Trading Psychology Video - Do You Recognize Where You Are Right Now?
Seriously, do you recognize where you are right now?
Yes, this can be a big problem for you if don’t.
[NOTE: Make sure to read this entire message - it only takes a couple minutes. Do NOT make the mistake of getting half-way through it and then dismissing the rest thinking that you already were attending to this or that it doesn’t pertain to you.]
Here’s one way to tell if you don’t really know where you are…
Do you sometimes feel at a loss as to what to do to get your trading where you want it?
If so this is a good indication that you don’t understand the developmental curve or at least where you are on that curve. This is why you don’t know what to do.
You see there are several different stages that you have to go through in the process of evolving from a rank newbie to a fully proficient, very satisfied and consistently profitable trader.
No one goes straight from being a “1″ to a “10″ without passing through the points in between.
NO ONE.
There is a progression, a developmental curve, that you just can’t skip over.
If you try to, you’re going to have issues.
Issues that you probably have been led to believe are ‘psychological’ issues like discipline.
When the truth of the situation is that you simply need to attend to the more practical matters.
When you do, most if not all of the ‘trading psychology’ issues that you think you had take care of themselves and good trading becomes easy instead of a daunting task.
There is one stage in particular that most traders ‘try’ to skip, but they are not allowed to. You simply have to attend to this one, no “ifs” “ands” or “buts” about it.
You wind up working through it one way or the other.
You can do it intentionally on your own and in an effective, time-efficient and cost-efficient manner.
If you choose to ignore it, the markets will force you to attend to it anyway, and the markets are HARSH.
To help you understand this evolution that all traders have to go through better, I’ve made a short video where I explain the specific stages in more detail.
(If you get an error message or the video doesn’t play, just double-click it to go to YouTube)
Once you understand these matters (that no one brought to your attention before), it takes much of the stress out of your trading.
Cheers
Brian
“The Trading Turnaround Coach”
P.S. This time of year is great for preparing for the fourth quarter. Make sure that you are getting underway!
Forex Trading Psychology - “Courage” Video
Filed under: trader training, trading as a business, trading psychology
I know I wrote about this yesterday, but it is SO vital to good trading that I decided to make a short video about it too.
Courage in trading is a sign of a very real and potentially big problem.
Discover what the danger is and how to address it in this short video.
To watch the 21minute video that covers the whole matter, click here
To see how well you’re doing, take this quiz
When you’re ready to take it to the next level, click here
Cheers
Brian
“The Trading-As-A-Business Coach”
P.S. If you don’t attend to this problem, you are leaving yourself open to a never-ending battle with emotions making your trading difficult. Address it and be free!
[Psychology of Trading] Why It’s A Mistake To Be A Courageous Trader
To even consider being a trader takes guts, that’s for sure.
Problem is, being courageous as a trader is really a red flag.
Here’s why.
You see, courage is taking action in the face of fear, in spite of it.
And trading from a position of fear is not a desirable way to trade at all.
If you have genuine fears, not just a little excitement from the anticipation of getting on with your trading day, then that is a sign that a real problem exists…
…a problem that will wind up costing you.
What kind of fears?
- The fear of losing money (or capital)
- The fear of failure
- The fear of making mistakes
…just to name a few.
Fortunately, there is a simple and direct way to become free of your fear.
That’s right. Instead of feeling fearful and anxious about your trading, you really can feel very at peace and secure.
It’s all about replacing your fear with real and well-founded confidence.
That’s why the addage “Treat your trading as a business” is so critical to being able to trade with true confidence.
The business-like approach gives you the full confidence that you are trading in a calculated and knowing manner, rather than hope and courage.
Now, there are certain elements and processes involved in treating your trading as a real business, and a proper business plan is at the heart of it all.
The word “proper” is the operative term in that statement. Most traders make the mistake of having “make lots of money” as their business plan, and that’s all. That’s not a business plan by any means.
To have real confidence in your trading operation, discover the trader training program specifically designed to walk you through the steps of properly organizing your trading business, including the creation of your own personal Trading Business Plan,
When you don’t treat your trading as a business, you’re running on hope and faith, which leave you open to all sorts of fears and other emotions.
When you are properly organized and prepared, you have true confidence in what you’re doing - and you no longer have need for courage because your fears have been addressed.
It is truly the best way to trade!
Cheers
Brian
“The Trading-As-A-Business Coach”
Psychology of Trading Forex - Why Some Will NEVER Make It
Sadly, there are some people that just plain will NEVER make it as a trader.
Oddly, the reason is NOT because they aren’t smart enough or because they don’t have the ability. It is because of something that happened along the way that they haven’t addressed. They are aware of it to a degree, because they can make money in their trading. The problem is that they have a decent run and then get cocky and reckless, and then wind up giving it all back to the markets.
And this happens again and again and again.
Another ironic thing is that it really isn’t their fault because it is caused by their primal survival systems kicking in and over-riding their rational mind. It’s a response triggered by a specific set of circumstances that are very common in trading, and once activated, this response tends to create a vicious cycle that is nearly impossible to break, at least without some help.
Here’s how it works. We’ll use my friend Jerry as an example (of course Jerry isn’t his real name).
Prior to opening his account, Jerry hadn’t ever traded at all. He’d just heard about it, but didn’t really know what it was about. He quickly sought out the basics of how trading works and chose to try a few things he’d read about on different forums he’d found.
It didn’t take long and Jerry felt confident enough to open a live trading and began placing his first trades. Afterall, how trading works is straightforward enough and he was pretty smart, certainly smart enough to get this.
During this time, he was trying earnestly to make money, but he was mostly hitting losers because this was all still very new to him. When he hit his first decent winning trade, he was jazzed. What a rush! What a great surprise!
The next winner was even bigger and WOW this really rocks!
Jerry managed to run his account up by just over 20% and he was feeling invincible! He’s got this trading thing down and he’s on his way!
It didn’t take long though until Jerry started getting reckless, jumping into trades that he had no business entering. He felt helpless as his account balance went down to break even, then down by 10% from where he started, then down by 20%, then down by 30. He couldn’t stop himself, even though he was well aware of what was happening.
Jerry put more funds into his account because he just knew that he could make this work, that he could repeat his nice run.
Unfortunately, Jerry was able to repeat the run, but not without repeating the rest of the cycle as well.
It finally got to the point where he just had to close his account and take a break. He just couldn’t take it any more. The most frustrating part of it is that intellectually he knew he could beat this, he just couldn’t seem to control himself once he started winning.
So Jerry called me up and asked for my help.
He wanted to understand why this happened and what he could do to fix it.
What Jerry didn’t understand is that what he’d been doing really was gambling. He wasn’t trading, because he hadn’t taken the steps necessary to trade in a calculated and business-like manner. What he had been doing was playing the game of anticipation and seeking the thrill of the unexpected.
Once a winner gets hit when you’re in this mindset, your brain chemistry is essentially the same as a drug addict and a gambling addict. It kicks in and shuts down your rational mind while activating your pleasure centers in a big way.
The added danger of this and the reason that many people won’t make it in trading is because they’ve been caught in this experience, and they won’t be able to shake it until they quit gambling and truly treat their trading as a business - again in a very calculated and business-like manner.
If this story here sounds at all familiar to you, then I strongly urge you to check out the training in the Trading P.I.T. Club. In it you’ll become that business-like trader that you need to be to stop gambling and start real trading.
Of course if you have questions, just let me know.
Cheers
Brian
“The Trading Turnaround Coach”
P.S. Those that don’t attend to the problem described above are bound to only repeat the vicious cycle and unfortunately it can go on for years. Don’t let it happen to you - stop gambling and get on with business-like trading that will help you keep your head clear and let you trade well rather than give it all back whenever you do make money.
Psychology of Trading - Two Critical Questions You Should Be Asking
Brian here and today I have a couple quick and very important questions for you to ponder, important because they have such an incredible impact on your trading.
Now it is very important that you consider both questions at the same time, as the answers are very much related.
After the second question, I have a sage piece of wisdom from another industry that will serve you well in your trading and again relates to the questions.
The first question is simple and one you’ve hopefully actually thought about seriously, so here it is:
Question 1: “Why are you trading?”
The reasons for doing what you do are tremendously important and need to be emotional, not just logical reasons, and they also really need to be much bigger than you. If not, when tough spells are hit, you can lose your motivation and possibly have your confidence destroyed, so you need something really strong to survive this and keep you going.
Question 2: “What are you doing with that motivational energy?”
This is NOT a trick question. Many people get all fired up when they think about why they’re trading and what they want to do with the money they’ll make, but they don’t apply that energy in the right direction.
The mistake commonly made is to get even busier trying to make money.
The right thing to do is to focus on how to get better at trading, even if that means slowing down or even taking a break to regroup if things aren’t going well.
Main thing is to not just keep dreaming and trading away. You are a trader and you want to get very good at making money via trading, not just busy trading away.
The sage wisdom that serves you too:
In the real estate industry, there is a phrase that goes,
What the essentially means is to focus on the PROCESS of making money through trading.
Don’t just sit around daydreaming about all the money that you’ll make and how you’re going to spend it.
You have to get on with getting your trading business properly organized, getting yourself trained and in general focus on the process and your operation more than the money.
Too many traders just think (often without really thinking about it) that if they can just get to making money, that everything else will somehow magically fall into place and the consistent profits will simply flow in month after month.
If you want a reliable source of wealth generation and income, and you want it within a reasonable period of time, then you have to make it happen with intention and on purpose.
It ain’t gonna happen by chance and there’s no magic fairy going to come along and put it under your pillow.
If you’re not sure how to make it happen efficiently and you’d like guidance and assistance, then I can help you.
Of course if you have questions, just let me know.
Cheers
Brian
“The Trading Turnaround Coach”
P.S. Information is good, but sometimes a little good ol’ thinking and reflecting are extremely valuable too. 
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