10,000 hours if you are lucky. 5 years at 40 hours a week How many people attempt to trade yet don't put the time in to master it ? My guess is 95% don't give it the time needed because they want instant gratification. How many start trading with 1 year of living expenses saved up ? By forcing one to trade with scared money to cover the montly nut is another factor that will highly predict failure in trading. Personality type has a lot to do with it. From a few simple questions I can determine if one has the genetic make up to become a trader. Do some research on how many successful traders are INTJ. Now do it for all the other personality types. Not everyone can be a successful trader. Heaven knows I've tried to help those in the past and they couldn't get past the curve because they weren't born with the traits that are needed to do it successfully . We are all born with God given talents. Most don't like to hear the truth. Most don't like me because I shoot from the hip and don't sugarcoat one with bull$hit. Most can't handle the truth. And at the end of the day that is exactly what trading will do, it will show you the truth in your fundamental beliefs. It will expose your weakness and make you reflect real life in the mirror instead of what you have covered up over the years.
What if its not the Market whispering fuzzy stuff in his ear, but the Devil herself? Trading Devil to Jesus: All these kingdoms will I give to thee if you will but worship me. Nod goes to Penny. Cure the cancer in its infancy. Its deadlier than Pancreatic cancer. The only cure is Sylvestor Stallone.
Not just the academic knowledge of how expected value is defined, of probability and measure theory but to have a certain level of probabilistic thinking ingrained in one's everyday life. Only very few apply probabilities when they for example, forgo an awesome sale because they first wanna look around to see what else is out there, ignoring the chances of the sale being gone when they come back. Talking about probabilities and expected value is one thing, living and breathing it in almost every life situation is an entirely different thing.