Success in various fields such as business, sports, and entertainment is often earned through hard work, dedication, and perseverance. The successful individuals typically put in more effort and take more risks than the majority of the population. They invest time, money, and energy to constantly improve and master their craft.
The key to success is often a high level of conscientiousness and awareness. Successful people are constantly learning, seeking out solutions, and taking action to achieve their goals. They are passionate and willing to do whatever it takes, even if it involves taking risks.
If you aspire to be a successful trader, you must assess your level of conscientiousness and awareness. Are you actively seeking knowledge and improving your skills? Are you taking care of your health and well-being? If not, you may not yet deserve to succeed.
However, it’s never too late to start. Even if you’re starting with a small trading account, you can begin to act like a successful trader by adopting the mindset and habits of successful individuals. This includes investing time and effort into learning and improving, seeking out mentors, and taking action towards your goals.
By adopting these habits and mindset, you can increase your self-belief and start deserving success in trading, investing, or any other endeavor you choose to pursue.
Do you comprehend your purpose and objectives for trading?
It’s amusing that many traders, if not the majority, are unaware of why they are trading beyond the simple desire to “make money.” This presents a problem.
If you lack direction, goals, or objectives, how can you devise a plan to achieve them? You must have a “mission statement” for why you are trading. Don’t simply “wing it” and “see what happens” because this is equivalent to gambling.
You must confront the reality that this is real money and real life, and it’s your money. We’re not playing a “fun little game” on the internet; trading is a business on the world’s largest stage, the financial markets. If you are not ready to conduct this business correctly, you will be trampled.
Being “prepared” and “playing properly” entails knowing why you are trading and precisely what your ultimate objective is. It can’t be solely to “make fast money” because, honestly, you will not make quick money unless you are incredibly fortunate. If you are relying on luck to make money in the markets, you are gambling, and you will ultimately wipe out your account as a result.
For example, someone’s trading objectives might be to “diversify my income streams and acquire another avenue for earning some money besides my 9-5 job, so my initial goal is to supplement my monthly income with trading earnings.” That is a well-defined, attainable goal. Traders frequently begin with unrealistic objectives such as “I want to quit my job immediately and earn a thousand dollars a day trading.” These “goals” are not constructive because they are unrealistic.
Your thirst for knowledge has to be unquenchable and insatiable
To achieve success, you must have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and an insatiable desire to improve.
Warren Buffet, despite being almost 90 and one of the richest people alive, still dedicates a large portion of his day to reading and studying his craft and industry. His inner drive, competitiveness, and passion have kept him dedicated to his craft from the beginning, and that’s why he is the best at what he does.
To be successful, you must have the same dedication and desire to improve. Ask yourself honestly, are you constantly looking to increase your trading knowledge, skills, and conscientiousness? It shouldn’t be something you feel like you “have to do”, but something you WANT to do. If you don’t have that innate desire, maybe you should consider putting your time and effort into a different endeavor.
Do you have a long-term money-making goal or are you simply here to gamble?
Your trading behavior and attitude toward planning will reveal the truth.
Without a plan, failure is inevitable. If you constantly doubt yourself and lack confidence in your decisions, it’s likely that you haven’t developed an effective strategy or established a trading plan.
Day traders often resort to gambling due to the constant presence of screens, price fluctuations, and the urge to take unwise trades that don’t comply with their system. If your objective is to make money over the long-term, you must learn position trading, which involves holding trades for 1-3 days to 1-3 weeks on average.
Day trading fosters a trading addiction mentality, which is not the mindset of a professional trader. Pro traders do not trade “for excitement”; they trade for their goals, with a well-thought-out plan to achieve them. While a few people can successfully day-trade, it tests one’s self-control more than any other undertaking on earth. Pro traders enjoy trading, but it must be calculated and composed, not impulsive and erratic.
Do you treat your trading like a business and trade with a plan?
Trading success is not a result of luck or haphazard decisions. It requires treating trading like a business and having a well-defined plan in place. A trading plan is like a roadmap to achieving your goals, and without it, you will end up making emotional and irrational decisions that can lead to losses.
Just like any other business, trading should have a clear goal and a step-by-step plan to reach that goal. Many traders make the mistake of jumping into trading without a solid plan, relying on a few blog posts or tips from friends. This approach almost always leads to failure, and traders who don’t take their business seriously don’t deserve success in trading.
So, take the time to create a detailed trading plan that outlines your goals, strategies, risk management, and trading psychology. Review and update your plan regularly and treat your trading like a serious business. Remember, trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it’s a long-term investment that requires discipline, patience, and a well-executed plan.
Are you behaving and thinking like a successful trader?
Believing that you deserve trading success is the first step towards achieving it. To start doing everything right and become successful, you must have a positive mindset and believe that you will attain it. You need to act like a successful trader to eventually become one.
Ask yourself if you trade like a seasoned hedge-fund manager by position trading and not wasting time on short-term charts. Are you calm, collected, and calculated while removing emotions and mental highs and lows from trading? If not, you need to work on these things to deserve trading success.
Do you possess the necessary discipline and focus to achieve trading success?
It takes a significant amount of effort and dedication to reach this level. You must have an unwavering commitment to discipline and maintain laser-focus if you want to position yourself for success in trading.
Consider Bruce Lee’s level of commitment and discipline in martial arts as an example of what is required to achieve success in trading. It will not happen overnight, and simply wanting it badly is not enough. Almost everyone wants to make money consistently by trading, but very few have what it takes to do so.
Remember, fear the opponent who has practiced one technique 10,000 times, rather than the one who has practiced 10,000 techniques once. Keep this in mind as you work towards mastering your own trading approach.
Conclusion
After reading this article, take a moment to ask yourself the following questions and answer honestly:
- What steps will you take to continue improving your trading conscientiousness and awareness?
- Are you putting in enough effort or is there more you could be doing to reach your potential?
- Do you truly deserve success in trading, business, or personal life? What actions are you taking to earn it?
- Are you one of the rare few who consistently exhibit the traits we discussed above?
If you feel like you have work to do, that’s perfectly fine. Just remember, the hard work, sweat, and tears are up to you. You may think you deserve trading success, but if it’s not reflected in your trading account, you haven’t earned it yet. So, it’s time to regroup and plan out what you can do to truly deserve the success you desire.