Biggest Trading Challenge?

[Andrea Wylan]

Telling you to go live right off the bat sounds like the school was trying to profit at your expense early on, something I think was clearly not in a trader's best interest. Our office offered us the chance to trade 200 share lots (in 1996) for $5/trade as well as trading on a simulator. I think the simulator often gave aspiring traders generous fills. I think we were limited to doing the $5 trades for a month. Then it was like $25/trade (each way) and we often had ECN fees on top of the $25. So we typically traded at least 1000 shares. Commissions today are a fraction of what they were just 20 years ago.

The guy who ran the office was an ex broker and had some monster days back in the late 90's early 2000's. He could make (lose) as much as $40K a day and spoke as if he had made (lost) $400 rather than $40K.

Eventually I quit trading at the office and traded remote from home. At first I missed the camaraderie of all the other traders but adjusted to it and would periodically stop by the office just to see how everyone was doing. Saving the time of the daily commute to/from the office was more time for me to do whatever each day. Which led me to volunteering at schools helping kids with math and still having time to trade so it was a win-win.

Interesting story!

 

[Andrea Wylan]

The biggest challenge is accepting a loss despite using a good trading system. But if you don't, you can't learn from the loss.

I think this is one of the biggies for traders. It is for me too. I think a lot of it is what does it mean?? ("I am a loser" vs. just having a trade not work out! It is a big difference.)

 

[Andrea Wylan]

I had the same reflection but did not post it. Wanted to give the advantage to the poster and see what will happen in future.
I googled after her first posting a bit and after that I sharpened my attention.

Did you find some juicy stuff in your google search?

 

[Andrea Wylan]

Handle123 I agree with much of what you say. Each of us has the ability for self sabotage and destruction. We all do it to some degree or another. It's when we realize that WE are in control of that that I started to do well. I am not saying we can control the markets any more than we can control the weather but we can control our reaction to them. I don't trade full time as I have a fruitful career but I do trade successfully on longer term times frames. For me I found that BOTH my career and trading changed and improved after I read Van Tharpes book "Supertrader". Despite your views that Van Tharpes self help psycho stuff is not helpful, (I know it sounds cliche,...) but it changed my life. I am a very logical thinking person and thankfully have had a good childhood so my demons were more of the wanting a big win, roller coaster feeling you get with big wins and losses. That book seemed like it was written FOR ME,...like he was talking to ME. In that book he basically says "GET OFF YOUR ASS....NO ONE IS GOING TO HAND IT TO YOU,...AND STOP DOING STUPID SHIT"! Thankfully, I took most of it to heart and set some goals and started hard work. But that hard work also made me work harder at my career and both flourished. I think deeper issues many people faced in childhood or life that thankfully I have not faced will indeed require professional help. But for me that psychobabble from the book "Supertrader" did it for me.

Just my 0.02

Thanks for mentioning this book. I haven't read it yet, but will put on my list. I read, "Trading Beyond the Matrix" by him and really liked it. Some of the content may seem a bit out there or too spiritual for some, but I resonated with it and think it can be really helpful stuff. It's probably my favorite trading book.

 

[Mtrader]

Did you find some juicy stuff in your google search?

I have a sound amount of paranoia and suspicion on the internet.
I found that you are professionally linked with trading, and we have seen these things in past go wrong.
The fact that you post with your own name is a good sign. And I see no hidden intentions to selling products.
So everything is OK!

 

[lawrence-lugar]

I have a sound amount of paranoia and suspicion on the internet.
I found that you are professionally linked with trading, and we have seen these things in past go wrong.

I personally don't like anyone...who has a generic, bland, dry, professionally done, stock photo/avatar

 

[radex78]

Biggest trading challenge in my view is how to making profit consistently through forex trading, because already I am trying to making profit consistently but so far still I can't