#1 An Introduction to AlphaMind: The Mental Skills of trading

The first episode of the AlphaMind podcast is co-hosted by Steven Goldstein and Mark Randall. 

Steven and Mark are market veterans with over 7 decades of experiences between them:
 
Steven works as a coach helping traders and portfolio managers develop and enhance the 'Inner Game' aspects of risk performance.  Before becoming a coach in 2009, Steven worked as a trader in market-making and proprietary trading roles at investment banks such as Credit Suisse, Commerzbank and American Express Bank. 
 
 Mark has worked as an oil derivatives broker since the early 1980s, starting on the original LIFFE floor, and spending over 30 years working for Natwest, Greenwich Capital and RBS. Mark was an early adopter and instigator of Mindfulness techniques to help improve and optimise performance in high pressure environments. 

In this inaugural episode, Mark and Steven jointly discuss and explore:

• The concept of AlphaMind and how people need to work on developing the vital behavioural, psychological, and mental aspects of risk performance. 
• The idea of Self and Presence when working in Financial Market roles.  
• The development of 'Mind' skills to help increase productivity and improve performance. What role intuition plays in making big decisions and when it should be minimized
• 'Inner Game', and how we can become more optimal to improve how we are when engaged in trading. 
• Aspects of 'Financial Market' behaviour and introduce the concept of 'Financial Market 'Murmuration'.
• The connection of mindset, inner game and performance through the context of elite sports performance. 
• The battle between yourself and your ego, and the tendency to 'beat-up' upon yourself and how this undermines performance. 
• How alcohol, caffeine, and poor sleep can impact the quality of performance.  
• Time of day factors and our ability to make optimal decisions.  

and many other aspects.