For most, forex can be a tough and overwhelming journey. With so much to learn—market analysis, risk management, psychology—it’s tempting to turn to mentors for guidance. Some traders believe that having a mentor can fast-track success by helping them avoid costly mistakes. However, finding a credible and qualified mentor is a whole different story.
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I don’t have a mentor. And this venture is something that I want to accomplish on my own. So, a mentor isn’t something that interests me.
However, that doesn’t mean a mentor can’t be beneficial.
How could it be detrimental to learn from someone with years of profitable experience?
If I had someone to show me the ropes when I was a teenager, my life would be sooo different!
There’s nothing wrong with looking for a faster way to learn. But you’re gonna have to pay to get it.
Paying a mentor to teach you his method is a good strategy for a fast track.
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I think that in the field of forex trading, overwhelmingly more people lose, by trying to be mentored, than gain.
The reason’s obvious: as so very many experienced traders have explained at Babypips so regularly, and as I just mentioned myself, not 10 minutes ago in another thread, it’s a hundred times as easy for people to make money by selling stuff (especially “mentoring services”!!) to struggling traders than it is by trading themselves.
That‘s why there’s a really strong, powerful presumption - one to be rebutted only very, very convincingly, if at all - that people asking struggling traders for money for goods/services are NOT actually making their income from trading at all.
Those are definitely NOT people any of us should ever be paying! 
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And here lies the challenge.
How does a new trader find a reputable mentor?
And on the other hand, what reputable mentor is going to want to teach a bunch of new, inexperienced “traders” who only want to learn a strategy with a 90% win rate that’s based on various indicators on the 1 minute chart?
At least charging a fee can help weed out some of “the noise”, and help those actually interested in learning to set their own trading path and hopefully achieve their goals.
I think the right mentor can fast track the process. But the trader has to be ready to surrender everything he’s already learned, and look at the markets in a completely different way. And for some people that can take years.
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Hi Ms. @Penelopip,
How are you? When I feel bored, here comes your question.
For me, mentor is very important to speed up our learning curve. If we can have this kind of mentor, that will be a heavenly blessing. 
The question is now, where to find one? Most trading mentor are fake. 99.99% of them are marketeer. If there is one who claim to be mentor, they will be roasted finely and smoothly, just like an overly-cooked steak. Even the real mentor will experience this kind of treatment, so why do they still stupidly willing to teach others? Real trader can make money consistently, why need to bother teach others for 100 up to 5000 fee?
It’s likely a question about chicken and egg.
Ideally, If we really can find a mentor, it will boost our skill really fast. If we are lucky enough, we can imitate the skill, faster, understand trading philosophy on how to make money consistently.
The fact is, we will never find a good one. First, we can see ourselves how bold and proud trader nowadays. Most trader eager to fight and argue pointlessly just to take others down. It becomes “habit” especially so many scammer around looking for victim. It will lead most trader to be skillful from self-learning process.
Back to the question!!!
How crucial is to have mentor?
- When we live in a world of angels, it becomes a very very very very … crucial, Mentor’s experience will help us become trader within 1 or less then a year.
- Look into our current world …
, have you ever been scammed Ms. @Penelopip ? The feeling of being scammed is much much much … more painful compare to cheated by our spouse. 
If you haven’t been cheated, you can imagine … you are very hungry. Someone give you mash potato with mayonnaise on top of it. You bring the food sit on a bench under a tree. You are so thankful for the food, when you want to eat it, accidentally, there is pigeon dropping on top of it. 
It was happened to me once 
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This is realistic, and sadly right.
The occasional exception might arise through a truly trusted personal recommendation, I suppose, but any kind of “mentoring” promoted online is definitely to be avoided, for all the reasons wisely explained above. 
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If we’re defining “success in trading” as long-term profitability in the financial markets, then I’m afraid much of the retail trading community operates under a dangerous illusion.
IMO, an experienced mentor is the bare minimum and for many it may not even be enough.
Nearly every professional athlete trains under the constant supervision of coaches, personal trainers, nutritionists, and sports psychologists. Success at the highest levels requires support structures designed to eliminate inefficiencies and maximize performance.
The trading world is no different. It’s a zero-sum arena where profits come from other participants. And most of these participants are professional investors, hedge funds and institutions who have layers of support unavailable to the retail crowd: data quants, risk analysts, experienced department heads / senior traders / mentors, macroeconomic advisors, legal teams, industrial subject matter and market structure experts, as well as access to liquidity most retail traders cannot even comprehend. Competitive edge is not a luxury in this industry—it is survival.
I’m sorry to break this illusion but professional money isn’t just light years ahead of part-time, self-taught traders, they operate in an entirely different universe.
Success in trading is not impossible for retail traders, but they need to acknowledge reality and respect the difficulty of the road ahead.
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Not “crucial,” no.
I think it can be an advantage, but the chances of people finding online a good and appropriate one are so minuscule that overwhelmingly more (perhaps 100 times as many) people waste both time and money trying to do this than ever benefit from it at all.
The big question you have to ask is “If someone could really trade with steady success, why would they be selling a mentoring service?”
I’m not saying it’s a question without any possible good answers, but the practical reality is that it’s the question people don’t ask, with the result that they end up “learning on hope” rather than on anything proven, which leads only to “trading on hope” rather than with a proven edge.
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It’s a good, specific example of a much more generalised question that aspiring traders should train themselves to ask, before paying for anything trading-related: “Does these people’s income really come from profitable trading or from profitable marketing?”
It’s about the single most important question to learn to ask. And it’s right to be highly suspicious, especially when dealing with strangers on the internet, given that it’s about 100 times easier to make a living by selling shovels than it is by digging for gold.
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A good mentor can provide valuable shortcuts, but ultimately your own discipline and experience will determine long-term success in forex trading.
Having a mentor in forex trading isn’t absolutely crucial, but it can significantly speed up your learning, help you avoid costly mistakes, and provide valuable real-world insights that you might not get from books or courses alone.
Hmm. 
I definitely agree with what the others have mentioned here. 
I know a lot of traders here learned on their own, created and tweaked their own strategies, without the help of mentors. 
But, I also agree that perhaps, having someone really focused on guiding on while you’re starting out can give you a boost when you’re starting out. There’s only so much they can share though! Cause ultimately, the discipline, determination, and drive would come from within the trader, and not from their mentor. PLUS, it has also been mentioned by the others that finding a LEGIT mentor is a challenge on its own. 
I would rather you use that time to reading and learning about forex here on other learning resources!
An interesting question indeed.
In my experience I think one should ask what is a "mentor’ to them - as not all think the same way. Now to be totally transparent I have had mentors also coaches - and yes the are different.
If you google what is a mentor it brings up the following.
Mentor - “an experienced and trusted adviser”
So for me this means someone that has experience in said subject, sport, or business, etc.
Digging deeper what is the main use for a mentor I can sum it up in one word - guidance.
However in my opinion and experience a mentor does not necessarily teach you or correct you or offer the education you may possibly be looking for its not their role.
But if you need to bounce stuff that your dealing with to someone that has the experience and understanding of what you are having a challenge with a mentor is great they will support you and give you direction of what you can and should decide to do to move forward.
Now what if you are looking for more someone that can also and is willing to teach you stuff to speed up your learning curve keep you focused, disciplined, encourage you, etc. etc. then a coach is a better option.
If you google what is a coach this is what comes up
Coach - an instructor or trainer in (put what ever):
Here is a more in depth explanation from the website betterup.com
Coaching is a developmental process where a coach supports a client in achieving specific personal or professional goals by providing training and guidance. Together, the coach and coachee practice and build the skills and behaviors required to make progress toward their goals.
Once you have defined your needs and requirements I believe you can then have a good experience in achieving what it is you want.
Now most traders get this kind of help from fellow traders in the form of a community and in some instances this works well but you must remember that you are getting guidance from someone that maybe is at the same level as you.
Ask yourself this question - If you have been trying to trade and have been inconsistent and are not profitable over a period of time that is now causing you some anxiety and frustration what do you want to do - keep going or change your direction? If you are lost on a trip you use GPS in your car or your phone or last resort you ask someone- you got help but which was the easiest doesn’t matter it was what ever worked for you.
Think of a sport - if you want to get good you get help a coach can spot your weaknesses and your strengths and focus on those elements to raise your game.
A mentor on the other hand would recommend and advise you to get some coaching.
I believe if someone wants to get good at something then its a good idea to get help but the right kind of help is paramount. I had more than one mentor more than one coach - why?- you need to find one that you mesh with that you click with. Sometimes the process takes time because your not at the right place with the right people or person its that simple.
Trading is a “Journey” one needs to focus on the “process” of that journey to achieve success and if they require a mentor or a coach to help them - that’s part of the process. Its not a bad thing, its a personal thing that only the individual trader can decide.
Do I think having a mentor is a good idea - short answer - Yes,
Long answer - depending on your needs and your situation.
Trade safe
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It depends what you mean by “mentor”, really.
Neither of the people i know making their living by trading on their own, from home, had what they’d call a “mentor”, but they both had quite a few book recommendations from people they trusted, and from online sources.
IMHO, if you’re skilled, well-informed, and keep good track of your trades, then no. It’s also worth noting that many so-called mentors don’t fully understand what they’re doing, let alone have the ability to teach others anything.
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This has always seemed the key point, to me.
If they could make money so reliably by trading, why would they need people to pay them a few hundred (or more!) for “mentoring”?
It’s the same thing as the people who’ll “pass your funding evaluation” for you, for $300. If they could do that so easily, they wouldn’t need your $300, would they? They’d be too busy successfully trading all their own six-figure funded accounts from their own funding evaluations that they were able to pass. 
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