I believe that good traders are able to trade the markets effortlessly – it’s simple to them. But getting to the point of doing anything effortlessly is not easy. In fact, it’s really hard. A good analogy would be describing an athletes ability to perform his or her skill. If we took two people – one being a person who runs two miles everyday versus a person who hasn’t ran for the past two months, who will have the easier time running one mile? The answer is simple of course. The person who runs everyday will be able to run one mile easily – it will be effortless to them. However, the person who hasn’t ran in two months will find it extremely hard to and likely have to take breaks in-between so that he or she can finish.
In order for trading to become simple, there are some crucial and necessary steps that need to be taken. There needs to be consistency in the traders approach to the markets. It’s unfortunate, but we are in a day and age where traders are obsessed with just “trading for the fun of it”, and they aren’t realizing that that’s what’s preventing them from being consistent and successful. Again, if we go back to our analogy, does a great athlete deter from their routine? No. In fact, they have routines that boil down to eating, and sleeping habits in order to keep themselves moving in the right direction. It’s really not a mystery, but for whatever reason most traders seem to fail that this approach is what’s needed if you want to be good.
There really is a direct correlation between traders who are good and traders who are not. There is a direct correlation between traders who are consistent and traders who ride the roller coaster. That difference is preparation. Preparation and repetition is what makes anyone great at what they do. But preparing is not easy. It takes focus, will, and a lot of discipline. In trading that translates to having a very specific trading plan, with specific rules and the discipline to do it every single day. And as you prepare yourself everyday in your approach to the markets, you’ll find that trading becomes simple. It becomes effortless.
So if you want to be a good trader, scratch that – if you want to become a great trader, step back and think about what it really takes, and prepare yourself. It won’t be easy, but sooner or later you’ll realize how simple it really is.
Nothing is infallible in the stock market — no theory, no measure of the market be it technical, fundamental, or cyclical. The basic tenet of any investment or trading methodology worth its salt should be that it’s not infallible.