wow…impressive. I think I’m gonna give up. I don’t have the talent and passion for forex…
I think all successful person have OCD. It’s what make them successful in certain field because OCD get them to focus all their energy on just one thing and repeatedly doing it. This is needed for success.
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One little fact for you to think about.
When I started out learning how to read charts, how to place trades and how to create a trading plan based on my own ideas I spent about 50 hours a week dedicated to this. I in a way I was lucky as I was at University, and even though my course was full time (Finance BA.hons Degree) there were huge amounts of free time during the weekdays and weekends combined.
Yes, it is hard work, but its also very addictive once you start to understand the various different aspects of trading. I always saw trading as a puzzle, and I still do. I see it as a mathematical front on which strategies can be built to take advantage of likely repetitive scenario’s. I’m certainly no maths pro, and you don’t have to be because the charts are already visual images of all the figures you will ever need to use.
From spending 50 hours a week I now spend no more than an hour per day trading. You see, learning to trade is extremely top heavy with respect to the quantity of time you will invest. However, once you start to understand the foundations the opportunities are endless - You can quite literally build a trading method around any set of criteria you wish. I didn’t want to be stuck at t computer screen for 8 hours a day, so I built a trading method based on the one hour time frame - now i only have to check the PC every last five minutes of every hour within the trading day. (10 hours x 5 mins = 50 minutes work per day).
I’m sure you get my point. There is unfortunately no shortcut which can be taken in the learning process, many people have tried and failed. There are also many different schools of thought with respect to the most effective style of leaning, for example, some people suggest you should never open a demo account and rather open a small real account. Some people suggest back-testing to be a complete waste of time, while others (including myself) believe it is a key element in the creation stages of any trading method.
You have also probably come to realize that most traders, usually the new traders, unfortunately have a rather large ego. They will tell you with confidence that they know what they are talking about, they will also try and correct you on the most insignificant piece of detail. But, one thing all traders agree on, both newbies, advanced and full time, is that the quantity of time you invest will directly relate to your level of success later down the line.
Invest the time now, and it will pay off later down the line.
actually, time matters a lot, specially in trading.
oooohh, i guess you will regret doing that some day. haha!
you could ‘discover’ a few things by reading through your trading journals. 
Money needs to get up to date - dude we use computers now, they don’t take up much space and you can stick them all on a USB pen lol - Computers don’t need ink either 
Hey Jezz, it just keeps me focused, and intune with the action…
Its just numbers, lol, My wife said if someone looked thru one of my books they would have no idea what was going on, its like code, no words, just numbers…
But there is actually alot of information in the numbers, so I think its important… Its helping me find the bigger, more predominate moves now. Plus, when you write things down, your brain files them differently… I can remember them much better, like someones name, if you say, " Hi Jezz, Nice to meet you", your 90% most likely to always remember the name, If you write it down, 99% chance you will remember… For me anyways, lol…
Also, Jezz, great post above…
I have a special note book that I write down, special things of importance, then leaf thru it daily…
Comon buddy, dont give up… Dive in and see what happens… Just use your time wisely. You can do it…
what do you mean computers don’t take up much space? they take much more space and gather more dust than a notebook does. 
computers don’t need ink, but they need a lot of power compared to writing something down on paper/notebook, haha
there is something special about writing something down, like in a journal. much like a ‘physical book vs ebook’ thing.
oh… so what did those 44 binned notebooks contain?
does the ‘special’ notebook contain “the best of the 44 notebooks”?
Yeah, moreless…
Man, let me tell ya, those notebooks had alot in them, and some you want to forget, from angles, boxes, numbers, charts, just stuff… I was in brain overdrive, information overload… I could read half of it,lol… I was just writig and writing and writing, EVERYTHING, but most dont mater to this point, because I do everything a differant way… They wuldnt even be beneficial to someone reading them, because they werent set-up to reread or comprehend…
More brain storm type notes, and problem solving…
Yeps, sounds like me. 
I usually take my laptop when I go to work. On the bus and train to work, I do something trading-related. During lunch, I go outside and do trading. On the journey home, ditto. Then I spend 2+ hours after getting home just doing trade-related stuff. Next morning, after getting dressed and catching up on the news… I sink in more time on trading-related stuff (usually 1-5 hours). It is like a second job but I love it. When you love your work and do it full-time, you’ve retired.
Does that mean I’ve retired at the age of 24… :60:
I’ve been studying the forex market hard for 9 months now, averaging more than a few hours a day learning and experimenting. I still don’t think I’ve got a good handle on it. So, I’d say spending 20 minutes a day will take you a long time, probably more than a couple of years, to master forex trading.
Hello all,
Some really interesting posts here I think. I am a newbie on here so please be gentle with me;).
One thing I thought I would mention, and it seems to be missing from the original question, do you enjoy learning or trading forex?. In my honest opinion if its something you find difficult to become motivated about then you will honestly never succeed. And I don’t think that applies to just trading forex. If you hate football but like the idea of the wage they earn so therefore force yourself to play football every day you will never become a professional footballer. This can be applied to any career.
I see all the posts about 10,000 hours and years of trading and still not profitable, and don’t get me wrong, I respect the invaluable experience that these traders offer, but everyone is individual.
I ran a business for 5 years. I make an ok living but I loved what I did. When I wasn’t working I was thinking about working and ways to improve, new approaches etc. I was introduced to forex by a customer who happened to work for a very large company in London trading a fund. After a meeting one particular day with my customer we got to talking on a personal level and he told me what he did for a living and explained a few things to me. It really interested me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I opened a demo account and began to teach myself. I instantly loved the whole experience, the potential new way to work.
After 5 months demo (1 month losses 4 months profitable) I opened a live account. 5 months trading a live account and I learned more in the first two weeks live than I learned in 5 months of demo. However 5 months overall I am in profit, more than I would take from my business. I trade 10 hours a day, I developed my own way of working, never bought information or robots I just tried to make money.
I approach trading as a business. The money in my trading account is the raw material. The profit I make from this is my product. My losses are overheads (as in my business, rent, business rates, diesel, machinery etc). Providing my profit is larger than my overheads I’m a happy man. Will I still be making the same in a year or more or less?. I don’t know is the answer, but, had I invested the same amount of money into a “physical” business I would be asking the same question.
My answer to the question is 20mins a day enough is no. If you love forex you will find a way, if you love the idea of making big money but hate forex and everything that comes with it you will not make money.
I hope this makes sense, and I’m sure I will hear some interesting replies,
Take care peeps.
CSM. X
yes, it does make sense, CSM.
the interesting takeaway for me is the way you viewed profit as a ‘product’, and the money being the ‘raw material’.
interesting perspective…
all depends on the individual, just like a healthy diet…
In order to lose 1 lb of fat, you must burn 3300 calories, and thats logic all can live by, but if person A isnt as motivated as person B, Person A will not burn thru 3300 calories, as fast as Person B, because Person B is following the techniques to lose the 3300 calories more efficiently, thru planning and mind preparation, to follow the plan exactly as its layed out…
But, the thing is, both these people started the same exact day, and neither had knowledge of the diet leading up to the date they started… But because Person B was more determined to lose the fat, he stayed the course, and lost more then he anticipated, because as he was doing everything perfect, and he got the snowball effect, with-in the mind, but also within his character being…
See, really, it comes down to, how well you follow a plan…
You can go thru the systems folks have here, and they make pips, plain and simple… From day 1, if you can follow a plan, you can make money…
When I first started FOrex, In my first week, i was making 300 pips a day… Go back thru my posts, Im sure I talked about it somewhere in the beginning…
This is a MIND business, its you against YOU… Hundreds of thousands of systems, but only 5% win consistantly?
Dont get me wrong, I struggle with it also, If you knew me in person, you would understand what I talk about, and why I talk about it…
I had a horrible week, not in trading, just a string of bad luck, then to top it off, my car blew something last night, fluids everywhere, and Im a busy dude with the car, alot of traveling for the family, (work school)… Everytime I get a few bucks saved, the SHTF, lol… $75 for a tow, ugggg, just to get it to my house…
Anyways, MAKE THE MIND RIGHT, 20 minutes is doable, its sorting out what works, and what doesnt, then following the plan consistently to the finish line.
And, I want o add this…
A reason why I want to know everything, and spend all this time on Forex, is really for conversation…
If I am talking to someone, and they ask what I do for a living, I want o know what Im talking about.
You cant say," Im a Forex trader" but cant tell what a S/R or pivot, or this or that, you tend to look like you really have no idea what your doing, and its more hobbyish, then a career or business…
Forex is my Life, and most likely when I sit down to talk, I want o talk Forex… And whats really funny, I guess, is NO-ONE in my life, I dont talk about it, lol… Just my wife and kids… But, soon, I will, and I’ll be prepared to know what Im talking about, My Career, my business, my future…
Besides, you cant make 10 Billion and have no idea how you got there,
Oh Money…Sometimes tooo much information is no good… Keep it simple. When people ask you what do you do for a living just simply say “I buy/sell” currency period. Trust me, they don’t want to know everything.
What is really important to you? Is it to impress people that you don’t even like because you know so much OR Having money in your bank account that you can take your wife and kids on a nice vacation…
Just think about it…
they don’t want to know everything… and they have no freaking idea about most of forex anyway. most have never even heard about it