If I were to sum-up the most essential traits to be a successful trader, I could list 5 of them.
You’ll find that self-reflection and self-preparation is all it takes to join the 5% of successful traders out there.
Today’s article is going to be a lot of fun, because I need you to help me.
I want you to write down these 5 traits on a piece of paper and rate yourself out of 10 (1 being lowest and 10 being highest) what level you’re on…
The higher the level, the better you’re suited to trading success.
If you find that you your results are at a low level, then make sure you keep reading BlackStone Futures newsletters in the next few weeks because I’ll be helping you develop the mind of a successful trader.
Let’s get to them…
-
GUTS
First you need the guts to do the most basic thing.
To break the inertia and take the guts to open a trading account.
You can’t make a reward without a little risk. And so to do so, set aside some money you can happily use on a holiday and open an account with a trading broker instead.
Once you’ve opened an account, you can deposit R500, R1,000 or even R10,000 what ever you can afford to risk.
Then you’re ready to take your first trade.
So are you ready to open a trading account? If “YES” mark 10 on the piece of paper. If “NO” then mark 0…
-
DISCIPLINE
Second we’re onto discipline.
Answer “yes” or “no” so we can see what level of discipline you’re at…
Do you have the DISCIPLINE to:
- Get up every morning turn on your computer and trade for a few minutes?
- Look for trading setups every day so you can let the market do its thing while you’re away?
- Bank a gain or a loss when the trade hits either your take profit or your stop loss level?
- Never risk more than what you can afford to lose per trade?
- Do this every single week for the rest of your trading career?
- Follow your trading strategy with strict entry, reward and risk levels?
- Prepare a room for your trading where you’ll go every day to analyse and look for high profit trades?
- Not give up on trading after a small losing streak?
- Not go against your strategy?
Every “yes’’ answer will give you one point… Then write down DISCIPLINE on your piece of paper and add up the number of ones to see the level you’re at in this case
Moving on…
-
PATIENCE
Third, you need to understand how important it is to be patient enough to discern a buying moment and a selling moment.
You need to know WHEN to buy and sell what I call a high probability trade.
You’ll need patience to wait for a trade to line up according to your strategy and not just rush into taking a trade for the sake of it.
Most loser traders’ think they’re better than their strategy and so they just take trades because of how they feel a market will go.
It’s reasons like these why they put a bad name to trading.
How patient are you? This seems to be a bit more subjective as you know yourself better. And so write down your level of patience down…
-
INDEPENDENCE
Now this is an important one…
Successful trading, unfortunately and fortunately, is a LONE ranger game.
Everything you do and decide is all down to you and your strategy.
You should not depend on anyone…
With this trait, I want you to start at 10 points and with every “YES” answer, I want you to subtract a point.
Then you’ll know what level of INDEPENDENCE you’re at.
Let’s go…
When you trade will you listen to the opinions from your:
- Friends
- Family
- TV
- Your irrational feelings
- Dog or cat
- Magazines
- Radio
- Colleagues
- Random person
- Spouse?
Write your level of independence down now…
Independence is crucial in order to be a successful trader.
-
MONEY
You need money to make money.
And let me tell you something about that last point – It’s true, but only partly.
Because, yes, money is necessary… But what they are hiding is that you DO NOT need thousands of rands to make money.
You can start with little… Very little.
In fact, you can get you started trading local, international markets and currencies with just R1,000.
So this one is easy…
If you have R1,000 to trade give yourself a rating of 10 under money. If you don’t have R1,000 then simply put 0.
How’s your score?
If your score is looking pretty good and high already then it sounds like you’re probably ready to start banking a good income from the markets.
Only if you’re happy with your score so far, then feel free to check out my Welcome Guide to optimise your trading success, so you can start or continue your successful trading.
If you feel your score could be better then make sure you check out our extra free trading lessons by clicking here.
“Wisdom yields Wealth”
Timon Rossolimos
Analyst, BlackStone Futures
Enjoyed this article? Feel free to send me your thoughts to [email protected] and don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page for trading related to articles, tips, events and specials…
[su_divider]
