About the 95% statistics. Just a question

One of my favorite quotes of all time from an old boss of mine goes as follows

"If your not winning the game, just change the way your keeping score"

 

Yep, my sentiments exactly.

 

So the general opinion now is the 95% failure rate is inflated? I wonder how many out there after two complete business cycles are making serious money trading.

Any statistics on how many people who study law pass the bar and become lawyers? Or how about what percentage of med students end up as practicing doctors? Maybe that will gve another perspective.

 

Problem is that people who go to a law/med school for a day/semester and quit are considered a failure. Heck, people who even applied to a law/med school and don't get in are considered a failure.

So basically statisticians can fudge the data anyway they want to make 95% feasible in just about any profession.

But of course, if you ONLY count those that pass the bar, and what % of those become practicing lawyers, now that's a completely different story....

 

You cant step into the ring with Mohammed Ali just because you think you can box.

Most traders fail because they aren't in it for the long haul. Its a lifelong commitment. It takes a huge amount of time, energy and money.

Just look at Abe Lincoln. He failed many times through out his life and he never gave up. He fought hard and became one of the greatest presidents of the United States. If he had given up after his first failed business venture who knows how history might have played out.

Daytrading is intense. You are competing against the best in the world. Its not an easy ride and it shouldn't be treated as such. When you are knocked down, just lick your wounds and get right back up again.

I frankly don't care about the 95% who fail. You only fail when you have given up on trying to win. I acknowledge the 5% who have put in the time and effort. They deserve your attention and respect because they have earned every last penny.

Happy Trading

 

Are we talking stocks or forex here? These are two different arenas.

 

Every state bar passes % passage rates after every Bar exam. But plenty of people can go to law school and sit for the Bar. The Bar exam is a memorization test so if you take the Review course and study and are not a total idiot, you can pass the exam.

I do not think that just anyone can trade simply by studying and studying.

 

does it really take that much time and energy?? i have no idea...

are we really competing agaisnt the best in the world or just like michael says " the man in the mirror"....you are either in or you are not....who cares what joe schmo at so-gen is doing

 

We are taught in life that what we do right now there will be an end result to it. Sample would be, I get a potato from my fridge, and I want to wash it. I KNOW that water will come out from my faucet. When I open my faucet, yeap water comes out (end result). I wash my potato and I place it in a cooking pan and I KNOW that when I turned on my oven on, heat will come on (end result). I estimate that within 30-40 minutes in the “hot” oven, my potato will be cooked. Yeah, 30-40 minutes later my potato is fully cooked (end result). I eat my potato, without giving it a second thought of “choking” and swallow my potato (end result). After eating, my dishes are dirty and I know that I can get water from my faucet so that I can wash my dishes…..NOW imagine this.....what if there was no fact end result, but only “THE Unknown”. What if that you went to the fridge to get the potato, there was no potato or worse a rotten potato? What if there was a potato, but when you open your faucet there was no water, or the water was brown and you are thinking, WTF?

In life we all want to be sure of the end result and we want to feel like we are taking some form of risk. Why do we stop at red lights (for the most part), because we don’t want the end result to be an accident or a ticket?

Trading, has NO END RESULT, the market is always in motion. Trading is not like other forms of speculation; horse, poker, dogs and etc. In horse racing, you will see the end result within 1-2 minutes. And it starts all over again. In trading, one might have taken profits, but the market continues, in your favor and you feel, damn. Or it goes the other way and you took profits and it makes the trader feel like a god.

I have been told that 95% of trading is not about the market or the other trader but only about you. YOUR Emotions. The other 5% is the actual trade itself.

“Is John considered a trader from those who make the statistics?” To answer that question, to my knowledge there has NEVER been an actual document or FACT, only speculation that about 95% of trader lose.

In other words there is no document that said in the year 2006, 1,495,365 people traded and about 74,769 people were profitable. It is assume and accepted and more than likely the number is probably higher