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Are you under the belief that the successful traders know something that you dont? Are they sitting on some magical formula or secret strategy that is the missing piece to your puzzle? The answer is no. Pro traders go through the same problems you do they just react to them differently. Truth is it takes hard work and dedication but below are a few simple mistakes we have made along the way.
Holy grail hunting– Are you looking for a secret, a special software or a guru you think you can piggy back of of trade for trade? If so you wont find it, I tried many years ago and there is no such thing. You might make a buck or two off a hot tip and catch a nice trade here and there but you will not sustain long term success unless you learn on your own. Plus once you do learn you will find out you are less anxious and scared taking your own trades rather than blindly following another trader.
Stubbornness There are multi levels of stubbornness. We talked a little bit about stubbornness in rule number 2 , not being able to accept loss but if you are struggling you may be too stubborn to seek help. Sometimes people who are highly educated or are making a transition from a highly respectable career can think that that their elite education will seamlessly translate into trading success, this is so not true. In my years of teaching I have seen Harvard grads fail miserably and grocery clerks make millions. That is not always the case but I have seen it more than once. Success is based on the individuals desire to be successful and there ability to utilize the resources around them. If you are struggling and refuse to ask for help you may be making an early , bitter exit from trading
Accepting the wrong– One of the most noticeable differences between highly successful traders and struggling traders is processing and accepting the wrong. A real pro can sniff out quickly when their edge is gone or when a trade has gone against them. Their ability to block out all of the emotional reasons as to why they thought they would be right on the trade are kicked aside and they take the loss and move on. It is more important to your success on how you handle your losers rather than how you handle your wins.
Self talk– Its normal that when we lose on a trade we take it personal. I mean when we pushed the button we were for sure this trade was going to work out and when it didn’t we can feel stupid. For many this leads to a demeaning self talk. Calling yourself names and building up deep internal anger will destroy you. Despite our best efforts to win on each trade the market has too many variables for us to be right all the time. You have to understand that when you lose, providing the trade was taken according to plan, there is no shame in that. Pro traders know this, chalk it up as part of the territory and move on. Now, if you purposely went outside of your trading plan by taking a revenge trade or something similar then maybe you can yell at yourself a little but be kind.
Commitment sometimes we say we are all in 100% but we truly do not understand what 100% means. Your commitment level needs to be close to the border of obsession and perhaps a little crazy. We hear of the elite high level athletes having personal trainers, specialized coaches, mental psychologists, nutritionists and a deep support system. If you want to maximize your potential and reach heights you never thought possible you will need to do the same. You will need coaches, mentors and a strong support system to make you the best you can be. You will need to spend many late nights studying your set ups and tweaking your systems. You will need to spend many hours working while you friends a playing and that sucks but that is what successful people do- make sacrifices
Success at no matter what field takes an incredible amount of time and commitment, there is no such thing as a shortcut. However, at this moment there are more available resources that we just didn’t have when I started trading 14 years ago. There are many great traders out there online with good chat rooms and great educational resources. Having these resources available to you will cut your learning time in half if not more but you have to be willing to let your guard down and learn with an open mind.
When I created TheLincolnList the main reason was to share not my success but my failures. I spent the first 4 years of my trading career violating all 5 of the above rules and I never had a wining month those first 4 years either. I blew up 2 trading accounts in the process and left myself an emotional wreck. It wasn’t until I cleared my mind , stopped thinking I was a know it and found a mentor was I able to turn it around. Since then I haven’t had a losing month since 2005. My goal was to help as many traders as I could to avoid walking down the same path as I did.
All the tools are available to be successful at Thelincolnlist. Both the Lincoln Alerts day trade program and the Lincoln Million swing trade program are up over triple digit percentages this year and it s only June. If you suffer from any of the above and you want to get to that next level as a trader I urge you to take a free trial to any of our services here. I think once you do you will realize that TheLincolnList is not an ordinary chat room its a learning experience.
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Trading stocks has large potential rewards but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest or trade the financial markets. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed in any material on this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. For the avoidance of any doubt, TheLincolnList.com does not hold itself as a Trading Adviser (CFP or CFA).Given this representation, all information and material provided by TheLincolnList is for educational purposes only and should not be considered specific investment advice.