@compact
so i’m guessing i should make my posts are little more … COMPACT hehe 
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What do you mean “doubt anyone will get through the whole thing”?
This was one of the most educational advises I have ever read.
Being 20 myself, I still have a long journey ahead of me. But will most certainly take the advice.
Thank you @anon81929759, it was a pleasure reading you comment.
@MattyH, I’ve a very similar story to yourself. However, in my case it was either engineering, physics or maths - and I ended up with physics (3rd year now). I’d recommend educating yourself even more (and never stop)… learning things outside of college/school curriculum. It’s good to be well-rounded in all areas, not just one specific area. Like someone once said, knowledge is power.
In my case, I decided to start things off from improving myself as a person. Books I would recommend are, as follows:
“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill
"Law of Success" by Napolean Hill
"Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson
You can also find a lot of interesting talks on TedEx.
Regarding trading, I am currently profitable for 3 months now. Started trading about 1 year ago. There is no things such as “how do I get there”. You have to find that path yourself. What works for me, might not work for you.
I like scalping on Forex as it suits my life style the best - on my breaks or after college.
To give you a sense of what a professional trade plan looks like, you can give this book a try, I found it very educational:
“Forex Price Action Scalping” by Bob Volman
As Manxx pointed out, trading as a career is not the way to go. I treat it more as a hobby which I’m using to help me achieve my other goals. From here, my plan is basically the same thing as Martin explained to you, “WORK FOR YOURSELF”. One of the more important things that I’ve learned from months of reading and research would be that, entrepreneurs and employees have a very different approach to life (or mindset, however you want to call it). If you’re willing, do your own research into it, you can learn a lot of interesting things on this topic.
Book I would probably recommend the most:
“Atlas Shrugged” by Ann Rand
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@Peter_Bie
thank you mate, i appreciate it very much,
what can i say, some people like Chocolate, some like vanilla. each to his own.
but thank you regardless.
i just have a few other points
so… You do indeed BELONG THE PHYSICS CLUB 
this is very true
this is also very true
THIS HOWEVER IS INCORRECT
Knowledge is not Power,
Knowledge is POTENTIAL power
Meaning… it has the POTENTIAL to be great and make things happen but HAVING IT does not necessarily mean YOU INSTANTLY HAVE POWER
When a person says knowledge is power it means they understand it on a basic level, but it’s incorrect (i did this when i was 18) and when we said it, it sounded cool and correct, but we never bothered to test it.
so LET’S TEST IT (as i later did and prove everything that i’m about to say)
Let me expand on this… so that it is clearly understood and let me introduce another term “INSTANT CHANGE”
OK so here we go
first lets prove or disprove, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
ok, so let’s take something simple like "Colouring In ".
When we are in kindergarten we are told when colouring in a book to STAY INSIDE THE LINES
that’s the knowledge part
now… DOES IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN the first time…NO IT DOESN’T
let’s look at another exmaple.
if a person has never made scrambled eggs before and you say to them … crack the egg in the pan, scramble the egg, add salt and pepper, cook it and don’t burn it
this is the knowledge
and then…
what happens… THEY WILL BURN THE EGG THE FIRST TIME
if you do the same thing with making pasta,
you give the knowledge, the Recipe if you will
and they end up having a later of pasta at the bottom of the pan that is burned to crap, but the rest is ok, but the pasta itself is overcooked
what about formatting a computer
you give someone the steps on a paper (Even with pictures if you like) this is the knowledge
you then tell them to format a computer and they still ask questions and they still can’t do it correctly
WHAT WE PROVE BY THIS , TIME AND TIME AGAIN IS … The Concept of KNOWLEDGE IS POWER is Flawed (and Easily Disproven)
Now go back to the Colouring In Example and ask this question
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN SO THAT THE KID STAYS WITHIN THE LINES ?
and can we agree on this
if the kid does THAT THING that needs to happen, can we agree that an INSTANT CHANGE WILL OCCUR to his drawing and that will be , HE WILL INSTANTLY STAY WITHIN THE LINES
so… this is how you know if you are doing something correctly, AN INSTANT CHANGE ALWAYS HAPPENS
also, some changes are minor
and some changes are Major
Example
if you mix Hot Oil with Cold Water… THERE WILL BE AN INSTANT CHANGE, a very violent reaction that could be dangerous
or
If you mix Salt with Water, THERE WILL BE AN INSTANT CHANGE, but not very violent and if you don’t taste the water, you may not notice the change
forex is the same
this knowledge you receive has POTENTIAL POWER, and at times you will do the right thing and at times you will do the wrong thing.
and… the right and wrong thing ARE NOT IDENTIFIED ALWAYS AS… DID I LOSE MONEY OR NOT
POINT IS… YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY WHEN INSTANT CHANGE OCCURS
so back to the next point
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR POTENTIAL POWER TO BECOME ACTUAL POWER
well…
you need knowledge, We’ve established that
Next, You need to know HOW TO APPLY THAT KNOWLEDGE
Next, You need to WANT TO APPLY IT / aka MOTIVATION
Next, You need to ACTUALLY APPLY I T
Next, You need to CONFIRM IF IT WAS APPLIED CORRECT by paying attention to the INSTANT CHANGE that occurred (Was the change the change THAT YOU EXPECTED or was it a different result)
if the change was what you expected, YOU WILL EXPERIENCE AN INSTANT CHANGE THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE RESULT YOU DESIRE… hence Knowledge is now POWER and you have it.
if you took action WILL GET AN INSTANT CHANGE… it always happens, however, it may not yield the result you want
if this happens
You need to understand that IT WAS NOT APPLIED CORRECTLy
hence
next… You need to practice the knowledge and learn how to apply it correctly
Eventually , you will get to 1 of 2 situations
-
You either will never learn how to apply it, THUS PROVING THAT KNOWLEDGE IS POTENTIAL POWER (But only if you can apply it correctly)
or -
You will eventually LEARN A SKILL and end up applying it correctly , in which case you have proven that KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IF APPLIED CORRECTLY
so… Knowledge is not Power
IT IS POTENTIAL POWER, the Potential is there… No Question about it
but you have to change POTENTIAL into ACTUAL
Now, when trading, here are some things that can happen
you get given knowledge like
if you trade you can be financially free (this is the knowledge)
so then a newbie jumps onto any broker and downloads MT-4 and an INSTANT CHANGE HAPPENS,
they lose all their money.
so… They didn’t get financially free because they didn’t know how to apply the knowledge
they then realize their stuff up
they then come to babypips and listen to people going on about
- Manage your risk
- Set your stop losses
etc
ok… Let’s look at Set your stop losses for a second
WATCH THIS CAREFULLY
so… newbie goes back, armed with THE KNOWLEDGE of setting stop losses and expects that THIS KNOWLEDGE will bring financial freedom
Newbie sets stop to something like 10 pips and take profit to like 50 pips
and NEWBIE LOSES MONEY because Stops got taken out
newbie NOTICES NO CHANGE and the result still is NEWBIE LOST ALL THEIR MONEY
so… they notice NO CHANGE
BUT THERE WAS AN INSTANT CHANGE THAT THEY DIDN’T NOTICE
this is where paying attention to INSTANT CHANGE is important
let’s say that they lost all their money again… and the same amount as before, but
it took long to lose
and the newbie didn’t realize that FOR EVERY LOSS they were LOSING LESS
THIS IS AN INSTANT CHANGE
so… That knowledge of Setting Stop Losses ACTUALY DID WORK and did yield and insant change
Now, if the newbie noticed it and then did this again and moved the stop loss to 15 pips
they would notice another instant change
now let’s say that instant change was now that it took longer again
well WE CAN NOW CONCLUDE THAT THE FARTHER THEY MOVE THE STOP LOSS THE LONGER IT TAKES TO LOSE THE MONEY
Now of course there is more to this
but, THE POINT IS … DO NOT IGNORE YOUR INSTANT CHANGES
in Chemistry there are only 2 conclusions when mixing chemicals
either there was A REACTION or there was NO REACTION
in forex, you do something, and there is either A CHANGE or NO CHANGE
if there is NO CHANGE…DO SOMETHING ELSE
if there is A CHANGE…Examine the change and see if it working towards your goal or getting away from you goal
so. IN SUMMARY
knowledge is not power, Feel free to practially disprove this any day of the week
also
why have i said all this ?
well. because i remember when i was in school and someone told me knowledge is power and then i sat there wondering after all my hard work, WHY IT WASN’T WORKING
it took around 20 years to work out that the reason why is because YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO APPLY IT
it’s not just as simple as telling someone and then receiving instant power
Now to move this forward
let’s look at you for a second
This is awesome and see… INSTANT CHANGE and Continuous success
and the reason why … WHAT WORKS FOR YOU WILL NOT NECESSARILY WORK FOR ME IS… our minds work differently and even though the end result (Making Money) is the same, we take a different road to getting there
Now as for you mate, if you can sustain this for another month you should be on your way. the 3 month mark is usually the tipping point
if you get to 4 - 6 months, it usually means you’ve made it over the hill so to speak and your formula works
at this point, do not change your formula, and any tweaks you want to apply, apply them on demo to test them and make them small changes
I’ve been profitable for a few years now.
i have found that after the 4th Month of consistant profit, the pressure seems to come off, it’s not longer an effort
after the 6th month you start to understand you no longer need to try, you just keep repeating what you’re doing and IT ACTUALLY BECOMES PRETTY MUNDANE AND BORING
after a year… this theory is confirmed and there is no question as to what you are doing is correct
so keep going mate, you are almost there, make it to 4months and i think you’ll be ok
be cool
EDIT…
look at this AS IF TO ILLUSTRATE MY POINT
see this happens everywhere
RE Knowledge is not power
if knowledge was power, this post would not exist
i literally finished this post and went to the next notification and saw this
THIS SITE IS FULL OF KNOWLEDGE, Yet so Many do not have the power, and for the reason that this bloke is describing… EXACTLY BLOODY RIGHT
they are not given the explanation of how to apply the knowledge
they are not practicing it correctly
that’s why so many do not have it
THIS SITE IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE INCORRECTLY AND DO NOT APPLY THE KNOWLEDGE BUT JUST COME HERE TO PRACTICE THE WRONG THING THAT THEY ARE TOLD IS THE RIGHT THING AND THEY THEN LOSE THEIR MONEY
OR
They practice the wrong thing and get depressed then tell everyone that they are profitable because it’s easier to do that than suffer the humiliation of admitting you failed
KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT CORRECT APPLICATION IS USELESS
as is proven by every newbie on this site
be cool guys
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Martin, honestly, if you put as much effort into trading as you do answering posts, you would be doing very well.
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What do you mean ???
I AM doing very well in trading,
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ok! SWEET! IT SEEMS Some other persons here are not, and that they spend the majority of their time posting responses when in reality intelligent traders focus on their live trades.
ok, i suppose i agree with that, but, YOU MADE THE ASSUMPTION that i’m not doing well in my trading.
mate, i’ve been doing well in trading now for around 4 years approx.
my losing days a long behind me
now. yes, not many people can say that ,i agree
but i can
and when i’m here on the forum, i see who i can help and if they want to listen , from time to time i share what i can to put them on the right path as i see it
for me, posting on this forum is a form of relaxing while having a coffee
people don’t need to take my advice and they can assume i’m full of it, i don’t care,
i’m not going to put in effort to convince people that i trade successfully
believe , don’t believe, i don’t care
my job is to give information
the person’s job is to decide if they want to accept it , simple as that.
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i think the fact that at the age of 18 you understood that you could make money in forex speaks for itself. don’t hesitate to start, do learn and practice. Don’t worry, just act. Start with the smallest accounts and try everything that comes to your mind on it.
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There are a lot of people younger than twenty in trading, and they already trade successfully. This proves that you need not only age, but also an understanding of the market.