Delayed Strategization

 We never know when we'll strike gold in arenas that involve significant potential upside, but we know that we must play the game to even stand the possibility of experiencing such potential. How one goes about capturing that upside is a whole other topic in and of itself. There's the "throwing spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks" strategy (or throwing darts, whatever your preferred analogy), there's the niche focus and differentiation strategy (become an expert in one sub-area and dominate that domain, equivalent to mastering say one trading setup), then there's the most difficult strategy of all - becoming inherently skilled and being able to adapt to changes on the fly. 

These three tactics/strategies can almost be applied to anything, from comedy (where improv/being spontaneously funny is arguably the hardest) to trading. All three have their merits. For example, one could find interesting correlations in big data sets by throwing a bunch of metaphorical darts, which is what I believe certain highly successful quant hedge funds do. For individual traders, focusing and becoming an expert in one setup/strategy is often the best path for establishing a consistent return and capital base. The third strategy is arguably the toughest, but has the highest potential payout. It's also the strategy that is most analogous to the concept of delayed gratification. Very few will have the persistence, passion, patience, and capital to reach this stage, but mastery is never easy. There are almost too many technical and introspective/psychological aspects to even list, but often times the word "discipline" comes up when pro traders are asked to describe their differentiation. I think that's not too bad of a simplification, considering the fact that even creative geniuses must constrain their talents, time, and commitments to prevent chaos and burnout. 

When you have the ability to chime in on multiple instruments, multiple timeframes, and multiple thematic plays, the temptation is to do it all, at the risk of burnout (and losses). The true master of course masters himself/herself, so they know when to chime in on their own signals that capture upside and limit downside. That may mean limiting trading altogether during sub-optimal conditions such as when having meetings or when volatility spikes on crazy news. Capturing every move becomes less important than maintaining the core integrity of one's proven ability, which means not going on tilt or succumbing to fomo. The market moves are no longer the golden nuggets --you are the golden nugget. Knowing this and acting accordingly will lead to that serendipitous upside that occurs, when, as they say, you make your own luck.