Some food for thought…
– Successful people tend to be extremely passionate and resilient. However, if you do not put yourself in a position to succeed, passion and resilience will likely just increase your struggles and prolong the inevitable…
– Trading is an extremely hard way to make a living. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done but equally, don’t let anyone give you the false impression that it is easy, that there are shortcuts or magic formulas.
– Make sure you understand the basics and then find out what works for you. Don’t be in a hurry. If you are wired to trade, this is a great profession. If you are not, then there are a lot of other things to do in life.
– Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The markets aren’t going anywhere, take your time and do things the right way. Remember that if you are thinking about the longer term, winning the wrong way is not only still wrong but it’s also not a repeatable and consistent way to run a business and deliver results.
– An overriding theme to keep in mind is: ‘this is not a game, it’s a business’. Be solid. Be professional. Be realistic with your expectations.
– The good news is that it’s really not that hard to understand the basics but the not so good news is that it’s hard to be able to internalize these basics and stay on-track in a live trading environment.
– Don’t forget that it’s pretty much always the same movie but the context is ever-changing.
– Easier said than done but once you have set yourself up with a realistic road-map; you just have to stick to your rules, plan and set-ups. That’s the hard part. No fancy things, no bells and no whistles; do more of what you do well and less of what you don’t do so well. Very simple really but not always easy to put into practice, as most of you know.
– The key balancing act is; being a flexible humble student of price action and market psychology whilst being rigid on positive reinforcement and mechanical execution in a live environment.
– Keep in mind that self-sabotage, whether conscious or subconscious, is probably at the root of most issues you will face in your trading journey.
– In different shapes and forms: leverage kills. Once you understand and control that, you can get away with a lot and still be around to fight another day.
– Remember that things move in cycles and that what goes around comes around…