025: Dr Brett Steenbarger, trader and trading coach, discusses creativity, static thinking and why it's important to have unique ideas for trading success. We also cover tips to increasing our creativity, why traditional trading rules need to be updated,

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D. is a trader, psychologist and trading coach who has been actively involved in the financial markets since the late 1970s.

He is the author of a number of popular trading performance books and consults for hedge funds, investment banks and proprietary trading groups.

Brett has an interest in using historical patterns in markets to find a trading edge publishing measures and strategies on his popular TraderFeed blog. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.

In this episode we discuss creativity, static thinking and why it's important to have unique ideas for trading success. We also cover tips to increasing our creativity, why traditional trading rules need to be updated, the challenges of daytrading and how to overcome them.

Topics discussed

• Three important components of successful traders
• Why the traditional rules of trading need to be updated
• Why traders get stuck in static thinking and need to be more like entreprenuers
• The two different types of trading brains and how understand which we are can improve our results
• How creativity can be used in the strategy research process
• Why we come up with ideas at seemingly random times and how that can be harnessed to improve our trading
• The two stages of creativity and how traders are hurting their performance by neglecting the second stage
• How just immersing ourselves in the market without stepping back can be harming our performance
• Improving creativity through lifestyle
• Why unstructured free time away from the markets can improve your trading
• Techniques to turn creativity into a habit
• How Brett identified his strengths and used those to dictate his trading style
• The challenges of daytrading and how to approach them
• Analysing successful trades to improve performance
• Why we need to have something more important in your life than trading

PLUS listener questions on:

• Applications of diffusion indices
• Formalising edges and the impact of market regimes on edge performance
• How traders can follow their rules about stops and targets
• The psychological differences between systematic and discretionary trading
• The validity of Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) in trading
• Handling drawdowns and turning it into a constructive experience
• How to move from retail trader to full-time/pro