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SURVIVE THE LEARNING CURVE

 Those who can give trading more time when they start have a better chance to succeed.

you must be patient. But your time will come.

At the start of your trading, you should trade with small size and with one stock. You should not increase your tier size until you are positive 7/10 trading days. You should set a small max loss when you begin. You should be limited in your buying power. For example, when a new trader begins, he should not write more than 10k shares in a day, total.

you are not going to be a great trader on Day One

Gladwell explains, “Working hard is what really successful people do.”

t deep practice, often with continuous feedback, is necessary to become great. Concentrated practice is key

Daniel Coyle in The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown.

If you want to be good at something, practice. Practice deliberately, and do so for many years.


FOCUS ON IMPROVING EVERY DAY

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”  -Henry David Thoreau

Your goal is to develop skills first, make money second. You have to focus on getting better every day, day after day.

Your goal every day is to improve. Each day is a gift from the market to improve. Work hard. Each day is an opportunity to get better. Focus on the process.


ASK THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS

Your mentor or trading community does not know what you do not know. They cannot read your mind. If you do not understand something, then ask. You must understand one concept to understand another. It is like building a house brick by brick. One well-formed brick helps support the next brick. If one is weak, then the others are in jeopardy.

Traders cannot skip steps in the process. It is one foot forward and then the next. Master one topic, and then and only then move on to the next.

Your learning experience is as good as you make it. There will be things that you do not understand. This is common. What is not ok is to ever leave a lecture, or move on from a topic, without mastering it. And if this means questions asked to your mentor, then this is your responsibility. Please ask.

You learn so much from talking trading with other traders. Right after the Close is the best time to talk trading, as your mind is fresh with specific details about trading patterns. By listening to others discuss their trading, you can learn a trading pattern that perhaps you can use. You can gain information about important levels in stocks you may not have traded. You can learn how some stocks may trade. You can get a different perspective on perhaps the same stocks you were trading by swapping war stories. And on and on and on and on. .

Be focused on all things becoming a better trader. Talking trading with other traders in your firm is a great way to get better.

DEVELOP A DAILY WORK PLAN

Trading is not a 100-hour a week job. Trading is as close to being a professional athlete as I can think of. You must be well rested. Your performance changes from day to day. Trading—like sports—is performance based. Traders who trade well, just like athletes who play well, are paid more than they deserve. A trader must recharge after the trading day. You must be fresh and alert for the next session. Save the 100-hour work weeks for the investment bankers, lawyers, and analysts (and partners of trading firms like me).

Turning One Trading Day of Experience Into 10

We have learned from prominent authors Gladwell, Colvin, and Coyle that to become great at anything requires deliberate practice working at your craft.

As traders we can develop such a learning schedule to improve our results. We can find ways to simulate trading to get better.

Traders can do the following to simulate trading:

  • Keep a detailed Trading Journal. 
  • Replay trades in your head like old school traders. 
  • Talk trading with other traders. 
  • Use video review individually, and as a group, 
  • Practice on a trading simulator—Secret Project X.
What if you did the following before you left work on this trading session?
  • Made detailed notes in your trading journal—that’s two experiences.
  • Discussed this setup with others on the desk in the play—now three experiences.
  • Replayed the trade in your head—and four.
  • Watched your video recording of this trade—now five
  • Met in a training room and watched video of this trade with a group— and six.
  • Visualized making this trade after the Close—and seven.
  • Practiced this trade on a dedicated simulator such as our Secret Project X—and 8 and 9 and 10.
With just this one trade, you can turn one trading experience into 10 plus. Developing a daily learning schedule can transform one trading day of experience into 10. In six months you can gain three years of trading experience following a daily practice routine.

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