It’s wasted time to some extent. I wasted years getting information, incorporating new information and getting frustrated with hit or miss. Sometimes my strategies worked and sometime they didn’t. Of course it pissed me off. If I spend a lot of time practicing something, I want good results. I didn’t know which books to buy, I was literally chasing my tail trying to make sense of the information online, as someone else noted. I watched hundreds of hours, if not thousands, of Youtube videos and yet I couldn’t put my finger on the why’s. I’ve seen gurus do their thing in youtube videos and from their wordings, I realized that they didn’t really know either. But I knew they knew something more than I. The tide turned when I read a book on futures trading. That’s when I figured the why that no one was explaining.
I had a lot of the right information that was not coherently strung together.
A coach or mentor would have picked up on that and directed me in the right direction if I had one. Now I look at the charts and can tell exactly what’s happening, but it would have been nice if I knew that 11 years ago and a mentor would have made a difference except, telling the corn from the chaff is difficult. There are plenty of con artists out there trying to fleece people out of their money.
I enter trades on a Retracement usually at a Fib or Pivot level and then hope that we have done retracing. Can you explain more about your entry technique if possible:
Do you retrace to just S&R or do you use other tools Fibs, MAs etc
Buying when it is going up after a retrace for example do you wait for a bullish candle or a pattern? Because sometimes you can think it’s done retracing and the next candle is taking you south.
I have come along way in my trading however still struggle with entering and Risk Management so I am trying to fine tune these 2 areas. Any info is appreciated
Thanks for sharing your journal! I am definitely going to give it a good read!
I totally agree with you that most people are looking for quick money and not ready to devote time to studying the fundamental. I have a telegram channel and instagram page where I share my trades for free and many people approach me for training. The moment I tell them to go on baby pips and complete the training courses on there and come back with questions and concern all free of charge, I don’t here back from them.
You mind naming the book you read on futures ? 
I keep it simple and just use session [could be daily or weekly] ab. highs/lows, waiting for a clean break of these levels and for price to retrace back to these levels before continuing with the underlying direction - hence the application of a 60SMA to give a bias (my own personal choice, i’m sure there are other approaches).
How do you confirm a rejection and decide that the retrace is over is a decent enough question, it’s not easy to answer in hindsight. Most of the time i’ll take a punt, especially if the level is clean (not been retraced to before). When you’ve seen this sort of PA time and time again it becomes a little clearer.
I think mentoring is good. I have learned a lot on my own, but I had a hard time actually executing trades. I knew how to do it, but I was kind of lagging in pulling the trigger, so I decided to take a course in trading, taught by a real trader who actually makes a living at it. i got the course cheap, and it has definitely opened my eyes to trading. I believe it has been a big help. There are so many rumors about trading, why this why that why not to do this why not to do that. Sure trends get overbought or oversold, we all know that, and an RSA or Stochastic can tell us that, so can moving averages, so can price action, it’s all good! Technical analysis tools can be trusted if used right… Don’t matter if it is an indicator telling you or price action, it is your knowledge that makes the difference. Just look at the 5min chart, watch the candlesticks as price gets bid up or down, who is in there doing it, people like you and me bidding and offering, sure the smart money is there, but so are we, right behind them., it is pure auctioning. Getting in there and actually pulling the trigger is best thing to do after basic training but with paper money first, then when your ready go for the gold.
Thank you much appreciated
Forexgump78, your questions show your focus on price action,
Entr and most any consolidation when it breaks out, might only be a two or three candle consolidation but when it breaks wait for a hook (if one) then go.
I don’t use fibs, I was using Bands, now pivots, its all about percentage of deviation and returning to the mean. Sometimes PA keeps going and sometimes not. Read the slope to get a handle on the momentum. Understand a bit more about candle size and wicks will help also.
Mind Over Markets by dalton ea.
I put a link to Amazon in but I don’t know if it’s against forum rules. Check if your local library has it.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Is trading your daily bread ? and which platform do you recommend.
Do you have any platform were I can be mentored
I participate in a free chat room if that helps, but I don’t directly mentor if that’s what your asking?
you’re absolutely right about this. A good mentor can definitely help shorten the learning curve
Nice one - a great channel to listen too, even though it makes me jealous from time to time.
Aaron is a great host.
And yes, I know he doesn’t interview as many women as men, but we can leave that for now 
he is great
thanks to his series he got himself a trading job at a firm
Yes, super people, all of them…
I’ve also not really given my thought on the original question.
I guess to sum it up, there is a subtle (but huge) difference between being taught what to know and being taught how to apply it. This is also the question that should be asked by anyone who is considering a mentor. There are many people out there who will simply regurgitate the likes of the BP school here, but who won’t put it into perspective with real life examples; and this is where the real added value comes from. It’s also what separates out the men from the boys, or ladies from the girls (for the benefit of @pipmehappy)
It is true that having a mentor can be of greatly help, but at some point you just have to learn to be a bit independent and answer for what you do. More like spreading your wings.
Here is a group of brokers and managers being lectured on the subject with respect to their clients. Whats your conclusion?
The Laws of Wealth: Psychology and the Secret of Investing Success