38 steps to becoming a trader

Brian mentions that this has been on the internet for years but it’s the first I’ve seen of it.  It’s pretty good.  I can and you should also be able to relate.  Thanks for the info Brian.

38 steps to becoming a trader

They are as follows:

1. We accumulate information - buying books, going to seminars and
researching.
2. We begin to trade with our ‘new’ knowledge.
3. We consistently ‘donate’ and then realize we may need more knowledge or
information.
4. We accumulate more information.
5. We switch the commodities  (products) we are currently following.
6. We go back into the market and trade with our ‘updated’ knowledge.
7. We get ‘beat up’ again and begin to lose some of our confidence. Fear
starts setting in.
8. We start to listen to ‘outside news’ and to other traders.
9. We go back into the market and continue to ‘donate’.
10. We switch commodities  (products) again.
11. We search for more information.
12. We go back into the market and start to see a little progress.
13. We get ‘over-confident’ and the market humbles us.
14. We start to understand that trading successfully is going to take more
time and more knowledge than we anticipated.

MOST PEOPLE WILL GIVE UP AT THIS POINT,
AS THEY REALIZE WORK IS INVOLVED.

15. We get serious and start concentrating on learning a ‘real’ methodology.
16. We trade our methodology with some success, but realize that something
is missing.
17. We begin to understand the need for having rules to apply our
methodology.
18. We take a sabbatical from trading to develop and research our trading
rules.
19. We start trading again, this time with rules and find some success, but
over all we still hesitate when it comes time to execute.
20. We add, subtract and modify rules as we see a need to be more proficient
with our rules.
21. We feel we are very close to crossing that threshold of successful
trading.
22. We start to take responsibility for our trading results as we understand
that our success is in us, not the methodology.
23. We continue to trade and become more proficient with our methodology and
our rules.
24. As we trade we still have a tendency to violate our rules and our
results are still erratic.
25. We know we are close.
26. We go back and research our rules.
27. We build the confidence in our rules and go back into the market and
trade.
28. Our trading results are getting better, but we are still hesitating in
executing our rules.
29. We now see the importance of following our rules as we see the results
of our trades when we don’t follow the rules.
30. We begin to see that our lack of success is within us (a lack of
discipline in following the rules because of some kind of fear) and we begin
to work on knowing ourselves better.
31. We continue to trade and the market teaches us more and more about
ourselves.
32. We master our methodology and our trading rules.
33. We begin to consistently make money.
34. We get a little over-confident and the market humbles us.
35. We continue to learn our lessons.
36. We stop thinking and allow our rules to trade for us (trading becomes
boring, but successful)
and our trading account continues to grow as we increase our contract size.
37. We are making more money than we ever dreamed possible.
38. We go on with our lives and accomplish many of the goals we had always
dreamed of.

Most traders will identify with this list and should be able to place
themselves within these steps. Keep in mind that very few people progress
through these steps in an orderly fashion. Developing your trading skills is
an iterative process. For example, you may reach Step 13., find that
although you were making money, your basic premise for trading was flawed
(you might have been benefitting from the bull market, rather than your own
trading prowess and then have been rudely awakened when the market entered a
bear phase) and you may drop back to Step 4. and start ‘climbing’ the steps
again. Having the proper mindset, attitude and psychological makeup becomes
increasingly important as you progress through the steps. The focus of the
earlier steps is on external issues, i.e. developing proficiency in the
mechanics of trading while the focus of the latter steps (particularly from
Step 30, on) is on internal issues, i.e. improving ourselves mentally and
psychologically, maturing as traders.

Popularity: 1%