Custom Search

Expect the Least, Not the Most

There are too many books on positive mental attitude that tell you to have great expectations. They tell you to visualize success. They encourage you to engage in affirmations. They push you to see yourself as a highly profitable trader or investor. I take issue with all of these books, and I caution you against having unrealistic expectations. Try not to have great expectations. Expect to lose. Expect that with time you should begin to break even. Expect that with more time and with more experience you will begin to show profitable results.

Do not expect profits at first. Rather, expect that learning the game will cost you tuition both in terms of time and money. Therefore, you must understand the reasons for your every loss and you must learn from them. There are hundreds if not thousands of traders who begin their trading with unrealistic expectations, a few thousand dollars in risk capital, and a total lack of discipline or method. They soon leave the markets beaten, broke, and broken. In the meantime, their money has been gobbled up by professional traders who thrive on the losses of tyros. If you have

any expectation, then expect failure while hoping that through your learning experiences you can minimize the failures and maximize the successes.

Shut Out the Input of Others - Play Your Game by Your Own Rules

Should you allow yourself to be exposed to, pandered to, and intimately influenced by the many fantastic claims for perfect trading systems and "Holy Grail" seminars, then you will be diverted on your road to success. There is nothing wrong with attempting to improve on what you are doing, but the act of endless searching will distract you from your goal. Don't get sidetracked on your journey. If you are confident with your trading methods and rules, then use them and profit by them. Persevere and ignore the claims and opinions of others as much as you can.

Those who purport to have better systems, better methods, foolproof indicators, outstanding results, and fail-safe risk management will constantly barrage traders with their claims. Before you give any of these serious attention, make sure that what you're doing is not better. Every system you test, every seminar you attend, every piece of software you buy, and every path you take may prove to be a costly excursion away from your final destination. Each takes time, effort, and money. And these are the most precious commodities in the world. They are limited resources not easily replaced.

Therefore, I suggest you find a methodology and commit to it for a predetermined length of time. And during this period of time do not allow yourself to become distracted by anything else, even if it means that you need to close your eyes and ears to the magazines, newspapers, and mail you receive.