There are certain moments in life that stick with you forever.
This was one of them.
It was 2005. I was 23 years old, and I didn’t know anything. And the truth is, that scared me.
There were guys in my office who were twice my age. Some were even three times my age.
Fortunately, I was aware enough at the time to realize that many of them didn’t know anything, either.
I didn’t want to end up like that. So I knew I had to learn something.
The question was what.
Do I go get an MBA and try to climb the corporate ladder? I already knew that life wasn’t for me.
Do I get a CFA and learn how to analyze companies?
Or do I go down the technical route and study stocks and price behavior?
As Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
For me, the decision was easy.
I didn’t care about companies. I still don’t.
I cared about stocks. I cared about markets. I cared about price.
So that was the moment I decided to pursue the Chartered Market Technician designation.
The CMT.
I had no idea at the time that decision would shape the rest of my life. But it did.
And it all started with one book.
The First Book
Back then, the CMT program didn’t have an official curriculum the way it does today.
There were no structured lessons or study guides. No organized modules telling you exactly what to read and when to read it.
They just handed you a list of books and basically said, “Good luck.”
It’s funny to think about now because if you go through the official curriculum today, you’ll actually find some of my work in those chapters.
But in those days it was just a stack of books and a lot of curiosity.
At the time I was living in Hoboken, commuting back and forth into New York City by bus every day. I couldn’t afford to live in Manhattan yet.
In hindsight, it didn’t matter. Hoboken was awesome. It still is.
One of the first books on that list was “Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets” by John J. Murphy.
I remember opening it up and starting to work through the early chapters.
By the time I finished chapter three, I knew.
This was it.
This is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Murphy’s Lasting Impact
Last week, I learned that John J. Murphy had passed away.
I knew he hadn’t been doing well, but the news still broke my heart.
I am, and always will be, a John Murphy disciple.
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of technical analysis books. Honestly, I’ve probably read all of them. The classics, the new ones, the obscure ones.
But it was always Murphy’s work that shaped the way I see markets. He’s the father of intermarket analysis.
What he did so well was take something that could easily become incredibly complicated and turn it into a framework that anyone willing to study could understand.
And the crazy part is how quickly it clicked for me. It only took a few chapters.
After that I went through the rest of the reading list and worked through the other classics like “Technical Analysis of Stock Trends” by Edwards and Magee, and “Technical Analysis Explained” by Martin Pring, along with the rest of the curriculum.
But Murphy’s books were always the ones that stuck with me the most.
They were the ones I kept going back to.
Eventually, I read the rest of his work, too, including books that he hadn’t even written yet back when I first opened that original one on the bus ride from Hoboken into Manhattan.
Years later, I’d realize just how deeply those ideas had shaped the way I talk about markets every single day.
I Could Have Given His Presentation
By around 2013 I’d already come to a pretty clear conclusion about myself.
I was a Murphy guy.
Some people are William O’Neil guys. Some are Stan Weinstein guys.
I’m a John Murphy disciple.
I was already saying that out loud back then.
At one conference I attended, Murphy was scheduled to give a presentation. Something happened and he was running late getting there. At one point it wasn’t even clear if he was going to make it in time.
Joking around, I said that if he didn’t show up I could probably give the presentation for him. I’d studied his work that closely.
Thankfully everything worked out and he did make it. And, of course, he delivered an incredible presentation.
Afterward, my assistant at the time and I were walking out of the conference. She thought I’d just been being dramatic earlier when I said I could give the talk myself.
Then she turned to me and said, “Wow… you weren’t kidding. John Murphy talks exactly like you. If he didn’t show up you probably could have done that presentation and said the exact same things.”
But the truth is the opposite.
He doesn’t talk like me.
I talk like him.
I’m just repeating the lessons I learned from the man who shaped the way I see markets.
He was the man.
I’m just a disciple.
Rest in peace, John.
John J. Murphy, August 17, 1942 – February 7, 2026
This Week in Everybody’s Wrong
On Monday, we went looking for leadership.
Are you adapting to this market, or are you running an old playbook?
Our plan right now is to own the things that make the big stories possible.
On Tuesday, I opened up about the mindset that changed everything for me.
When it’s your risk and your capital on the line, there’s only one way to think about it.
On Wednesday, we discussed once more how our positioning is based on data and not opinion.
As you know, price is the only thing that pays.
That applies to bitcoin as well as it does to any other financial asset.
On Thursday, we talked about context, which is critical to understand wherever you are in the market cycle.
But you have to do the work to see the opportunity.
So make a list, and check it a lot.
On Friday, I switched it up and shared some outside content, not something we do very often.
But I know these guys, and they’re friends of ours.
And this conversation is well worth your time.
On Saturday, Grant Hawkridge checked in from Down Under.
He always puts together a good read, and it’s because he cares about what he’s doing.
Indeed, craft is important to Grant, whether we’re talking golf, trading, or where the two meet.
Have a great Sunday.
We’ll see you Monday morning…
Stay sharp,
JC Parets, CMT
Founder, TrendLabs