In October of 2002, I was driving and was listening to a financial channel on the radio. It was obviously a snake oil type broadcast trying to lure unknowledgable investors to fork over a minimum of $5000 and send to the sponsor to be invested in the wonderful world of Foreign Exchange. At the time, the Euro was trading just under parity around .0098. There were all kinds of scenarios being given by the host about where the Euro may go. Kind of like some oil investment commercials you may here from time to time.
This was the first time I had every heard of trading currencies. In fact, my only experience in any type of financial investment up until this time was buying Microsoft, Lowes, Amgen and LCI for my 401k account thru a broker at Dean Witter. I did pretty well with this one.
I credit the radio show with getting me interested in Forex. I am a type "A" personality. This Forex thing really fascinated me and I began to see some major $ signs. Let's call it infatuation at its finest. It wasn't long before I somehow managed to find an extra $15,000 and I wired it off in a hurry to FXCM. Okay, now I'm ready. Let's build my wealth to unheard of levels. I think it took about 2-3 weeeks and I had lost $14,100 of my grubstake. I was a complete idiot. I am educated (some would say) and consider myself to be have fairly adequate "common sense". I signed up for some signal sevice that was located somewhere in the Orient, set up my trusty cell phone to get the signals, laid on the couch at night with my laptop. I was smart, I thought to myself. Most people have no idea how to get wealthy. I am different. I lost almost all my capital. No planning. No practice account. Just dive right in.
I am a very determined man and would not let this happen to me. I had heard others talk about how 98% of all traders lose everything early on in the journey. Not me, I am an educated man.
At this point, I went back to the drawing board and found a little more trading capital. I decided the Forex world was not for me so I decided I would take a shot at the fast moving world of Equity Indexes. You know, the minis. S&P, Dow, and this Russell thing that was just getting going. This is where it's at I can remember thinking. I closed my account at FXCM and sent $5000 to TradeStation because I really liked their platform. Well....I continued to gyrate for another couple years doing this. Oh yeah, I also found another $30,000 in trading capital because I basically was on a major roller coaster ride in my equity. Keep it up, don't quit, I am an educated man you know.
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.
--- Abraham Lincoln
Somewhere in late 2004, I gave up the index trading. I began to re-focus on Forex again. I gave up indicators like MACD and CCI for good. This is a joke. I am an educated man after all. I cleared my charts of all things colorful and began to identify "value" and re-think the "why" part of the being a trader. I began to really work on the "self" part and try to understand the profession of trading and view it as more of an art form.
You really have to ask yourself...."Do I want it?". "Do I really want to be a trader?" If so, "why in the heck do I want to be a trader?" For me, the list of answers is easy. Don't get me wrong, the money part is very near the top of the list, but it is not the complete answer.
Next, "what are you willing to give to get it". If the answer is anything short of "continuous persistent action towards its attainment"...then I would move on and do someting else. Becoming a successful trader is without a doubt the most difficult task on the face of the earth bar none. If you think it is easy, even somewhat easy, you are absolutely fooling yourself. I can't even begin to convey to you the amount of time I pour into this goal. I stare at charts 15-20 hours per day, I sleep on the couch with my laptop, I duck into wi-fi spots to check the market, etc., etc.
As far as my methodolgy, it is very simple and basic. It centers around the "Why?" part of the equation. You need to develop, test, change, memorize, curse, change, write down, curse, develop, and change your own methodology. Don't ask for it from someone else or pay for it from someone else. Are you educated? Think about this for a moment and I am sure it will begin to be clearer. I may try to post some thoughts on this for others to help you along this path if anyone is interested.
To me, this is a passion. I love it. It has taken me about 3 years to really get it and begin to grow my wealth. I can now make more money in a week than my corporate job with a Fortune 50 company yielded for an entire year. I have paid substantially to get to this point in my life and I am only at the beginning as far as I am concerned.
Soooooo, this is the long answer. I am just like you. I post here on ET because nobody else understands in my circle. My family thinks I am really strange. "Daddy, why do you have all those big screens on your desk?" There is really no one to talk to except you fellow traders who share the same vision. I want to help others if I can in some way. If it is thru a forum, or a few emails then so be it. I am not good in person anyway.
Destiny is not a matter of chance; it's a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.
--- William Jennings Bryan
DRT
Quote from downrivertrader:
These are very kind words. Thank you. The short answer here is ...I am just like most of you. Self-taught and learning. I will try to elaborate on this when I get some non-trading downtime.
DRT
02-15-06 02:25 PM
Hello DRT - I just felt compelled to echo FX Cowboy's sentiments - since stumbling onto your thread a few weeks ago in the Forex area, I have found your Euro calls uncanny. I'm starting to depend on your postings as a "bias crutch" - lol!
As a struggling currency day simtrader, I'm wondering if you might ever discuss the road travelled to where you are at in your current level of trading acumen. Have you pieced together your methodolgy through a diligent study of the available literature, studied at the feet of a master, or just had an innate ability to listen to what the market is saying?
If these questions are beyond the scope of your intentions, then my apologies - but I just had to ask 
Regards, ... tbone
