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Why only 5% Traders earn ?

“I believe there are a few reasons why only 5% make it.

1. They start in a position to not need to make a living from it. The need for steady money like a weekly paycheck will corrupt your thinking and force you to deviate from your plan of action that was so well thought out prior to the heat of the battle.

2. They do not need the money that they loose. The enormous amounts of money that it requires to learn to daytrade would exceed most people’s lifetime income. What makes the number of successful daytraders so low is that even the few who could make it, dont have enough capital to endure the learning curve.

3. They do not give a flying _uck about anything or anyones opinions of what the market will or might do. The very news and opinions that surround them becomes the mortar for their brick wall of defense that protects their completely independent thinking. (more…)

Trading for a living

You’ve got to bring your A game to the table each and every day. There is no sitting in a cubicle playing solitaire, visiting with facebook friends, talking with others in the break room about fantasy football, etc. that is going to get the job done for you. Your efforts, whatever they may be, will be directly related to your bottom line returns!

  • Past success means absolutely nothing. You are only as good as your next trade, your next week, your next quarter, etc. In addition, what you do next always has the potential to unravel whatever success you’ve acquired previously. Few careers offer you the potential for self-destruction so quickly the way trading for a living provides.

  • The pressure to perform will create unbelievable amounts of negative stress and energy you’ll have to deal with daily. Most people don’t have to worry or fear that being wrong will cost them their paycheck. After all, just look at economists, bankers, and politicians!

  • There will be little to no respect or understanding for what you do for a living. People will assume you’re a “day trading gambler.” Or, in my view, which is even worse, many idiots will express the view that they could also “trade for a living” if they decided to. This is true even in by those who’ve shown no consistent success in the markets on a “part-time basis.”

  • Working in isolation you’ll often miss close human interaction and the lack of a competitive “team” like atmosphere. Also, building and holding outside friendships, especially for men later on in life, are often very difficult for those who don’t meet a lot of people through their jobs.

  • Sitting 12 hours a day every day at the computer will wreak havoc on your overall health and fitness. Many traders are overweight, have back issues, eyesight problems, etc.

  • Like many highly skilled professions it requires constant education & learning. In many, but not all careers, once you’ve acquired a certain amount of skills and knowledge, little more is expected of you. In trading, you’ve got to always be in learning mode. In addition, what you think you know right now and what is working for you, will not someday in the future. That’s the way of constant evolutionary state of the marketplace.

  • You’ve got to be a jack of all trades. I’ve often said that if trading was the only thing I had to do, my life would be a whole lot easier. Instead, independent traders must spend time serving as their very own tax accountant and tech support guru. In my view, there’s nothing worse than a hardware or software issue that takes you away from concentrating on the markets. (more…)

6 Trading Rules

6 TRADING RULES1.IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE TRADE YOU’RE HOLDING, GET OUT.

2.AFTER TWO HOURS OF TRADING, ASK YOURSELF: “DO I FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYTRADING TODAY?” Once two hours have passed, A day trader should have made at least two, or perhaps more, trades, “but enough to evaluate what you have done.” If the trader feels good about the day’s trading, continue. If not, stop trading that day.

3.ALL CYLINDERS OF THE ENGINE MUST BE RUNNING EFFICIENTLY. “Day-trading is a job, and your paycheck is determined by your ability. You can only maximize your ability if you have all the information you need to make trading decisions. “If a piece of equipment that one uses for trading is not working, stop trading.

4.HAVE COMPLETE FAITH IN YOUR INDICATORS.This is a must for success.Many times your indicators give you a buy or sell signal, and you don’t follow it because you don’t have the confidence the signal is right this time. Successful day traders believe in their indicators, but also are aware that nothing is 100% foolproof.

5. TO ANYONE WHO ASPIRES TO BECOME A DAY TRADER, OBSERVE THOSE WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL. “Any information you can procure on the trading philosophies, mechanics and techniques is well worth your while.”

6.DAY-TRADING IS A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT. “I fervently believe it takes several years to become a true professional”

Trading To Win

There is a meaningful difference between trading to win and trading to not lose. The average person feels more psychological pain over a loss than they feel pleasure over a gain–particularly once they have already “booked” that gain mentally. If I’m expecting a bonus from my employer, I’ll be happy when I receive the paycheck–but I’ll be much more upset if I find out the bonus has been rescinded.

We can never eliminate loss from life or trading; nor can we repeal the basic uncertainties of markets. What we *can* do is develop an edge in the marketplace and, over the course of many trades, let that edge accumulate in our favor.

And, if you’re trading well, maybe that losing trade will offer you a fresh perspective about how the market is trading: an insight that can make you money the next time around. Then it’s not a loss. It’s information that you’ve paid for. 

7 Deadly Sins of Trading

Perfectionism: There is no perfection in trading as far as making money on every trade or having a perfect system. All you can hope to be perfect at, is following your system, rules, and trading plan. A winning trade should be measured as one in which you followed all your preset guidelines. Even the best traders only average about a 50%-60% win rate at best over long periods of time. The key is having bigger winners than losers, not being perfect. Like in baseball where a .300 hitter can get into the hall of fame. A .500 trader in the market can become wealthy if his wins are much bigger than his losses.

Fear:  Faith in your system is the only way to overcome your fear of trading. You must complete enough back testing on your system until you know that you have a valid edge over the market in the long term. You must see opportunity in trading and just accept that there will be possible losses. You must take your systems trade signals each time and if you can’t overcome your fear of loss and failure then perhaps trading is just not for you. Traders are entrepreneurs not employes they get paid only when successful there is no guaranteed paycheck.

Pride:  We are not our trading account and staring at our profit and loss too much is a major detriment in one’s trading. Traders must cut losses at their predetermined stop, not pridefully hang on trying to prove they are right. We must separate ourselves from the trading. A person’s value is not tied to a trade or performance record. If we followed our system then we can’t view that as a personal loss. The market was just not conducive to our system that we followed with discipline. (more…)

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