I see these terms used a lot. Usually "gifted" and "talented" refer to abilities that express themselves early in life and result in rapid progress to a very advanced level with seemingly little effort.
What are the "gifts" or "talents" a trader needs to attain rapid progress to a very advanced level?
1. The ability to follow basic rules that someone else provides with full trust in the outcome based on probabilities.
2. The ability to dedicate the majority of one's time every day to market research, definition of setups that place odds in one's favor, ability to recognize those setups as the form, definition of rules for trading those setups, and, finally, #1 above.
I worked with a trader last year and once I explained my standard setups, he immediately understood the concept and was able to trade it beautifully. His "gift" was that he could trust a set of basic rules and follow them.
I fall into category #2. I spent 50-60 hours a week for over 2 1/2 years learning to trade, and currently spend around 45 hours a week continually evolving as a trader. I have a 360-page trading journal (started in April 2008, only 6 weeks from my first trade ever) and over 100 spreadsheets (started in June last year) mastering basic and advanced trading tactics to cope with various market environments (volatile/calm, trending/ranging, up or down).
I met a piano player in college who was a prodigy. He had perfect pitch and perfect recall (innate "gifts") and began playing extensively starting at age two. By the time he was in college, he was truly amazing.
I met a guitar player in college who didn't begin playing until he was in high school, didn't have perfect pitch or strong recall of anything he heard, but mastered the craft of reading music and playing with technical precision that could "wow!" anyone.
Whether traders have certain innate "gifts" or whether they hone their craft through sheer persistence, in the end their P/L's look every bit as green on a consistent basis.
What are the "gifts" or "talents" a trader needs to attain rapid progress to a very advanced level?
1. The ability to follow basic rules that someone else provides with full trust in the outcome based on probabilities.
2. The ability to dedicate the majority of one's time every day to market research, definition of setups that place odds in one's favor, ability to recognize those setups as the form, definition of rules for trading those setups, and, finally, #1 above.
I worked with a trader last year and once I explained my standard setups, he immediately understood the concept and was able to trade it beautifully. His "gift" was that he could trust a set of basic rules and follow them.
I fall into category #2. I spent 50-60 hours a week for over 2 1/2 years learning to trade, and currently spend around 45 hours a week continually evolving as a trader. I have a 360-page trading journal (started in April 2008, only 6 weeks from my first trade ever) and over 100 spreadsheets (started in June last year) mastering basic and advanced trading tactics to cope with various market environments (volatile/calm, trending/ranging, up or down).
I met a piano player in college who was a prodigy. He had perfect pitch and perfect recall (innate "gifts") and began playing extensively starting at age two. By the time he was in college, he was truly amazing.
I met a guitar player in college who didn't begin playing until he was in high school, didn't have perfect pitch or strong recall of anything he heard, but mastered the craft of reading music and playing with technical precision that could "wow!" anyone.
Whether traders have certain innate "gifts" or whether they hone their craft through sheer persistence, in the end their P/L's look every bit as green on a consistent basis.
For now, anyways.