3 Things I Changed To Make $300,000 This Year

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With just over a month left in 2016 it looks like it is going to be the best performance year for TheLincolnList. The day trading program sits at +146% or $246,194 in gains YTD and our Part Time Trader Program, Lincoln Million, is at +45% or $18,941 in gains YTD With one more month to go in 2016 we should finish up with close to $300,000 in total trading profits. This is a good bit higher than I have experienced over the last few years of trading ( Service avg since inception in 2010 is $225,000 pr year ). To be honest the results are still short of the 500k a year goal I set for myself in January. Even though I came up short on my goal I did manage to break out of my comfort zone and earn about +65,000 more in extra income. How much can I complain, right? I decided in this post I would share 3 core things I changed about my trading that had the biggest impact on my results.

Less Is More– I had a terrible tendency in the past to trade 6 to 7 different set ups. Much of this had to do with my belief that I could trade in sync with the market every day of the week and no matter what market climate we were in I would always find grade A prime tier 1 set ups. If only it were that easy. In fact, what this really did was spread me thin throughout the day and toy with my emotions. Sure, I made money doing it but its hard to be bullish, then bearish, then bullish and bearish, then bullish, bearish and neutral at the same time, and so on. It may sound exotic to be so well rounded but in trading it can be counter productive. I remember the famous Bruce Lee quote often used ” I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks but the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”. Point, you succeed by not being average at many things but by being a master of one thing. I decided at the start of 2016 to trade mostly tier one set ups [ SEE HOW TO RANK YOUR TRADES IN THIS VIDEO] I say mostly cause Im human and I am still a work in progress. So my favorite strategy is short selling parabolics and buying flushes. [You can see what that is in this live trade]. The result? I have made 212 less trades in 2016 than I did at this time in 2015 and have earned about 65,000 more in profits. The more striking statistic is my success rate on parabolic shorts went from 70% to 80%. Less trades, less commissions, increased win rate, more profits =- nuff said. Master one thing.

Twitter Be Damned– I admit I was a Twitter addict. I had to know what everyone was saying, what everyone was trading, and what everybody was doing. It got so bad I was on there all hours of the night reading crap that had nothing to do with my life. I just wanted to hear everybody’s opinion about trading, motorcycles, hockey, backpacking etc, so sad. Its not just twitter. Social media is now a large part of our lives and where most of us get our information these days but to me social media can be like drinking. Its okay to have a drink now and then but don’t be getting hammered every night, its not good for you. Social media can be a great investment tool but in most cases its a distraction. The distraction comes from us getting sidetracked from our daily routine by bickering, voicing our opinions, watching you tube videos etc, instead of focusing on what we need to do. Social media and other peoples opinion can also talk you out of a great idea and negatively influence the financial decisions you make. Remember, you are in charge of your money. When you take a stock pick off a social media pumper or wannabe guru, if you lose I guarantee you they wont send you a check for the screw up. Now I never trade based off of someones tweets but I know people do. My problem was reading and engaging in stupid crap. Of course I am still on social media everyday and I always will be but I estimate my time spent ” surfing” has been cut in half .I don’t know the direct result of how much of my life and time I saved by not wasting it on social media but I’m sure the above profit and win percentage increases benefited from my reduced use.

I got nothing to prove-I will also admit a few years back I had a huge chip on my shoulder ( now its just a little chip). I would get furious with people who made trading sound like it was so easy. Seems like every 5 minutes there is an overnight trading prodigy popping up from out of nowhere with a Ferrari and a 20k watch holding a stack of cash in front of the steering wheel pimping you on their fool proof trading system. I took offence to this because I know its garbage and trading is anything but easy . I know how hard you have to work to cut it as a trader and that there are no short cuts, period. I will never forget how hard I worked to get to where I am today. I remember every dollar I lost, every sleepless night , every emotional meltdown and every computer I threw out the window, so please don’t tell me you figured this out over spring break from High School. As annoying as this was I cant fault them. It’s not my place to judge anyone. Some people are great at marketing, put on a good dog and pony show, dangle the carrot in front of the sheep and they drink it up. People love being sold that way. They want to believe and they want to believe in EASY. I once was a sheep like that who wanted his slice of easy pie,I didn’t get it and you probably wont either. If you want something, sorry to say, you are going to have to bust ass to get it. My point to you is, you have nothing to prove to anyone either. The only person you need to live up to is yourself. Youe definition of success and weath is what matters not what society “recommends”.

I’ve since cooled off a lot in my older age and understand what my place is in all of this. Now going on my 17th year as a trader I know exactly what it takes for someone to make it here and stay here. I know I’ve paid my dues and I will stay in this business as long as I chose to. Although my earlier years were hell I have since done well for myself as a trader and because I’m somewhat of a minimalist in life by choice I have more than enough to walk away from this today and live comfortably for ever even though I probably never will. I also get that not everyone will like me or listen to me but I will continue to do what I always do. Trade stocks and help anyone who asks for it . In 2017 I will continue to perfect how I approach my trading and work harder for that 500k goal. Not because that is what someone else wants but because that is my goal and what I want.

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