Note: this blog is deeply inspired by a recent blog post by Ray Allen. Thank you for a truly moving discourse. For those who don’t know, he is a multi-championship winning basketball player who’s drive and dedication should be admired by all – regardless of profession. My story is not quite as successful, or successful at all, to date.

 

I’ve been trading six months. I’ve made countless mistakes and know I’ll make countless more. My determination to succeed and my thirst for knowledge, however, has only increased. This is a letter to myself, but its main purpose is to guide and provide advice to all traders in my exact position (starting out oblivious to everything) – like I did six months ago. So enjoy it – and take the advice I wish I could have given myself, in this letter.

 

To Stephen (six months ago)

First of all, I’m proud of you. You’re about to embark on a journey which has helped you nurture and develop key skills that are admirable in any man. You’ve learnt to exert discipline, restraint and an ability to see something through for a prolonged period.

 

But don’t get ahead of yourself. This is a long and never-ending journey. There will be times you think you know everything. You’ll never know everything – the market lives and breathes. As it continues to evolve, you’ll forever be two steps behind its footprint.

 

Don’t be scared when I tell you this - but you’re about to walk down a wide, dark alley. At first, it’s pure darkness, and the light – not one spark – shines. You’ll have a guide and mentor (Tim). But, although his messages sound simplistic and easy to comprehend, there are countless nuances and variables which can alter everything. Watch his videos and lessons repeatedly with faith.

 

And about those numbers, tickers, and charts patterns on your screen. They may appear a foreign language at the moment. But with time, and patience, you’ll soon develop a sort of knack and second nature for them. It gets easier – very slowly.

 

You’re desperate to trade, I know.  You want to prove yourself to the world and the idea of being a millionaire is frankly, amazing. You’ll think it’s too good to be true – it is. You have so much work ahead of you before you can consider that.

 

Don’t bother trading. You’re not ready for the market. It will chew up your arrogant, over-confident and uneducated mind – only to spit you out broke again.

 

Trading is a losing game: 90% lose and you have to pay your broker commissions before you even compete.

 

How dare you pay such little respect to such a monstrous organism.  

 

Don’t you know this living entity spits people out with 100x your experience level? It sends them home broke and for some -  takes their house and ruins their life. The market has no mercy – for anyone.

 

How can you, who knows nothing, even think it’s possible to beat this entity with such little experience.

 

Remember this: it doesn’t matter how frequently you talk about being successful – it’s the studying in isolation which will prove your worth. Those boring old habits anyone worth anything routinely follows.

 

Now it’s your turn to adopt those boring old habits. Tell your friends you won’t see them for a while, make excuses if you have to - if it helps them understand - and prepare for consecutive work nights and weekends studying. If it was easy everyone would do it. There’s no short cuts in this game.

 

You need to learn that to be the best you need to do what others won’t. You'll change in the process - but you'll love who you're becoming.

 

Once you start studying and you begin to understand the market, don’t get cocky. That dark alley is becoming a little clearer – there’s a little more light – but it’s just a glimmer. The light will disappear, but don’t worry, it will come back again. You’ll trip over a few times finding your way too – just dust yourself down and keep walking. The cuts hurt – much like the losses – but it’s a mandatory part of learning.

 

Remember this: when starting out, trade a little – the market is a volatile mother fucker which can lure you in and trick you into trading something you didn’t even want to. At first, spend more of your time watching the market, and NEVER trade on impulse – you’ll lose every time.

 

When you do trade, make some videos of your trades. Looking back on them will help you learn and if you put them on YouTube people will offer their thoughts and encouragements – the world is full of good people who respect a hard worker, ultimately.

 

Once you get used to the market’s behaviour, you’ll learn to outsmart it – but you need to understand its ways first.

 

If anyone tells you trading is a mistake, acknowledge that, for most people, it will be. They don’t have what it takes to commit to years of learning.

 

Unfortunately, at first, there’s some financial commitment to learning. You’ll require the latest tools, the best information and the best teachers. The alternate, sadly, is that if you don’t choose the best of the latter you might get stuck in that dark alley forever. Scary thought, hey? The challenge is tough enough, don’t make it harder on yourself by not accepting anything but the best tools and help.

 

You’ll come across Tim’s challenge, sign up – there’s hundreds of webinars and thousands of video lessons and countless DVDs. Work hard – make studying a priority and trading secondary to learning. You’re on this journey for years not months.

 

Sometimes you’ll doubt yourself, but there’s thousands of others who’ve been where you are now who’ve made it. Stay true to yourself.

 

As a last piece of advice:

 

Don’t be impulsive. Research thoroughly. Put studying first and never quit.

 

The light will gradually shine brighter, don’t be disheartened by set-backs.

 

And for the life of you friend, cut your losses quickly – if you don’t – the game will be over faster than you could ever imagine.

 

(ends)

 

 

 I’ll be writing another letter to myself to review my performance after one year trading. I hope this helps you guys –please comment your thoughts below.