There are certain character traits that are crucial to your success as a trader – Luckily, these can all be learnt at any time. Some people believe that you have to be super-intelligent, good with numbers, and that people are ‘natural-born traders’. This is simply wrong.
This was conclusively shown to be false by the same story that inspired me – Richard Dennis’s ‘turtle’ experiment, where he took 14 non-traders and taught them how to trade in only 2 weeks. They went on to make $175 million in only 5 years. I deconstruct and explain all the same principles in my FREE content
The three key traits that are crucial to the success of a trader are shown below.
1.Discipline
As I explained in my blog 3 Characteristics of losing traders most of the traps traders fall into can be overcome with discipline. This means controlling your emotions, and executing trades with a plan. Cutting losses early, and not giving back all those hard earned profits. This means having the discipline to keep trading through losing periods, and acknowledge that big profit opportunities do not come every day.
Discipline is not easy, and some struggle more than others. When I first started off I didn’t have enough discipline at all. But I developed it, and if I can do it, anyone can.
2. Patience
The problem with many new traders is that they are in a rush to get rich. The counter-intuitive nature about trading is the harder you try to make riches, the less likely you are to succeed. For the first year after I started trading, I desperately wanted nothing more than to make money, and I lost focus on what was important – trading well. This meant I traded positions too large, I looked for set-ups where there weren’t any, and I traded too frequently. It was a disaster.
The moment I stopped focusing on the money, and started focusing on trading properly, the entire situation flipped. The money came without even trying, and since then we have turned $500 into over $30,000. Trading can be a path to riches – but it is not a get-rich-quick scheme (Warrant Buffet averages 30% a year, so it took decades to build his fortune!).
Channel your inner Buddha
3. Perseverance
Perseverance is what helps people overcome the hurdles they face on the route to growing their account. Determination is what is needed to try out different strategies until you find one that is right for you, and allows you to persevere through losses and continue to learn, develop and grow as a trader.
It is cliché, but success if not a straight path. There will be failures along the way, but you must be able to learn from these and persevere through. I have done my best to share all the lessons I have learned with you on my blog and FREE trading material but it is on you to put the work in.
The Two Traders
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