FirstStep - Who am I?

I’m not from the world of high finance. I don’t have prestigious degrees or a traditional trader’s background. I learned trading because it fascinated me, but for a long time, I held myself back from pursuing it seriously.

The impostor syndrome whispered in my ear that trading was reserved for an overqualified elite, a group I didn’t believe I could belong to. But my passion, hard work, and constant pursuit of excellence helped me overcome my fears.

The truth is, I failed. A lot. For nearly 10 years, I experienced regular losses (fortunately, not every year!). But those failures taught me invaluable lessons. And one day, through dedication, experience, and introspection, I discovered my own trading style — one that aligns with my mindset and vision.

In recent months, I’ve realized how much trading has become more accessible to everyone. It’s no longer reserved for a select few. Today, I’m a trader specializing in gold, using a scalping strategy I developed myself. But my ambitions don’t stop there—I’m also working on diversifying my assets and investing my profits for the long term, turning them into security and new opportunities.

I’ve made an important decision: to share my humble experience with those who want to grow in this field.

  • I don’t sell courses.
  • I don’t give investment advice.

If my story resonates with you, or if you’re simply curious, I am happy to share with you.

English & French Speaker

2 Likes

What’s the “First Step Trading” foundation course (price £299.95), then? Do you have no connection with that?

No sorry not me :slight_smile:

Strange coincidence that you decided to use a First Step Trading logo as your avatar, on joining the forum. And for your thread-title. Such things happen (apparently). Welcome.

1 Like

First Step is the name of my trading signal, which you can find on MQL5 or myfxbook. I don’t offer courses because I have nothing to sell. It’s a total coincidence with the name… I didn’t even know it existed! Just for the record, I liked the name of the American prop firm Topstep, and I got inspired by their baseline to create my branding :slight_smile:

1 Like

Understood - please excuse me - completely my mistake. Many apologies!! :blush:

Babypips really is absolutely packed out with various kinds of spammers and self-promoters at the moment, and the forum continues to lose longstanding, respected members with value to contribute because of that. (At the moment, for example, four very new members, Bakhtawar, Msalenafx, AKBAR110, and GOLD_FOREX_HUB_110, are all the same multiple-identity forum spammers, all blatantly spamming the same “service”. And we haven’t got rid of them yet, which irritates some of us.)

In your case, I saw a commercial-sounding name and avatar-logo (that is, honestly, normally a pretty sure sign of something for sale!) and I jumped to completely the wrong conclusion. So sorry!! Profitable trading is usually dull and repetitive; it’s marketing that requires sizzle, so anything with a “sizzling-sounding” name/logo instinctively makes some of us pretty suspicious about commercial interests. None of that is your fault - it was entirely my mistake. :blush:

1 Like

It is confusing, certainly? Who does need “branding” if nothing is for sale? :neutral_face:

3 Likes

No problem at all, I completely understand! Thank you for explaining, and I appreciate your honesty. It’s clear you care about keeping the community strong, and I can see how my name/logo might have caused confusion. No hard feelings at all—happy to contribute and be part of the community !

1 Like

I completely understand, and to be fully transparent, I do have significant experience in the markets, but I don’t have anything to sell at the moment. I’m still exploring the digital ecosystem and figuring out how I can contribute meaningfully. The idea behind the branding is simply to start building my presence and see how I can help grow the community in a positive way.

Hi Sam, nice to meet you, I’m SIA.

Like you, I’m only solely trading XAUUSD, based on a fixed mechanism that reduces mental risk and allows me to work on trading while working on a full time job.

Scalping (under 1-2 hour trades) is the optimal trading style for gold, especially for retail traders who cannot sustain the max drawdown with their capital, especially trading with leverage accounts.

Small percentage risks and lowered quantity of trades is key to a sustainable gold trading system.

I trade mainly based on daily chart S&D zones, Fibonacci retracement for possible early retracement reasons and usually work with the Asian Market Price range.

How about you?

SIA

1 Like

What helps you the most during your trading journey?

1 Like

Hi Sia, it’s a pleasure to meet you.

It seems we have quite a few things in common when it comes to trading.

For those reading along, I think it’s important to point out that there are countless ways to trade – probably as many methods as there are traders. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach: what works for me might not work for you, and vice versa. The key is finding a method that aligns with your personality and goals.

My trading approach:
I focus exclusively on scalping, relying entirely on technical analysis. I don’t factor in market news for my trading decisions, except to assess their significance. If I see a high-impact event coming, I avoid trading during that time because, in my system, I treat those periods as “market noise.”

I view the market as a series of fractals, which means I’m constantly analyzing multiple timeframes to get a clear picture of the prevailing trend. This helps me trade with confidence, even in counter-trend scenarios when the conditions are right. For example, if I spot an opportunity on the 30-minute chart, I’ll always cross-check it with higher timeframes (1H, 4H, and daily) to make sure it aligns with the bigger picture.

Risk management:
My trading decisions are backed by solid statistical data, which gives me the confidence to take calculated risks. That said, I always ensure that my risk stays within what I consider “recoverable in a single trading day.” This discipline helps me safeguard my capital while maintaining a favorable risk-to-reward ratio.

I also occasionally use hedging to protect open positions, but only within carefully defined risk parameters.

My trades are strictly aligned with the primary trend, and I focus exclusively on key levels where the probabilities are higher.

Tools I use:
I like to keep things simple. My setup includes just a few Fibonacci retracements, key levels, and an RSI. That’s it. For me, simplicity reduces noise and helps me focus on what really matters in the market.

1 Like

Hi Trevor, nice to meet you !
this is “the big question” ! :smile:

It would be incomplete and misleading to give you just one answer… Trading is a profession, probably one of the hardest in the world. Honestly, it’s a combination of many things, but if I had to pick three, I’d say: discipline, self-awareness, and simplicity.

Discipline: For me, this is the foundation of everything. Following my plan, respecting my risk limits, and, most importantly, knowing when to stop ; even when the urge to “make it back” is so tempting. It’s not always easy, but it makes all the difference. Discipline is what keeps me on track, even during tough times.

Self-awareness:If there’s one thing trading has taught me, it’s that it forces you to face yourself. I’ve had to learn to understand my emotions better, to notice when I’m too stressed or impatient. And above all, to accept that sometimes, doing nothing is the best decision. It’s a constant learning process, but such a valuable one.

Simplicity: When I started, I wanted to try everything ; every indicator, every strategy. But the more I added, the more I got lost. Now, I keep things simple. I work with just a few tools, but I know them well, and that helps me stay focused on what truly matters.

I hope that answers your question :slight_smile:

All marketing language, wouldn’t you say? :neutral_face:

5 Likes

From your point of view, yes, and so what? I don’t understand your insistence on criticizing my open monitoring. What’s wrong with trying to understand how people entering the trading world think, in order to better support them? Do you consider that wrong?

I read the whole thread but I haven’t seen anyone suggesting that at all.

I think I might be about as new here as you are, but I agree with others above that wanting to “build your presence” and use “branding” obviously raises a very legitimate and understandable question about your motivation for posting here. That’s fair enough, surely? :smile:

4 Likes

Well put Sam, yes indeed, our styles are pretty similar, the main difference is on our risk management portion, and instead of RSI, I prefer to use the Asian Market Price Range.

I’m testing out a risk management system where I work with a partner to execute trades while I focus on the technical analysis portion. My aim to reduce the mental pressure of capital volatility and decrease the lingering presence of “early trade ends” and “unnecessary stacking of trades”, which I have identified as a second tier level of obstacle to profitable and sustainable trading.

Will share more after I have tested this method in Q1 2025.

All the best with your trading, and stay in touch!

SIA