Financial advice is abundant but a proven track record of trading success is rare.

 

Everywhere you go, somebody is trying to sell you a shortcut to trading riches. Buy my fail-proof eBook, download my winning trading robot, follow my five steps to success, buy my money-back guaranteed course! Follow my trade signals! Financial advice is abundant but a proven track record of trading success is rare.


 

I challenge you to ask anyone selling something related to trading what their audited results are.

Before I come down on the entire trading industry, I admit that there is some decent content out there. You just need to wade through the quagmire of slick sales pitches and get-rich-quick schemes. I encourage you to curate the content yourself. It’s so easy to go down a rabbit hole of free online resources that before long, you can get entirely caught up and start to question your motives and original ideas. This constant need for more information to justify your beliefs or lack of courage leads to indecision and further delays your dreams and aspirations.

It’s admirable to learn and develop. Education is essential for success. But there comes a time to put the books away and roll up your sleeves. There is a significant difference between having a new idea, technique, or craft and actually implementing it.

Here is how:

  • Start by focusing on your motives. Do you really love trading or just in it for a quick buck?
  • What is your edge? There are some very clever people with some very large bank balances in the markets, do you have an edge that will allow you to compete with them?
  • How are you going to express that edge in the capital markets?
  • Have you written down your detailed trading plan?

 

To those of you who want to know when the right time to make your move will be, know that there will never be a perfect time. If you are waiting for the perfect time- when you have enough money, enough time, enough energy, enough knowledge and enough support, then you are more likely to end up in Dr. Seuss’s waiting place* forever.

Do this instead:

Start right where you are with what you have.

 

  1. Educate Yourself: Learn the basics of trading, financial markets, and trading strategies.

  2. Develop a Trading Plan: Create a detailed trading plan outlining your goals, risk tolerance, trading strategy, and rules for entry and exit.

  3. Practice with a Demo Account: Use a demo account to practice trading without risking real money. This helps you gain experience and test your trading plan.

  4. Research and Choose a Reliable Broker: Select a reputable broker with good reviews, low fees, and a reliable trading platform.

  5. Understand position sizing: Learn how to manage risk, including setting stop-loss orders and determining the appropriate position size for each trade.

  6. Stay adaptable: Adapt to changing market conditions. No system will work perfectly in all market conditions.

  7. Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme and be prepared for both gains and losses. You are in this for the long haul.

  8. Create a Trading Journal: Keep a record of all your trades, including the rationale behind each trade, to analyze and improve your performance over time. Record your journal every evening after the market closes and review it every morning before the market opens.

 

Maybe you’ve already read the books, listened to the podcasts, and told all your friends. Now all you have to do is spring into action.


“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

         --Start where you are with what you have--

 

Best of luck!

Justin

 

P.S. If you need help with any of the steps above, please reach out to me for guidance.

 

*The “waiting place” comes from Dr. Seuss’s masterpiece Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (I highly recommend reading it.)

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