What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

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What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

Written by: Jim Paul, Brendan Moynihan, Jack Schwager - foreword
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
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About this listen

Tim Ferriss Book Club Selection

Jim Paul's meteoric rise took him from a small town in Northern Kentucky to governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, yet he lost it all - his fortune, his reputation, and his job - in one fatal attack of excessive economic hubris. In this honest, frank analysis, Paul and Brendan Moynihan revisit the events that led to Paul's disastrous decision and examine the psychological factors behind bad financial practices in several economic sectors. This book - winner of a 2014 Axiom Business Book award gold medal - begins with the unbroken string of successes that helped Paul achieve a jet-setting lifestyle and land a key spot with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It then describes the circumstances leading up to Paul's $1.6 million loss and the essential lessons he learned from it - primarily that, although there are as many ways to make money in the markets as there are people participating in them, all losses come from the same few sources.

Investors lose money in the markets either because of errors in their analysis or because of psychological barriers preventing the application of analysis. While all analytical methods have some validity and make allowances for instances in which they do not work, psychological factors can keep an investor in a losing position, causing him to abandon one method for another in order to rationalize the decisions already made. Paul and Moynihan's cautionary tale includes strategies for avoiding loss tied to a simple framework for understanding, accepting, and dodging the dangers of investing, trading, and speculating.

Also included is a bonus hour-long interview between co-author Brendon Moynihan and noted investor, business advisor, and best-selling author Tim Ferriss.

©2013 Brendan Moynihan (P)2014 Tim Ferriss
Professionals & Academics Business Chicago

What the critics say

"One of the rare noncharlatanic books in finance." (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, from Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder)
“The book points out very early that many successful investors have opposing styles and theories on how to make money, and that they can not all be right at the same time. The most important point to take from the book is how to avoid losing money...” (Steve Osbiston, Financial Times Advisor)
“A novel approach aimed at pushing you inside your head and outside the losing habits most folks adopt right after multiple successes. A must-have for traders blessed with a string of hot trades.” (Ken Fisher, Fisher Investments, FORBES)

What listeners say about What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

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Essential reading

This is a critical listen for anyone participating in markets. I only wish I had listened sooner.

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Awesome

Wasn’t expecting this book to be as good as it was it’s probably in my top 5, love how it took a different approach to investing by focusing on loss rather then profits, a must read for new investors

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    4 out of 5 stars
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great story telling

an entertaining narrator, great story, and a message that should be followed by all. #audible1

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great read on risk management

good read to try drill in the importance of having a strategy with risk management at the centre of everything

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Vraiment important présentement

Je trouve que c'est un livre vraiment intéressant et important à lire pour aider les gens dans ce qu'on vit présentement.

Oui c'est l'enfer ce n'est pas obligé de l'être non plus.

C'est bizarre son raisonnement. Comme il dit ce n'est pas ce que tu fais, mais combien tu es payé pour le faire.

Pour moi c'est complètement différent. Je pense qu'on devrait tous être heureux au travail et le salaire devrait refléter la valeur que tu donnes à la compagnie pour laquelle tu travailles.



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A Must Read for Any Active Trader / Investor

This book is full of practical advise for active traders and investors. The author stresses the importance of having an exit plan before entering a market position and I cannot agree more. A good exit plan makes one money by ensuring you do not lose your head in a bull market and shirt in a bear market. As the author notes, "in trading it is not cowardly to live to fight another day." Highly recommended.

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I am floored!

This is one of the best trading books I've read. The emphases is on the mentality of the trader...nothing else. I love this! will listen to this book a few more times...

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good content, good reader.

listened to it twice in a row. will probably return in a year or two. pretty short.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Skip Part 1 If You've Been Trading For A Few Years

As someone who's been trading for years, most of what's in part 1 are lessons I've already experienced first-hand. The lessons have been learned. Part 2 of the book was worth a quick read through to get back to basics. Part 3 was where the real meat of the book is and the lessons are invaluable. I've re-read part 3 numerous times and it's great calibrator to have in any trader's library.

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Not As Good As I Hoped

I picked this up as it was recommended by an author of another book I had read and the concept seemed quite appealing. Unfortunately the book was not what I was looking for. I was expecting to get more of an indepth look at someone possibly going on tilt and the deeper psychological insights in to someone on that road then how they were dealt with. That said, the author does follow this path but it felt more light hearted and almost uncaring at times. I have read enough about individuals who have wild swings in fortune, particularly poker players, who take this sort of attitude so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The author does given some interesting examples or over views of risk takers who have had these sorts of swings and gotten past them which was interesting and, as well, a psychological over view of the mind set of a trader and how they need to be able to think to survive. Still, I guess it just didn't vibe well with me. It was close to a 4 star read but honestly it's going three star. The performance was good but I felt the story was lacking.

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