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 Resources vs. Resourcefulness The biggest illusion we have in life of why we can’t achieve something is that we start to believe that we’re lacking adequate resources. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough time. I don’t know the right people. I don’t have the right training. While any of these may in fact be true, there has certainly been something in your life where one or more of the above factors didn’t stop you. You found a way. You may not have had the money, but you were creative enough to get it. You may not have had the education, but you found another way to learn a skill. If the obstacle seems absolutely impenetrable but you’re focused enough, will you find a way anyway? Of course you will, if you have enough determination, enough flexibility and enough creativity. The truth is resources are never the real problem. The real problem is a lack of resourcefulness, and the ultimate resource is human emotion. Human emotion is how we get the resources we need. We tend...

 “You can’t have a plan for your day, until you have a plan for your life.” —Tony Robbins we need to understand that the external world is not the driving force in who we become or what we choose to create for our lives. We all want to take control of the internal forces that shape the direction of our lives so that we may fully realize our emotional, physical, financial and spiritual potential. The road to transformation begins with the foundation of the 3 Pillars of Progress. First Pillar: Get Focused and Clear, and Make It Compelling   The first step is to clarify the results you desire in your life. What do you want most in the areas of life that are important to you? What is your definition of an extraordinary quality of life? What do you need to take your life to the next level? Without a clear and compelling vision for what you want today, you won’t be able to even find the target of lasting happiness, let alone hit it. Your chances of knowing what your bull’s-eye...

I adapt. I focus on the trades that are working for me at this present time. I make a list of these setups and trade just them. I control my risk and let the winners naturally manifest. I obsess about the thousand little things that have everything to do with making money and that you will never hear anyone on a major financial network talk about. I regain my confidence. I rebuild. Even after becoming a consistently profitable trader, you will have to tweak your system. You will have to adjust your trading plays weekly, daily, and even intraday. This is the life of a trader. Instead of longing for eighths or tech stocks that move 25 percent from Open to Close, thank the market for changing. Every different market will make you a better trader. What doesn’t blow up your account will make you better. Trading is about skill development and discipline as we learned from studying those who failed and These Guys are Good. Today, modern training gives new traders the opportunity to speed up t...

 As spreads narrowed, the volatility in stocks actually increased. Greg Ghodsi of Raymond James explained at the time, “Less profit leads to less capital and less capital leads to less liquidity. the good traders adapted. You have to find a way. And for us, this meant trading more actively, heightened setup selectivity, and learning new patterns that worked best for this new market. Hey, you had a choice. You could have become a whiny ex-trader (“Pennies make it impossible to make money”), or adapted and conquered this new market.  Traders should not rely on market flow as their main source of income. A trader’s income should be determined by their own proprietary buy-and-sell systems and decisions—eating what they kill, so to speak. One-Trick Pony I encounter too many traders who just live off of one play. Commonly, this play is as follows: a trader sees a big bid and steps in front or sees a big offer and steps in front. This is my definition of scalping, which as we sa...

 What works one month may not the next. Trading setups you crush one year may be extinct the next. “old school” bounce play. Rule number one, do not be the first to buy. Let the market stop going down, and then dip your toes into the water and buy a little. Let the stocks hold higher and then when they do, this is when you load up.You only take on huge positions after the market has stopped going down and the stocks and market has held higher. Don’t be a hero and try to be the first one to catch the bottom. There is more money in loading up after the stocks hold higher. George Soros famously warned, “The market today is dominated by much younger people who have not experienced a bear market.” Hard times were about to visit. Remember, if you are playing for a bounce of 88.50 SPY, have a list of stocks ready to go with great prices. Near 88.50 buy just a taste of the stocks you wish to trade. Wait for SPY to hold higher. See which of the stocks that you bought a taste of are trading ...

 “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.” —Abraham Lincoln New traders frequently think that learning from the most talented traders is the best way to learn. On the contrary, new traders should seek the best teacher. There is a difference. I don’t believe in the old mantra “those who can’t do, teach,” because in trading many do both. But sometimes the best trader has no personality, or poor people skills, while a consistently profitable, but not top 10 trader, can emerge as a premier lecturer, one-on-one communicator, and mentor. It is just human nature to be interested in how others are doing, especially compared to you. But this mentality is not in the new trader’s best interest. If the top coaches were not the best players, then why do new traders look to the best traders for mentorship? “Many of the great coaches were competent players in their own right, but not all-stars. They knew th...

 Sometimes the most important thing a prop firm leader can do for a developing trader is to say, “No.” No, you cannot leave early.  No, I will not raise your loss limit since you are stopped out and your mother feels bad for you.  No, you cannot trade with more size yet.  No, you cannot blow off the AM meeting.  Many traders trade independently with their own money from their house. They have their own rules but when they break them there are no consequences. For example, an independent trader will create the rule that if he exceeds his intraday loss limit, then he will shut down his trading for the day. Let’s say that that intraday loss limit is $1,500. The independent trader will be down $2k, recognize that he has exceeded his intraday loss limit, and continue trading. The independent trader will offer excuses to himself. That rule was not meant for a day like today. I just got screwed today, the rule does not apply. And then this trader will proceed to rip up...

 traders should seek to “be in control while simultaneously being out of control a bit” and push one’s comfort zone to find greater success. As if they are a downhill skier picking up top speed yet, having all the confidence they will complete the run without crashing and breaking both collarbones. Make no mistake, trading is stressful. Active intraday trading is the most stressful of all trading periods. One mistake can ruin your month. One missed print for 5k shares can ruin your week. When you are frustrated, your brain is chemically altered, and the only way to exit this state of anger is to, well, make an effort to calm down. perform visualization exercises to better control these emotions. We all have mental weaknesses that we must conquer. Some of us insist in showing the market that we are correct. Some cannot hit stocks that trade against them. Some anxiously take profits when there is no reason to do so. Some are afraid to pull the trigger with an excellent risk...

 Trader Education y it’s beneficial for new traders to review their work, understand the emotions behind trading, and perhaps most importantly, find a mentor for much-needed guidance and support. USING VIDEO TO REVIEW TRADES make sure to point out spots where  traders are too aggressive. I mention trades that did not offer a good risk/reward and why. What I most learn is what the trader most needs to improve. From watching a trader’s tape I can see what errors he is making. Also, our traders get to watch how his/her peers are trading the same setups. Critical feedback is essential for trader growth. This is part of that process. Trading setups change. Trades that worked one year ago, one month ago, or one day ago may not work ever again. On the flip side, trades that work the next day may be only slightly different from the day before. But if you learn how to think, and this is no easy task, then you can make these slight adjustments. To sweep means to pay the offer ...