Knowledge is Power

The first thing I like to tell people who are interested in the world of trading is that you must first and foremost get a solid foundation of knowledge before you ever even think about placing your first trade. In my mind this is crucial. This is an industry of sharks and piranhas looking for easy pickings. As quick little fishes, swimming in these waters can be treacherous. It’s one thing to ride with the whales, it’s another thing altogether when there’s blood in the water if you catch my drift. Speaking of the ocean, the trading world itself is like a bottomless well of information, of which the floor is only scraped by very few Cousteau’s. What I mean to say is there is endless information one could amass over a lifetime, and yet the art of this pursuit is in distilling this information down to its most basic form and executing on it. This is easier said than done. In order to get there, you must first learn not just the basics, but the safety aspects as well. Treat this pursuit as you would getting your lifeguard certification. You must be aware of your hazards first before you can save someone, such as no fire, no wire, no gas, no glass. In theory if you can save someone else, you can avert disaster yourself. This is paramount to trading. You might even be able to swim with sharks one day if you know what you’re truly doing. That’s how crazy trading is.
Another way to think of it is that you can’t build a house without a solid foundation.

Right from Wrong

One of the many allures of trading is that you can make a lot of money. Ferrari’s, fast women, rich cigars. You can have it all! The truth is very few reach these pinnacles of success, and that’s true of any pursuit. The impossible is however marketed as the outcome of simply taking my course. Everybody’s doing it. Don’t you like making money?

The thing with trading is, everyone can be prone to the seduction of making lots and lots of money. Marketers know this and they capitalize fully on the get rich quick dreams of the masses. But this mentality is, as any great investor will tell you, the road to ruin. It is therefore so important to get the right type of information and mentorship, and really knowing right from wrong only comes with experience. You can however short circuit this challenge by finding a quality mentor who can demonstrably show real success for you to replicate (Like RP in the Trading Room). At the end of the day though, it is up to you to develop your own system that works for you, and that takes time.

The Turtle beats the Hare

I recently watched the newly released film Ford vs. Ferrari. I won’t give away too much of the plot, but central to the film was the idea that star driver Ken Miles was the only one who could drive the new Ford GT40 model race car to beat Ferrari at the Le Mans race. I like to think that in trading, no two racers are the same, and everyone will have a different mastery of the track. The most important thing is not to beat your fellow racers, but to not crash. To that end, you’re not racing them, you’re racing yourself. In this respect, I think the old parable of the turtle and the hare is especially applicable to trading. You will only get ahead by taking things slow. This isn’t ford vs Ferrari after all. You have to master the track at your own pace and taking things slow and steady will keep you safe. The turtle beats the hare.

Repetition is the father of all learning

The most important aspect of learning to trade once you have built a foundation of knowledge and developed a proven system with a statistical edge — an aspect we didn’t discuss here, is practice practice practice. We’re talking ‘bout practice! There is a difference between good practices, and bad ones. You must develop sound, well thought out practices that you can repeat over and over again until they become second nature. Trading is a process, and a performance based one at that. In order to perform at a high level you have to practice at a high level. You must never get complacent. Your brain is a muscle, and you must train it like any other muscle group, through constant repetition. The great ones are always in the gym before dawn. Trading is no different.

Trust the classics

As far as where to go to build your foundation of knowledge, the internet is rife with information. My advice to you, is start with the classics and build off wherever your deepest interests lie. I would however advise you to cast a broad net in the beginning, and narrow your focus as you go on. Now go forth and be prosperous. If you are having any trouble getting started feel free to contact me or leave your information in the form below and I will reach out to you directly.