The Trader's Pendulum: The 10 Habits of Highly Successful Traders

Chapter 7Habit #4: Commit to Your Education with a Trading Coach

Have you ever wondered how successful traders do it? How did they know what the right path to take was and what to do at each step on their journey to achieve success?

Some of them figured these out on their own, some took the arduous route of “trying it until you get it,” and a handful got lucky and chanced upon the right path. But most others sought external help through advisers, coaches, or mentors.

This is true for high achievers in all industries. Top performers in sports, for example, always train with a coach. It is not so much that the coaches know more about the games than the athletes or perform better than them. It is not that there are any rules that say all athletes must be trained under qualified coaches. It is also not that the athletes will be completely at a loss and cannot figure out on their own how to perform better without the guidance of a coach. The need for direction from a coach lies within the wisdom of having outside, objective, and truthful input.

Here's a specific example: Tiger Woods, formerly the World's No. 1 golfer, received coaching from numerous coaches throughout his career. Questions like the following might enter your mind: Since he was already the World's No. 1, who could be qualified to train him? Wouldn't it take a better golfer than him to train him? Where would he find such a person, or did such a person even exist since Woods was the top player?

Here's something even ...