trader_dante
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A few things I've learnt in my time. I think these apply to many different fields in life, not just trading.
1. There is often a huge difference between what you want to do and what you are good at doing.
Some people want the excitement and the energy of day trading but do not have the characteristics to excel in it. Perhaps they are not mentally fast enough or are not aggressive or flexible enough to be a scalper. Instead, perhaps they are more analytical and patient. You have to play to your strengths and weaknesses. You might WANT to be a position trader and make huge amounts of money adding and holding and running but you might find you are naturally more suited to being quick in and quick out, looking for very short term opportunities and taking them as they occur.
2. You cannot make money when you need to make money.
If you need money, get a job. There is no simpler way to put it. Needing to make money puts a huge amount of pressure on you. I am not saying it cannot be done, I am just saying do not be surprised if you fail when you try.
3. People will tell you something cannot be done for no reason other than that they cannot do it themselves.
I have witnessed this time and time again. I firmly believe that if someone lacks the imagination or experience to tell them something can be done they will tell you it cannot. I have seen people saying that trading without a stop loss will not work and have sat with incredible traders who have none. I have seen people say that the house (perhaps replace with SB company) always wins and then seen a young girl with no knowledge of trading or the markets WHATSOEVER, find a loophole in their systems and take them to the cleaners in the process.
4. The simpler you make every pursuit, the easier it becomes to excel in it.
Strip everything off your charts that you do not need. There is a saying that the best system/strategy can be written on the back of a postage stamp. If your strategy is "I wait for the 50 EMA to cross the 100 EMA at a 30 degree angle or higher and then I wait for a breakout of the 10 day high. But I must have the RSI above 50 when it occurs and the market must be in less than 1/3 of its ATR and not hugging the upper part of the Bollinger Bands when I take a position." This might work for you (see part 3) but does it still work the same if you take the Bollinger Bands off? The more you can strip it down the easier it becomes. This is partly because systems that rely on too many inputs are more likely to be dependent on a particular market phase.
5. There is always something new to learn and a better way to do something
You can always do things better. ALWAYS.
1. There is often a huge difference between what you want to do and what you are good at doing.
Some people want the excitement and the energy of day trading but do not have the characteristics to excel in it. Perhaps they are not mentally fast enough or are not aggressive or flexible enough to be a scalper. Instead, perhaps they are more analytical and patient. You have to play to your strengths and weaknesses. You might WANT to be a position trader and make huge amounts of money adding and holding and running but you might find you are naturally more suited to being quick in and quick out, looking for very short term opportunities and taking them as they occur.
2. You cannot make money when you need to make money.
If you need money, get a job. There is no simpler way to put it. Needing to make money puts a huge amount of pressure on you. I am not saying it cannot be done, I am just saying do not be surprised if you fail when you try.
3. People will tell you something cannot be done for no reason other than that they cannot do it themselves.
I have witnessed this time and time again. I firmly believe that if someone lacks the imagination or experience to tell them something can be done they will tell you it cannot. I have seen people saying that trading without a stop loss will not work and have sat with incredible traders who have none. I have seen people say that the house (perhaps replace with SB company) always wins and then seen a young girl with no knowledge of trading or the markets WHATSOEVER, find a loophole in their systems and take them to the cleaners in the process.
4. The simpler you make every pursuit, the easier it becomes to excel in it.
Strip everything off your charts that you do not need. There is a saying that the best system/strategy can be written on the back of a postage stamp. If your strategy is "I wait for the 50 EMA to cross the 100 EMA at a 30 degree angle or higher and then I wait for a breakout of the 10 day high. But I must have the RSI above 50 when it occurs and the market must be in less than 1/3 of its ATR and not hugging the upper part of the Bollinger Bands when I take a position." This might work for you (see part 3) but does it still work the same if you take the Bollinger Bands off? The more you can strip it down the easier it becomes. This is partly because systems that rely on too many inputs are more likely to be dependent on a particular market phase.
5. There is always something new to learn and a better way to do something
You can always do things better. ALWAYS.
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