I've waited about six years to make this public announcement, so here goes. This is a personal story of success for certain, but equally as important, this is a story about never allowing your dreams to die. This is a story of triumph, no doubt. However, this is equally a story of perseverance and the power of prayer. This is about happiness and at the very same time, about pain and sacrifice. I am 41 years young/old. I began "trading" (if you can call it that, when I was 35 years old, about 1 year after I first started playing golf. When I first began playing golf at the age of 34, after having played 12 years of football, several years of baseball, track, basketball and even a dip into downhill skiing and tennis, I thought to my self, "hmmmm, how difficult can this game called golf really be anyway?" I went out and purchased my first set of cheap golf clubs for less than $200 and drove out to the driving range for the first time in my life, thinking that hitting a golf ball like Tiger Woods, would be a breeze and getting ready for the PGA would take no more than 16 months worth of work - of course, having been an athlete prior. The baseball moves at me at 90+ mph, so certainly, hitting a little golf ball sitting on the ground, had to be the easiest thing in the world - right? LOL! Never having the need for ANY coaching in ANY sport that I've ever played at high levels in the past, most definitely made me feel confident about being able to learn how to hit a golf ball. So, I bought my first "large bucket," walked over to the range, dropped my first ball and took my first swing. Having missed the ball completely, spinning around almost 360-degrees and nearly falling on my butt, I knew right then and there, that I would never learn how to hit a golf ball properly, without first learning the basics called Swing Mechanics. I promptly signed-up for the next lesson on my PGA Instructor's calendar - ego bruised but dignity firmly intact. With trading the international currency markets, the lessons learned in getting up to speed in golf, are surprising similar in concept. There are fundamentals (mechanics) to learn and then there is the developmental process of tweaking your own swing, such that it is consistently repeatable under all course conditions - similar to being able to trade under all market conditions. Tiger Woods, is just about the only player on the PGA Tour, that has come close to mastering this most difficult process, but it took him more than 10,000 hours to get his approach to the sport, down pat. That's like working 8 hours per day, every day, 365 days a years, for 3.424 years, non-stop. Or, working the equivalent of 3.47 years at 12 hrs per day - or an average of 6 hours per day for 6.94 years (excluding weekends). It has been said that regardless of the profession, it takes an average individual approximately 10,000 hours to become Expert at his/her field of study. How many newbie traders are told this reality, before they open up their Micro Account! I lost my job, but little did I know six years ago that I also lost my current career that same day. I searched and searched but never got any traction control over any new job that would replace the one I lost. Back then, the economy was surging downward and the industry that I worked in only does well when the economy is strong - so I was let go. I made $110k -$130k per year, so those kinds of positions are some of the first to go when the economy turns south. I always thought that "investing" in stocks would be far too difficult to ever learn how to do correctly, so I resisted the temptation to purchase one of the many "stock seminars" on "T.V." - in favor of more resume selling and job hunting. Eventually, something snapped and I took the plunge. I laid down some of my severance pay ($3,500) on a flashy Green, Yellow and Red stock trading program that many of you have most likely seen or heard of before in the past. I opened up an Ameritrade Account, purchased a stock options training course and began to lose money at an alarming rate of speed - trading naked options. However, every once in a while, one of my options contracts would run up from 15 cents all the way to 50 cents in a single day. These kinds of profits were rare, but they kept me searching for answers about how to make them happen on a more consistent basis. My problem was the same problem that many newbie traders have and that is the inability to fully understand the importance of properly controlling risk. I was all about the profit side of trading, without any clue about risk reduction. So, I continued to lose money, thousands, regardless of what the little Red, Yellow and Green lights were saying. So, I began buying books on trading and economics, thinking that they would help me find the answers. I bought the book that all "traders" buy - right - called: Security Analysis (LOL!). I bought books on Technical Analysis, etc. I spending 8 hours a day, trying to learn what caused price to behave the way it did. My job search turned into a part-time job search and eventually I stopped searching for a job and ended up studying the markets and market data for 8, 12, 18 to 20 and sometimes even 24 hours a day. But, still, I lost money. Soon, 2 months without a job turned into 6, then 8, then 10, 12, 16 and still, I lost money - still, with no job. Did I say that I was also married!!! The Wife did not take this very well and I really did have some explaining to do. More than a year with no job and no profits to show for all my hard work "learning the markets." I had a few more of those 15 cent option contracts turn into 50, 65 and 95 cents! So, I could see the potential available in the business, but I had nowhere near the level of consistency or skill to make it happen routinely. 16 months became 24 and that became 36 and soon, I had become a professional market researcher who was STILL flat broke, busted and disgusted, with only a few, sporadic booming trades to my name. Then it hit me. Up until that time, I had been studying the same materials that everyone else was studying and the statistics were showing that 90% of all so-called "traders" failed to reach a level of professional success in the business long-term. That's when I began to break-out my research into an entirely distinct and new direction. Doing so, allowed me to develop my own Technical Analysis Tools. Tools that nobody else had anywhere in the world. Tools that I could keep under wraps. Tools that enabled me to see things that nobody was able to see.......... and I still lost money. Wow! Frustrated, tired and refusing to quit, 36 months turned into 48 - into 60 into 72 - still with no job. Now, hurting physically from all the stress, marriage seriously suffering, financial debt mounting to the highest level ever in my life, having moved not once, not twice, but 7 TIMES in the process - then having a Mother turn very ill with no one to support her but me (having three older brothers who could care less) - the stress was unimaginable and mounting daily. Having thought seriously twice about remaining on this planet, thinking that my Wife would be better off without me - somehow, by the Grace of God, something within me told me to keep pushing for answers, yet not found. So, I continued to press forward.
Mentally exhausted, physically exhausted, emotionally burned out, taking care of a very sick Mother and a marriage hanging by a singular thread of hope and just about right after 10,000 hours of research, development, testing, analysis and study - it finally happened! I had a break through! I could finally trade successfully on a consistent basis! I finally found a way to actually make money in the markets! If that were the end of the story, it would be a truly amazing conclusion. But, that's not even the tip of the iceberg. You see, not only did I find a way to make money trading. I actually found a way to trade without EVER losing money at all. I found a way to trade with a 99.99% chance of never losing capital. I found a way to do what many naysayers say simply cannot be done. Today, I can enter the currency market at any point during the session, in any direction during the session and NEVER drop a single dime on the floor with virtually guaranteed, locked in profit, the moment I enter my trade profile. Six years later, I truly understand and have a much deeper appreciation for the word "success." A word thrown around with far too much ease and carelessness these days. I have a much deeper appreciation for the word, "fundamentals." A word all too often ignored by society these days, in just about every field or walk of life. And, I truly know and understand the word, "appreciation," in a way that few people will ever realize, regardless of their walk in life. To my precious Wife: I owe you an enormous debt for putting up with my "dream" for much longer than any Woman could or should. I will forever by in your debt and I love you without measure or qualification. Without your support, I would not have survived the past six years. You are more than a Woman, you are an Angel sent from Heaven. You have endured much and MUCH you shall receive for having done so. Nothing will be withheld from you from this point forward and I'm only sorry that I took so long. We have traveled a very long way together and I look forward to finishing the race with you by my side. I love you honey! To the clueless newbie trader: Don't quit IF there is something inside you telling you to press on toward the mark of success. Cracking the code in this business and reaching a level of genuine trading success is not easy and it take a lot of time to learn all the lessons that need to be learned in order to reduce risk and trade consistently on the profitable side of the P/L equation. Trust me, there will most likely never be anything in your life that you do mentally, that will be more challenging than cracking the code of the markets, such that you can trade in any direction at any time, with full confidence that regardless of the direction the market moves, you will walk away with net profits. That kind of skill, knowledge and expertise does not come easily to most. However, with extremely hard work, more time than you can fully appreciate and/or imagine right now and more mental discipline than most people can demonstrate, you CAN become the top 1% of all the traders in the world and do it far better than most - all of the time. But, it will take more courage, guts, time, hard work, focus, intelligence, persistence and creative thought, than the average newbie will be able to understand, just starting out in this business. This is NOT Vegas! Drop the Vegas mentality - it will not serve you well long term. This part science and part art. The markets DO make sense. Your job is to figure out what the markets are saying and WHY they are saying it. Doing so is a science, but it involves a lot of artistic input and creative thought along the way. Hang in there ONLY if you hear that still, small voice inside you that tells you to do so. That's the voice that is telling you that you have what it takes to make it right. If you don't or can't genuinely look yourself in the mirror each morning and declare with a straight face that you DO here that still, small voice inside you, then this business just might not be cut out for you and you might be wise to consider doing something else with your valuable time. But, for those newbies that do hear the voice - press on! To the Top 1% of all Traders: Iâll steal the line Tiger user when he first joined the PGA Tour: Hello World! Look out â cause here I come! To ALL: Thanks to all for allowing me to tell my personal story here on ET. I feel like a Jedi Grand Master right about now. I guess Iâll start a new Trading Order and make our motto something like this: Jedi Trading Order Motto: We donât trade the marketsâ¦â¦we ride them until the trade comes to us.
Good job! I have had a similar experience with research.. If I hadn't taken the initiative to come up with my concise analysis(instead use what was equipped, or make trading decisions based on what books were telling me to) then I would have never discovered the high-probability methods I apply now. For which I am very, very grateful for. I sometimes feel as though it is some supernatural ability, but have learned to not let that feeling overwhelm me. That's when it gets bad. Overconfidence = over trading. Too many people go into trading with the "get rich quick" mindset, too eager to enter the market...because it's "so easy" as advertised by the brokers & ease of access to platform, etc. It's not about the number of trades you make. But the quality of the trades.
While I won't be able to explain what I do, or how I do it, I can say that I wrap multiple positions around a specific price level using a certain aspect of the Fibonacci number sequence to get into and out of the market, in conjunction with my system's auto-generated trading signal, on a swing trade basis. The net/net result is virtually zero risk per trade with virtually unlimited profit potential. In reality, however, I need to exit and reinvest capital at a rapid rate after a certain profit level or time interval has been reached. There is only one scenario in which a net capital loss on the trade can occur. However, that scenario is relatively rare and when it does occur, the setback on total profitability overall is less than one session's profit. That breakthrough alone, was worth the six years spent learning how to do it. Having the system's trading signal and its overall performance is very helpful, but if the truth be told, I no longer need a trading system to merely be profitable. What the technical trading system does, is boost profitability over time and that makes it worth keeping and using. So, what I do is a combination of technical trading system combined with strategic trade strategy and strategic money management. Combining the the three into one powerful approach to the currency markets - regardless of what that market might throw at me. One of the benefits of this is now having the ability to trade straight through major news and not care one way or the other what that news brings to the market. I really just wanted to tell my story and hopefully have it inspire others who might be feeling as if they can't break through to higher ground in this business. Higher ground does exist, one can get there, but it takes more hard work than most are willing to inject into their business. Inspiration can be found in many places.
It does feel kinda 'extra-natural' or super-natural to some degree, but I realize that I'm no different than the next guy. This is more than likely just a gift that I've been given to use - no different than any other gift, except this one takes money matters and makes then child's play. The family I grew-up in was poor. My Mother never let us realize it, but as I got older, I began to realize just how poor we really were financially. However, I was always rich in ability and never really failed at anything I put my mind to. Money is not the be-all end-all. However, not having what you need can present some difficulty in life that makes life tougher than it should be. I never really wanted to be a trader. I just wanted the options that came with not having to worry about money all the time. Not for options sake, but for the ability to do positive things in the world - that's going to be my aim and I'm sure that your goals will include others outside yourself and family as well. Now that I've cracked the code, I can move from being a Trader, to being a true Money Manager. Literally directing capital into projects that I deem worthy. If the truth be told, I really don't like trading at all - funny, but true! Rather boring, actually.
I agree. That is a common trait amongst high-probability pending trades. You're just waiting for it to happen.. gets boring waiting.. that's when you start picking up golf or f1 racing.. enjoy it while you can, you only live once right?
Veyron 16.4: So where's your hedge fund? I'll believe when I see some large annualized gains. Otherwise, you're just another "elite trader".
I would have bought the story until the part about no losses or a rare loss that is about the size of 1 days gains. Realise that this is the real world and some things just aren't possible. Since you read Gladwell's book, you would realise that all that is needed to be spectacular is a consistent little edge not some amazing impossibility. If u right, with the high leverage in fx you will be a billionaire in no time....good luck.
Tiny losses without directional-accuracy only result from hedging, to my knowledge. Hedge quickly after a small loss is incurred, take all subsequent trades in either direction, then exit "loss" once its turned into a gain.