Don't be Fooled: Here is What Successful Trading is Not:

A lot of trading is counter intuitive when it comes to price action. Also a lot of things that new traders see leads them to believe that there is some magic short cut to success. If trading was really as easy as so many subscription services try to sell it as then there would be many more billionaire traders than currently exist. Good trading is a path to being a millionaire through the long term growth of capital with consistent returns and limited draw downs. There is no magic to any trading system each trade has a counter party that believes opposite of you. The key to successful trading is managing risk while trading a robust system consistently with perseverance and discipline. Here is what successful trading is not:

A new trader judges short term results as success. Trading is a marathon not a sprint, profits can go as quickly as they are made.
A new trader believes a trade is a success when it becomes profitable. A trade is not profitable until the exit.
A new trader judges a good trade by whether it makes money, a trade should be judged by its context of being inside a profitable system. One profitable trade has little meaning by itself.
A new trader thinks some guru can trade after a few good calls, always judge a public trader by their long term track record and risk adjusted returns.
New traders confuse luck with skill. The market may be rewarding a type of trading the new trader is doing not their skill in entries and exits. When the market changes they find out they know little.
A new trader thinks there is a can’t miss secret to successful trading, and there is, HARD WORK in educating themselves and persevering.
A new trader believes that all successful traders have very high winning percentages, the truth is that many rich traders have low winning percentages but their wins are so big they make them rich.
New traders think that a rich traders can make them a rich trader also, they can’t they can only show the way, it is an individual journey.
New traders underestimate the difference between paper trading and trading REAL money. They do not expect the battle of their egos, fear, and greed that they have to fight most the time.
Trading is not about what makes money in the markets, it is about what can make you money in the markets, what fits your risk tolerance an personality.

A new trader judges short term results as success. Trading is a marathon not a sprint, profits can go as quickly as they are made.

A new trader believes a trade is a success when it becomes profitable. A trade is not profitable until the exit.

A new trader judges a good trade by whether it makes money, a trade should be judged by its context of being inside a profitable system. One profitable trade has little meaning by itself.

A new trader thinks some guru can trade after a few good calls, always judge a public trader by their long term track record and risk adjusted returns.

New traders confuse luck with skill. The market may be rewarding a type of trading the new trader is doing not their skill in entries and exits. When the market changes they find out they know little.

A new trader thinks there is a can’t miss secret to successful trading, and there is, HARD WORK in educating themselves and persevering.

A new trader believes that all successful traders have very high winning percentages, the truth is that many rich traders have low winning percentages but their wins are so big they make them rich.

New traders think that a rich traders can make them a rich trader also, they can’t they can only show the way, it is an individual journey.

New traders underestimate the difference between paper trading and trading REAL money. They do not expect the battle of their egos, fear, and greed that they have to fight most the time.

Trading is not about what makes money in the markets, it is about what can make you money in the markets, what fits your risk tolerance an personality.

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