Trading on Target: How to Cultivate a Winner's State of Mind

TRYING TO SAVE MONEY AND TIME

When I ask traders how long it took them to become profitable, they frequently say, “Seven years. But, I’d only count the last two as productive.” In other words, they wasted five years taking a short cut. Rather than spending the time and money that was required to become a professional, they looked for the quick and easy solutions. I liken this process of skipping the required education and training to becoming a brain surgeon by reading a book on the subject and buying a steak carving set.

In the five years, not only did these impatient traders lose time and money, they often developed self-sabotage issues that created inconsistencies, irregularities, and unpredictabilities when they finally did become profitable. These self-sabotaging issues will continue to live on in their trading careers until they handle them through coaching or counseling. Three examples of these issues are:

1. Going into trading without proper preparation. The short-term result: Experiencing a serious loss and/or a series of losses without adequate preparation. The long-term problems: Fear of loss that prevents a trader from consistently entering or exiting a trade when his system gives him the signals.

2. Failing to take the time to develop a tested trading system. The short-term result: An untested system that you do not fully understand and cannot properly use. The long-term problems: Lack of confidence in your system, which leads to inconsistent trading.

3. Trading ...