In the beginning you have your trading system and your plan and you are excited about trading. Energy flows freely to the new trader that has a mental blank slate. Only the potential of future profits are in the new trader’s psyche. As a new trader tests the waters of the markets with real money the blank slate of their trading mind starts to be filled with other things besides the hope and potential of future profits. Drawdowns, losses, and volatility start to teach the new trader that profitable trading is not as easy as appeared when looking at charts in hindsight. The hard right edge of a price chart can bring mental and financial pain with each new price bar.
The new traders that go on to be profitable traders have an inner passion for trading that transcends the money. The money can be life changing but winning the game transcends monetary reward. They love the process of back testing, chart study, and entries and exits. The winning trades are sweet and the losing trades are educational for the trader with a winning mindset. The caffeine that the profitable trader runs off of is the passion for winning the game. Winning traders run off the internal drive to beat the game. The traders that don’t make it allow the external road blocks of losses to sink them mentally and emotionally. The winning traders work so hard to be a success the only thing that separates them from profits is time.