Six Costliest Trading Mistakes You Are Making Right Now
(And How To Immediately Fix Them)
You might want to print this email and the rest of the lessons
in the series for easier reading and to review at a later time.
80%+ of Traders Lose and Quit Within One Year
How To Become One of the 20% of Winners
There have been several studies regarding the failure rate of stock and futures traders. The results are a majority of traders fail within a year of opening a trading account. The failure rate is typically found to be in the 70%-80% range. I suspect the failure rate at least for stock traders was much lower in the late 90's as thousands of people first began their trading experience during the final years of the relentless bull trend when almost any bull market strategy from momentum buying to average down to moving average crossovers was profitable. I suspect the failure rate is higher than the average from 2000 to the present when you actually had to have skills to achieve consistent profits.
Most people who trade are aware of these failure statistics. And, most beginning and experienced traders think they are part of the 20%-30% of potential successes, when in fact, they usually end up with the majority who fail.
Experienced traders are not necessarily successful traders. In the 20 years of teaching how to trade around the world, I know a large percentage of the private traders end up trading more for entertainment or the challenge than to make it a profitable business.
I don't mean to start this series off on a negative note. But, I do want to be honest and realistic with the reader. You have to decide if you are in the business of trading to maximize profit for the capital and time you invest, or if you are trading for entertainment. My job for twenty years has been to educate traders. That is what I am good at. I've helped traders in over 30 countries turn their trading around to a consistently profitable business. I can help you do that as well if you are willing to make some changes.
There are certain things that all successful traders do which most unsuccessful traders do not do. Doing these things does not guarantee success. Not doing them ensures failure.
If you do not make the Six Costliest Trading Mistakes, it will not guarantee your success, BUT, if you make just one of them, you can almost be assured you will not succeed.
Let's get started and learn how you should be able to quickly improve your trading results.
Costly Mistake #1 (And How To IMMEDIATELY Fix It)
Not Trading With A Plan
Every successful trader has a written trading plan.
This is probably the number one reason that traders fail. In twenty years of trading and teaching trade strategies, every time I talk with a trader who is not doing well the first thing I ask is "What is your specific trade plan?" They usually answer with some generalities like "I buy the momentum breakouts" or "I buy on a Fib retracement."
I then ask, "How many rules or guidelines are in your trading plan?" It doesn't matter how many there are. It is just a sneak question to see if they actually have a written trading plan. Inevitably, I find they have no actual plan, just some general untested strategy.
The Business of Trading Is Like Any Other Business
Most traders have been successful in another business or profession. In the other business or profession, they always had a plan of action for developing products or services, completing projects, making sales and every other aspect of the business or profession. They fail to make a plan for trading because for some reason, they believe the business of trading is different than other businesses. They believe you do not have to plan to be a successful trader even though they would not think of conducting another business without a detailed plan of action.
There have been books and articles written about the psychology of the trader and why they mess up in trading after being successful in other businesses. We don't need to know the psychological why. We just need to know what must be done to solve the problem. We don't need to get paralysis of analysis with the problem any more than a trader needs to have paralysis of analysis in a trading plan.
How To IMMEDIATELY Fix This Mistake
If you do not have a written trading plan of action, make one right now, before you make another trade.
Your trading plan does not have to be so detailed that dozens of very specific conditions must be met before a trade is considered. A trading plan should include the minimum conditions that must be met before a trade is considered, the specific objective entry strategy and the specific conditions that must be met to exit the trade.
Do you have a written trading plan? If not, do not make another trade until you do.
If you fail to develop a written trade plan and then fail to follow that plan, you will make inconsistent trade decisions. If you want to be a successful trader, do not make another trade until you have your written trade plan.
Learn How To Make A Comprehensive Trading Plan
The trading plan that we teach in our six CD Dynamic Trading Multi-Media E-Learning Workshop easily fits on one page and can be applied to any market and any time frame. It is so simple yet logical that when I do live workshops, I will challenge the audience to give me any stock, index, Forex or futures symbol and I'll have a complete trade strategy within just three minutes! Even if I've never hear of the symbol.
ALL consistently successful traders have a written trade plan. Write down your specific trade plan before you make another trade. I think you will find that you trading results will IMMEDIATELY be more consistently successful.
If you "fail to plan, then you should plan to fail." Why not plan to succeed? Right now!
