Today I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.
Take just a minute for this message – it’s important, because it’s about a significant, yet little-discussed aspect of the human condition.
Since it’s always better to end on a positive note, let’s start with the bad news.
First, the Bad News
Being a human in the trading world definitely has its problems.
However, there’s one characteristic in particular that stands out as probably one of the worst.
It’s the reason behind so many other problems.
One thing about being a human, both in trading and life, is that we tend to be crisis-oriented.
We will wait until a problem gets the point of being a crisis before we act on it.
It’s just so easy and certainly much more comfortable to ignore or deny it.
Even if the potential problem is HUGE.
For example, it’s not like smokers don’t KNOW that smoking is terrible for them.
They’re fully aware of it, but they continue to smoke anyway.
And for those that wait too long, they have massive regret over their decision.
For traders, every trader that’s been struggling for more than 2 years KNOWS that they’re missing something.
Jumping from one system to the next, chasing trades, over trading, basically running in circles…
They’re frustrated and KNOW that they probably should try a whole different approach.
They know that they never bothered to get properly organized, and that’s why they lack focus and direction…
They know that they mostly just learned enough to get busy trading, but not really what being a successful, self-employed, self-directed trader is all about…
They know that they are essentially an amateur trying to play on the professional level by chasing tools and equipment rather than focusing on themselves and developing into the person they need to be…
They know that they lack certain skills to be a professional trader and to get paid like a professional…
They know that their egos won’t let them admit a whole bunch of shortcomings to themselves or anyone else, because that’s painful
And unfortunately for traders, the discomfort of facing the truth is such a threat to their ego, that they go into denial…
It is just so much easier and often even fun to just continue chasing profits with hopeful, rose-colored glasses
It’s just so much easier to keep saying to yourself, “I know I need to do something, but things aren’t so bad that I need to tend to it NOW.”
Like the proverbial frog in the frying pan, traders continue to tolerate the stress (the increasing heat) until the eventual death…
They avoid that discomfort and wait for things to get to the crisis-point, usually blowing out their account
Only when the crisis point is reached will people face the truth and seek out the help they knew they needed long ago.
Sadly, for all too many traders, by the time they sober up for real, they are no longer in a position to realistically pursue trading,
…or at the very least, now their resources are so limited, they can’t get the help they need and the financial pressures only make good trading that much more difficult.
The good news is that you don’t have to follow the path above.
Another aspect of being human which is wonderful, is that we can CHOOSE to open our eyes, look at the realities and consciously decide that we want a different outcome.
So how can you tell if you’re headed for disaster or on the right path?
Here are a few questions to consider, which will let you know what you should probably do right now.
Question #1.
Have you ever worked for yourself before, successfully running your own business, outside of trading?
If you answered, “Yes”, then you have already gone through the tougher of the two learning curves associated with being a self-employed, self-directed trader.
What many don’t realize is that knowing how to organize, plan and start up a successful business (which trading is) and then managing yourself, involves a significant body of knowledge and several sets of skills.
If your answer was “No”, then you have this substantial learning curve in addition to learning all the specifics of the trading industry, the markets and being in the trading business (which is more than just picking a system and placing trades)
Question #2.
Do you know how to properly evaluate a trading system from both the functional and performance perspectives, quickly and without losing money in the process?
If you answered, “Yes”, then Kudos! How is your evaluation process working out for you?
If you answered, “No”, then this is one area of high impact which you should address immediately! Trading without a reliable system is fatal, and having to lose money to evaluate it is absolutely unnecessary and just wasting your trading capital.
Question #3.
On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, how would you rate the training you’ve received so far to be a fully-functional, self-sufficient and truly independent trader?
Anything less than a “9” or “10” means that you have the opportunity to address that and go back and fill in the gaps.
It’s never too late to set things right.
You don’t have to continue down the same path you’ve been on.
If you would prefer to become the trader that knows how to make this work, how to live a truly independent and secure life, operating from a position of competence and knowing, then I invite you to discover what went wrong and how to set things right by clicking here
Cheers
Brian
P.S. Don’t be crisis-oriented in your trading – that is SO costly and completely unnecessary.
If your trading has been disappointing and uncomfortable, don’t wait until the pain of doing nothing finally exceeds that pain of taking action. That’s an odd phrase I know, but it’s applicable.
I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to put in all this time and effort for nothing. You have real and substantial things you want from trading, so click here to see how to get there in a reasonable and realistic timeframe
