According to this guy, who is a trading&performance coach for professional traders, it usually takes atleast 4 years to become consistently profitable. This is an industry professional, and not a guru selling trading courses online, so the information is probably somewhat accurate, or atleast better from the far fetched of those selling you dreams. So my question is: What keeps someone going for 4 years without seeing significant results? If you reply, you should clarify where your trading stands - are you trading for a living or if you are still trying to figure it out. What kept you going(or what is keeping you going)? What motivated you? How you motivated yourself? Achieving something usually feels good and releases the dopamine, which serves as good motivator as you want more and it keeps you going. But when it comes to trading, there will probably be no meaningful achievements in terms of PNL(unless you get lucky). Perhaps even the opposite. The road is full of obstacles and you are getting crushed loss after loss. That's not very motivating, is it? Probably the most obvious answer is it takes a certain kind of character who never quits, that will perservere through the tough times, stay optimistic and have a strong belief in themself that they will make it. How do you motivate yourself through the tough times, through the routine and sometimes tedious tasks like journalling and reviewing your trades? How do you(or did you) grind your way to success? I would like to hear your opinion. One of the ideas i had in mind and am currently testing out is to pay myself no matter what. If i follow the process, if i go through the routine, do the journaling , review the trades, prepare myself on a weekly and daily basis, execute the trade properly..... Every task has it's own reward that i credit to myself once completed. Rewards also increase if tasks are executed consistently every day and they compound to encourage the consistency in executing the process(which is the key IMO). I pay myself if i do the work, no matter if the trade works out or not, or if i make no trades at all. This also makes you more focused on the process and detaches you from the outcome which is out of your control. And if you follow the process the results should follow.
just the general drive for excellence in life. then along the way there are so many butterfly-effect moments that could have completely altered the passage... just so happens that after the financial crisis certain 'value pockets' presented themselves and after a few years you see them clear as black/white. mental flexibility is key... don't ever tie yourself into 1 pre-determined mode... a mode that you made when you didn't know any better.... be flexible... what's the lowest hanging fruit... go for it.
In the beginning, it was just stubbornness. I was wrong and didn't make progress for a very long time. Now I'm beginning to make OK money what keeps me going is that I know I could do SOOO MUCH better than what I've been doing in terms of trading performance. Every mistake hurts and I tried to avoid making it again though often times I do repeat the same mistakes in slightly different clothing. But the dream is alive because I feel if I can eliminate all these stupid mistakes then hitting the goal should be easy and right in front of me. And the goal is true financial freedom. My job pays the bills. Trading will get me to financial freedom in due time. I can smell it and feel it. Getting closer and closer everyday. Yet, there are still setbacks. Even today there was a setback.
@orbit23, Quit my job >10 years ago. I have sufficient retirement fund and kids' college fund. My spouse contributes significant part of daily expenses. So, there is no pressure for me to generate return from the stock market and I can afford to keep my bets small and protect my capital. I build into my daily habits by focusing on the market... reading stock charts. Why bother with stock charts? Sense of the market. This skill is extremely hard to acquire and the market is a beast. Since it's in my habit, I do not need any further motivation.
the same thing that keeps millions of undergrads going,the same thing that keeps millions of trainee doctors going for a decade,the same thing that keeps new companies going for years without any results. if you think trading is easy just because it is simple to do, remember that in everything, it is easy to be an amateur but very very very difficult to be a pro. everything from cooking to parenting to learning golf ,baseball cricket or tennis is not easy once you try to make money out of it that is once you try to turn PRO.
because it is easy to see what is going on:a picture is worth a thousand words. if you ask a CEO how his company was doing for the last 20 years if he gives you 20 balance sheets, it will take you much longer to 'sense' what his company was doing. but if he gave you 20 charts it would only take a few glances to know the same thing. this is the advantage of charts and millions know it and have known it for decades