Tip 1: Trading more or longer is not the best method.
Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing You can do.
"Many people get so tangled up in markets that they lose perspective. Working longer doesn't necessarily mean working smarter. Sometimes it's just the opposite." - Martin Schwartz
Most jobs are created with a time attachment. Spend X hours, and we'll pay You Y amount. This link between time spent and reward is so commonplace that we take it for granted in everything we do.
Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to traders who want to maximize profits from their trading edge.
Why? As Martin Schwartz noted, we need to work smarter, not longer.
The key argument is that the market is beyond our control. Sure, we can spend more time trading, but if the conditions aren't optimal, it will do more harm than good.
"The urge to keep on doing something, regardless of the basic conditions, is responsible for many losses on Wall Street even among professionals who feel they must bring home a little money every day, as if they were working for a regular wage." - Jesse Livermore
As Jesse Livermore said, we need to abandon the idea of a "regular paycheck" and respect the basic conditions of the market.
Think about it. If the market doesn't offer You a trading edge, then the best thing You can do is stop trading.
"If most traders would learn to sit on their hands 50% of the time, they would make a lot more money." - Bill Lipschutz
Bill Lipschutz's opinion underscores the fact that most traders trade much more than they should.
Tip 2: A trader doesn't need to be a genius.
Smart people achieve success. That's what most of us think.
But for successful trading, intelligence is of secondary importance. Peter Lynch has a more specific opinion on how academically competent traders should be.
"All the math You need in the stock market You get in the fourth grade." - Peter Lynch
So, if intelligence isn't the key factor in successful trading, then what is?
"The key to trading success is emotional discipline. If intelligence were the key, there would be a lot more people making money trading." - Victor Sperandeo
If You had enough trading experience, You'd be dealing with issues like overtrading, strings of losses, and revenge trading. So agree with Victor Sperandeo. Occasionally, we can benefit from such a reminder.
If You're a beginner in trading, perhaps I haven't convinced You of the importance of the emotional side of trading. But keep this idea in mind, and hopefully, it will shorten Your search for the Holy Grail.
Tip 3: The harder You try to make money, the harder it is to achieve.
"The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary." - Alexander Elder
Focusing on making the best trades means focusing on the process. When You focus on the process, You'll find ways to improve it. When You focus on the results, You'll be distracted and jump around without a consistent approach. Therefore, let money be a by-product of a reliable trading process. Bill Lipschutz put it aptly:
"If you're motivated by money, you're making a mistake. The truly successful trader has to be involved and into the trading process; money is the by-product... The primary motivation has to be the playing itself." - Bill Lipschutz
In other words, anyone facing financial difficulties shouldn't be trading. If You feel You must make money, it diminishes Your trading productivity.
These advice explain why trading isn't the easiest way to make money for most people.
But let's suppose Your primary goal isn't about making money; instead, it's about extracting lessons from this process. In that case, You'll find pleasure in the challenges trading throws at You because they'll force You to question your assumptions and confront Your emotional shortcomings. If You achieve success, beyond financial rewards, You'll gain valuable life lessons.
However, since these ideas and advice aren't intuitively understandable, it's practically impossible to heed them from the outset. Fully internalizing them requires a certain trading experience, one that includes disappointments and regrets. Nevertheless, by analyzing and reflecting on them, we can shorten our path to becoming mature and consistent traders.
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