In 1935, the U.S. Army Air Corps was testing a new bomber called the Boeing Model 299. It was an impressive aircraft and was considered the favourite to win the competition for the Army's next bomber.
Then, during a demonstration flight, it crashed.
What's interesting is not the fact that the aircraft crashed, It was what they discovered afterwards.
There was no major mechanical failure responsible for the accident. The aircraft was just too complicated for the crew to operate reliably under pressure.
There were so many things they had to remember and manage that something important was missed.
The solution was surprisingly simple.
They created a checklist.
A checklist containing the critical things that had to be done before the aircraft took off and not some sophisticated piece of technology or another complicated training programme.
That simple idea went on to become an important part of modern aviation.
And I think about that whenever I see traders making trading much more complicated than it needs to be.
We have indicators, market structure, liquidity, funding rates, open interest, on-chain data, economic calendars, Twitter, Telegram and now artificial intelligence telling us what the market might do next.
Sometimes I wonder whether we have so much information that we've forgotten how to make a simple decision.
Before entering a trade, do you know exactly where you are wrong?
Do you know how much you are risking?
Do you know what has to happen before you enter?
And perhaps most importantly, do you know what would make you walk away from the trade completely?
These are very ordinary questions, but these ordinary questions can save you from extraordinary mistakes.
A trader does not always lose because he lacks knowledge. Sometimes he loses because when the market starts moving quickly, he has too many things in his head and no clear process to fall back on.
That is where a checklist becomes useful because pressure has a funny way of making people forget things they already know.
The market can be a very unforgiving place to discover that you forgot the basics.
So before the next trade, take a few minutes and write down the things that must be true before you enter.
If they are not there, don't manufacture them,
there will always be another setup.
I think this is one of those lessons that applies far beyond aviation and trading.
Preparation is not always about learning something new.
Sometimes, it is making sure that when the pressure comes, you don't forget what you already know.
The market will test your knowledge. But under pressure, it will test your preparation.