Many new traders waste a lot of time going around in a circle of no progress. They go around and around, chasing the wrong things, lured into buying into the wrong principles of prediction that do not work. They look for the easy solution instead of just doing the work. There are great educational resources for traders online, but it is never just a quick stroll to easy money. The best money mangers in the world do well to turn 20% annual profits with considerable resources. Here are 12 things that you have to move past to mature as a trader, and grow to the level of a consistenly profitable trader:
- Stop trying to win the lottery as a trader, and start operating like a casino. Take the gamblers money through placing good trades that have a good risk/reward ratio and good odds of success.
- Quit the pie-in-the-sky, get rich scheme, and start building wealth through compounding annual growth.
- Quit thinking that there is a magic system that never loses. Instead, look for a robust system that wins over the long term.
- Stop trading too big and start managing risk; you will have a much better chance for long term success if you stop giving back your profits through bad position sizing.
- Focus on limiting draw downs instead of focusing on huge returns.
- Quit believing everything you hear on social media, and look for the truth in process.
- Realize there is no magic to trading. Success comes from system development, writing a trading plan, managing risk, discipline, and perseverance, with big wins and small losses. It is work.
- Quit asking someone for what their crystal ball says, and learn to identify what is really happening in the market right now concerning the price trend.
- Quit trying to predict the future and learn how to react to the present.
- Realize that trading is just a game of numbers, probabilities, risk/reward, win rate, trends, volatility, and psychology so keep your own emotions out of it.
- Stop looking for hot tips and start looking for good trading methods.
- Realize that you will only get out of the markets what you put into it. Don’t expect to beat the professionals unless you do the work.