The Psychology of Smart Investing Meeting the 6 Mental Challenges

by Epstein, Ira; Garfield, David

• ISBN13: 9780471550716
• ISBN10: 047155071X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-11-11
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Written by a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Chicago's best-known brokerage firm, it contains the psychological tools essential to breaking through mental barriers in order to achieve a successful mindset. Examines such common psychological traps as loneliness, poor self-esteem, depression, wishful thinking, self-destructiveness, addiction to playing the markets, revenge and internal conflicts. Packed with anecdotes and case histories, it includes insights drawn from two unusual investor surveys-typical investors versus famous investors and market ''gurus.''

Author Biography

Ira Epstein and David Garfield are the authors of The Psychology of Smart Investing: Meeting the 6 Mental Challenges, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

The Psychology of Smart Investing	1	(10)
Money Madness	1	(1)
The Epstein-Garfield Surveys	2	(1)
Money: A Terrible Thing to Waste	3	(1)
The Meanings of Money	4	(2)
Recognizing Mind/Money Problems	6	(5)
The Small Investors Survey	11	(11)
Six Investor Types---Six Mental Challenges	13	(2)
Who You Are, What You Can Be	15	(1)
Looking at the Survey Results	16	(3)
Two Investor Profiles	19	(2)
Getting to Your Goal	21	(1)
The Professional Investors Survey	22	(8)
The Two Big Psychological Challenges for the Pros	23	(1)
The Unsuccessful 12 Percent	24	(1)
The Qualitative Results	25	(2)
Professionals' Tools for Meeting Psychological Challenges	27	(3)
The Mind/Money Journal	30	(11)
The Power of the Mind/Money Journal	31	(1)
What the Mind/Money Journal Can Do for You	32	(1)
How Journal Feedback Works	32	(2)
How to Set Up Your Mind/Money Journal	34	(2)
Sample Journal Entries	36	(2)
Using Your Journal Entries	38	(3)
The Personal Money Timeline	41	(14)
Patterns of Success and Failure	42	(7)
Drawing Your Own Conclusions	49	(1)
The Timeline Interpreter	50	(1)
Money in the Blood	50	(1)
The Family Money Timeline	51	(1)
Using Your Timelines	52	(3)
Finding Helpers and Mentors	55	(14)
Psychotherapists and Counselors	55	(3)
Helpers in Your Extended Family	58	(4)
Helpers at Work	62	(5)
Mentors and Role Models	67	(2)
Dreams and Fantasies: Keys to Instinctive Trading	69	(13)
Enhancing Dream Recall	69	(1)
Sorting Through Dream Details	70	(1)
Get the Plot	70	(5)
Focus on the Main Emotion	75	(1)
Apply the Emotions to Trading	76	(1)
Daydreams and Nightdreams	77	(2)
Finding Common Dream Elements	79	(1)
Using Free Association	80	(1)
Step-by-Step Dream Analysis	80	(2)
How to ``Lose Your Mind''	82	(11)
``Vacating'' the Real World	83	(1)
Taking a Break versus Suffering a Breakdown	83	(4)
Getting Distracted---On Purpose	87	(1)
Investor Types, Play Types	87	(2)
Rest, Naps and Sleep	89	(1)
Trouble Signs of an Overworked Mind	90	(3)
The Conflicted Investor	93	(20)
``It's the Story of My Life''	94	(1)
Your Wish Is Your Command	95	(1)
The Voice of Conscience	96	(1)
The Motion of Emotion	96	(1)
``I Haven't Got Time for the Pain''	97	(1)
The Top Ten Conflicted Defenses	98	(1)
Oedipus on Wall Street---Cycles of Ambition and Defeat	99	(4)
The Oedipal Cycle	103	(1)
Objects of Envy	104	(1)
Feeling like Damaged Goods	105	(1)
Action Plan for the Conflicted Investor	106	(3)
Dreams as Guides to Managing Conflict	109	(2)
Consult with Helpful Others...Including Your Private Self	111	(2)
The Depressed Investor	113	(13)
Signs of Depression	114	(4)
Biological Depression	118	(3)
Psychological Depression	121	(2)
Social Depression	123	(1)
Action Plan for the Depressed Investor	123	(1)
Investing and Trading Strategies for the Depressed Investor	124	(2)
The Revenging Investor	126	(17)
Revenge Has a Long Shelf Life	127	(1)
The Revenging Profile	128	(1)
Find a Mentor	128	(2)
Using the Personal Money Timeline to Identify Revenge	130	(3)
Signs of the Revenging Profile	133	(1)
Revenge in Romance	134	(1)
Dreams of Revenge	135	(2)
Action Plan for the Revenging Investor	137	(4)
Don't Get Even---Get Smart	141	(2)
The Masked Investor	143	(14)
The Mask of the Competitor	146	(1)
Learning to Trade within Yourself	146	(3)
The Importance of Shedding Your Mask	149	(1)
The ``Next Level Up'' Concept	149	(2)
Mask Avoidance---Staying True to Yourself	151	(1)
Matching Your Beliefs and Your Investing	152	(1)
The Grandiose Mask	153	(1)
``My Kingdom for More Capital''---The Richard III Syndrome	153	(1)
Action Plan for the Masked Investor	154	(3)
The Fussy Investor	157	(13)
Test Your Fussiness Quotient	160	(2)
From Fussy to Obsessive	162	(1)
Portrait of the Fussy Investor	163	(4)
Action Plan for the Fussy Investor	167	(3)
The Paranoid Investor	170	(12)
Profile of the Paranoid Investor	171	(3)
Paranoia and the Dependency Pitfall	174	(1)
Going for Broke	175	(1)
Pulling Back When You Should Push Forward	176	(3)
Action Plan for the Paranoid Investor	179	(3)
The Wild Card Types	182	(17)
The Addicted Investor	183	(6)
Action Plan for the Addicted Investor	189	(3)
The Sociopathic Trader (AKA the Con Man)	192	(7)
Ten Rules for Smart Trading	199	(13)
Keeping the Right Distance Between Your Mind and Your Money	212	(12)
The Distance You Choose Depends on the Investor You Are	216	(4)
Self-Knowledge: The Inside Edge	220	(1)
Final Mental Notes	221	(3)
Appendix A: Small Investors Survey	224	(3)
Appendix B: Professional Investors Survey	227	(4)
Index	231