Why does it take so long?

OddTrader · Apr 15, 2016

William Tell said:
So it means I still have another 11 years.... it is not that far...

Very Good thinking indeed, and fairly positive!

http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index...-traders-short-s-p.298901/page-4#post-4267333

Q3D said:
One must make the distinction between trading psychology educator and trading price action educator, unless they strive to make an amalgamation between the two fields, as Brooks clearly neglects ( imho recklessly) to do.

Douglas makes it clear that he lost his house, his car, and everything else before becoming profitable and that he decided to write a book after 6 months of profitable trading. Brooks lacks this transparency. Volman makes it clear that this is a tight game, no large victories without large losses, that's not clear in Brooks' texts, (want me to quote this, to prevent me from hostilely being defamed as a troll again?)

Alphamarkets · Apr 16, 2016

profitlocker said:
Looking at the gray hairs on my partially bald head just made me think back. I'm no Einstein, but far from a dummy.

Why did it take me 15 years to get my mind right in this game?

It took me 20 years of on and off trading to 'get it' and become consistently profitable, so you did well.

rajesheck · Apr 16, 2016

Alphamarkets said:
It took me 20 years of on and off trading to 'get it' and become consistently profitable, so you did well.

Can you please expand 'get it' for the benefit of others. This community is so shy to ask... Lol

rajesheck · Apr 16, 2016

profitlocker said:
Without having to write a book, in my case, the constant cycling of thinking you're ready to not being ready.

Can you please share your insights

Alphamarkets · Apr 16, 2016

rajesheck said:
Can you please expand 'get it' for the benefit of others. This community is so shy to ask... Lol

Well I don't want to hijack this thread, but to make a long story short I learned how to be consistently profitable and make enough money to support my family living in a very expensive area. Hasn't been without many detours and bumps in the road, but it is possible. Was never really into social media and just started browsing some of these forums for fun. Good luck. ..

Roberto Lopez · Apr 16, 2016

Why did it take PROFITLOCKER 15 years to wrap his mind around this game?
The SAME thing happened to me. It was NOT until I learned everything I could that I realize what was needed and what could be thrown out. But that is exactly the same thing that happened in my first career as a hospital administrator. Then one day the light bulb went on (Thank God).

I think it was because without a great mentor you have to find out or yourself what is valuable information and what is useless/misleading. I wanted to quit so many times in this game. Every big loss had me depressed for weeks.

Then I found a great mentor and things moved much faster. I realized that there is no wise old man, including Warren Buffet. It is a matter of emotional control, taking a step back, and KNOWING low risk/hedging strategies. Thanks and I am glad you made it to the other side PROFIT LOCKER.

rajesheck · Apr 16, 2016

Alphamarkets said:
Well I don't want to hijack this thread, but to make a long story short I learned how to be consistently profitable and make enough money to support my family living in a very expensive area. Hasn't been without many detours and bumps in the road, but it is possible. Was never really into social media and just started browsing some of these forums for fun. Good luck. ..

But why it took 20 years? In other words 'Why does it take so long?' Lol

If you rewind and replay your years... what would be your dos and donts to cut short the years to 2 instead of 20?

(Now your response short or long wont hijack this thread i guess... Lol)

Its not important wheather you hijack or not... its more important you help people open eyes of wisdom

Alphamarkets · Apr 16, 2016

rajesheck said:
But why it took 20 years? In other words 'Why does it take so long?' Lol

If you rewind and replay your years... what would be your dos and donts to cut short the years to 2 instead of 20?

(Now your response short or long wont hijack this thread i guess... Lol)

Its not important wheather you hijack or not... its more important you help people open eyes of wisdom

I guess it took a long time since I wasn't trading my own account full time. I worked as a buy side trader during this period and only traded my own account here and there. It wasn't until I started focusing on the charts full time and trading exclusively for a profit that things started to become clear. So I guess with a strong enough focus and dedication and enough bankroll to weather the ups and downs the educational period can be minimized. For me life got in the way. ...wife, kids, career etc

BONECRUSHER · Apr 17, 2016

rajesheck said:
But why it took 20 years? In other words 'Why does it take so long?' Lol

If you rewind and replay your years... what would be your dos and donts to cut short the years to 2 instead of 20?

(Now your response short or long wont hijack this thread i guess... Lol)

Its not important wheather you hijack or not... its more important you help people open eyes of wisdom

I can only say from my own experience and you probably won't like the answer. I think the best way to have cut down the years of my own learning curve, would be to throw out the constant search for the "instruction booklet" from others! As soon as I quit asking other traders to tell me how to trade or how were all "supposed" to trade to be successful...I began to SEE what I consider to be the "unobvious". I had to empty my mind completely to open it up for INSIGHT! What did I empty out of my mind...moving averages...support...trend....chop...range...positive risk/reward...resistance...trend following...indicators and the way they were intended to be used ...trend line...all technical analyses...most conventional trading knowledge. I will admit that I eventually came back to some of these, but they were unintended consequences. The point is, I pretended like I was the first person in world history to attempt day trading and I had to come up with the first instruction booklet for successful day trading! I remember when I was a young Little Leaguer trying to learn the ART of hitting a baseball and everyone was telling me different things I must do to succeed...keep your elbow up...hold the bat vertical or horizontal...stick out your ass...bend your knees...choke up...don't choke up...keep your eyes on the ball, etc.. I remember not being able to move my body to hit the ball because it was so locked up. If you look at batters in the major leagues today, they have a vast array of different stances and bat locations, there isn't one or two ways to do it right. Find your own batting stance or "way to trade"...the sooner the better. I consider trading talent to be different degrees of analytical ability, intuition, and persistence...we can all improve on these qualities, but with different learning curves. I never try to teach anyone on ET how to trade better...why...because I can't help you. I would have to show you exactly how I trade and what to look for...no one on ET is going to do that and it would take a long time to learn the ART part of it...may as well begin on your own. If I told you to trade negative risk/reward ratios...don't pay attention to support or resistance...disregard trend interpretation...and left it at that...you would think I was a nutcase and you would lose money... I would've left out the most important part...the WHEN. I do trade this way often, but I consider it the ART part of trading. Everyone needs their own batting stance that takes time to evolve and no matter how ridiculous it may be. Every time someone says "I've got it now"...I wish they would've said instead...I've got something now. The former gives the impression that there is ONE way to trade out there and newbies have to figure it out...or manipulate those "in the know" to throw them a bone! It doesn't exist! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

OddTrader · Apr 17, 2016

Thanks for the bone that I learn something now from!

BONECRUSHER said:
I can only say from my own experience and you probably won't like the answer. I think the best way to have cut down the years of my own learning curve, would be to throw out the constant search for the "instruction booklet" from others! As soon as I quit asking other traders to tell me how to trade or how were all "supposed" to trade to be successful...I began to SEE what I consider to be the "unobvious". I had to empty my mind completely to open it up for INSIGHT! What did I empty out of my mind...moving averages...support...trend....chop...range...positive risk/reward...resistance...trend following...indicators and the way they were intended to be used ...trend line...all technical analyses...most conventional trading knowledge. I will admit that I eventually came back to some of these, but they were unintended consequences. The point is, I pretended like I was the first person in world history to attempt day trading and I had to come up with the first instruction booklet for successful day trading! I remember when I was a young Little Leaguer trying to learn the ART of hitting a baseball and everyone was telling me different things I must do to succeed...keep your elbow up...hold the bat vertical or horizontal...stick out your ass...bend your knees...choke up...don't choke up...keep your eyes on the ball, etc.. I remember not being able to move my body to hit the ball because it was so locked up. If you look at batters in the major leagues today, they have a vast array of different stances and bat locations, there isn't one or two ways to do it right. Find your own batting stance or "way to trade"...the sooner the better. I consider trading talent to be different degrees of analytical ability, intuition, and persistence...we can all improve on these qualities, but with different learning curves. I never try to teach anyone on ET how to trade better...why...because I can't help you. I would have to show you exactly how I trade and what to look for...no one on ET is going to do that and it would take a long time to learn the ART part of it...may as well begin on your own. If I told you to trade negative risk/reward ratios...don't pay attention to support or resistance...disregard trend interpretation...and left it at that...you would think I was a nutcase and you would lose money... I would've left out the most important part...the WHEN. I do trade this way often, but I consider it the ART part of trading. Everyone needs their own batting stance that takes time to evolve and no matter how ridiculous it may be. Every time someone says "I've got it now"...I wish they would've said instead...I've got something now. The former gives the impression that there is ONE way to trade out there and newbies have to figure it out...or manipulate those "in the know" to throw them a bone! It doesn't exist! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!