Pipcrawler's Thoughts on Setting Newbie Expectations

[terry]

I guess that is the idea to be able to live of trading, that’s when you know that you are very good or should I say a pro. But until that day comes stick to your day job, especially in the market continues to fluctuate the way it is.

[Simy]

Currently I work just enough to cover my cost of living, no expensive thrills, and dropping all needless expenses. This allows me to keep more time available for trading and learning to trade. Its kinda boring but there are plenty of free things to keep ones mind/body busy... I've picked up bicycling again as a hobbie/mode of quick transportation

[terry]

Originally Posted by Simy

Currently I work just enough to cover my cost of living, no expensive thrills, and dropping all needless expenses. This allows me to keep more time available for trading and learning to trade. Its kinda boring but there are plenty of free things to keep ones mind/body busy... I've picked up bicycling again as a hobbie/mode of quick transportation

Yea that is very important seeing what happens in the market does take time and usually time away from your loved ones. I only spend time in the market when my daughter is in her dance class other than that I prefer time with her than + pips. All the money in the market can’t buy time with my daughter.

[Simy]

I dont have children (have had close calls but...) So I dont have to worry about that, I do babysit for a friend when she works (shes currently temporarly dissabled) and when I'm watching her I don't use the computer at all, I trade when shes at school or sleeping (although I typically goto sleep when she finally manages to goto sleep )

But I havnt been doing that recently.... I spend a large amount of my free time with my boyfriend (including when there are no setups worth watching) when I dont/shouldnt watch a pair etc... so I do still spent a lot of time with people I care about. When you think about how much time you loose with a 9-5 type job I spend considerable more time with people I care about then that, even more then only working 20 hours a week. I spend just as much time learning as I do looking for trades, and I probibly only spend about 6 hours a day using my computer for forex related purposes.

But I do understand what your saying

[equilibrium]

Originally Posted by Simy

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Anways I do like this thread!! I wish I had read somthing like that when I was starting out so I could have aloted appropriate resources for this career I've chosen. I'm still going to make it, infact I've noticed my personality changing dramatically, how I handle stress, etc...

Hey i'm newbie too! I started learning about forex in 25th august, 31 days ago, but my learning curve has been rather exponential, and i mean really exponential.


Since my beggining on forex i've faced it with a completely open, yet inquisitive, mind. I already knew that the holy grail systems wouldn't work if i didn't have my act together as a trader. In fact, it's been only a few days ago that i've started looking for a system/testing/building one. Until then, i've been readin for 8+ hours a day everything i could find about forex (also downloaded a bittorrent package on trading of 500+ ebooks -2GBs of trading ebooks only-, including all the classics, but of course haven't read most of them yet..), and boy i learned A LOT.


I started working on myself first because i knew that no system works if the trader isn't good enough.


As Pipcrawler said, trading is an ART. I like to compare it to martial arts. The beginner will want to know all the killer moves and techniques, but no matter how good the moves/techniques are, he won't be very effective using them because he doesn't have enough experience yet. The same technique, if used by a white belt and a blackbelt, will have a major difference in effectiveness depending on who uses it and what's his experience level in the martial art overall.

It's exactly the same with trading and trading systems. We can't expect to make a killer at trading/forex even if we have the best system in the world, for the simple reason that we aren't good enough yet as traders, overall. And to get good at it we will have to read a lot (in the beggining) and practice a lot (after a good knowledge base has already been established).


I got to the practice path now, i'm sure i'll slowly but consistently get better and better at trading until i become one of the top forex traders, and then you guys won't have the honor of reading my posts anymore because i won't care anymore about you underdog newbies

[Simy]

I like the way you said that last line...


I'm intrested in that ebook collection, whats the name or what can I search for etc?

[equilibrium]

Originally Posted by Simy

I like the way you said that last line...


I'm intrested in that ebook collection, whats the name or what can I search for etc?

I downloaded it from demonoid when it was still up (maybe it still is but i can't access it from my country), the name of the file was plain and simple: "stock market books" (all books on trading, though, and a few of them on forex).

[Paythepipper]

Crawler,

I am glad you took my advice to make this a sticky. People seem to be taking my advice more and more, which is exciting and scary. I try to keep my advice sound with common sense, but even I delve into emotions and opinions sometimes. Anyway great post.

For all the newbies out there, this is required reading

Kudos

[stanely]

Simy I think that a forex trader never really learns everything there is about forex and especially about the trade view or perspective. The market has many different variables and there are also that many indicators and just as many brokers. If you add all that up that is a lot of education.

[Pipcrawler]

Very true Stanely... that's why I've always said that I have been a "student" of trading for the past 10 years, and in another 10 years, regardless of how successful I may become, I will still be a "student" of trading....the markets will never stop changing and we can never stop learning!!!!