By looking for this shortcut, traders aren’t immersing themselves in the game, and the study of price action, DNA, etc., they are not building any type of knowledge. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts, you need to hit the books, hit the charts and study this game. All the answers, everything you need is there in the charts, get in there and study them. To summarize, many traders simply aren’t using the right process for learning. They’re looking for the quick buck systems and not treating it as a process of skill development. That’s probably the main reason, but there are many more traps around – this is not an easy game.
So, Shortcuts do not exist. The greatest way to reduce your initial learning curve is with some old-fashioned study of price action. The answers to your trading success do not rest within someone else’s neatly packaged system.
Plan, no plan in place, Trader that don’t have a plan don’t succeed. Just don’t, they hope, fantasize, they dream, and they want things to go their way, but don’t have a plan. They don’t know what to do if the market goes up, or down, or gap up or down. Get into a position and don’t know where their stop is, or is they are in a short-term trade or a long-term trade.
Think about a soccer team, can you imagine if they showed up and didn’t have a game plan? that would never happen! They spend an entire week looking at pass games, and practicing certain plays based on the type of defense that the opposing team is likely to play. Then they actually workout and practice many different plays in order to capitalize on this. And traders have to do the same thing; they have to have a detailed plan. Every trader needs to do a pre-market routine sit down and “What’s my plan for today? What am I going to do if this happens? What am I going to do if that happens?
Mental game, every trader needs to pay attention to the mental aspects of trading. Many people don’t understand their personality flaws from everyday life also apply to trading, i.e. being insecure, not being humble, needing support, and needing conformation from other people. Your personality will often reflect in your style of trading. Some of these traits will help to you form quality trading practices, and others may have the opposite effect. It’s about having self-awareness, and the ability to control both your positive and negative characteristics.
Time, the traders are no taking the time to do everything that needs to be done, in order to trade successfully. Not taking the time to study and understand how to manage risk, charts. They’re not taking the time to become more disciplined as a person, and as a trader. No taking the time to develop a plan, journal, validate rules, and test them, as well as process and disprove different strategies. They’re not taking the time to become methodical in the process, structured and organized as a trader.
This means they’re not treating it as professionally as they should, and I’m going to say the word again ‘time’ – not investing the time. They don’t take the next step of becoming professional. So to many, trading is a hobby and not a profession. Trading demands more time and respect.
Trading will test you, and there will be moments when you’re pushed to the verge of breaking point. So if you cannot uphold a high-level of commitment, you will crumble when the going gets tough. On the other hand, if you have a lionheart and an undeniable passion for what you do, you’ll be unstoppable.