As we get ready for the weekend, it’s always worth reflecting on some key thoughts. Hopefully you’ll find something of value to you and please feel free to share this post with anyone who you think might benefit from being exposed to these points or simply as a healthy reminder 😉

– Successful people tend to be extremely passionate and resilient. However, if you do not put yourself in a position to succeed, passion and resilience will likely just increase your struggles and prolong the inevitable…

– Trading is an extremely hard way to make a living. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done but equally, don’t let anyone give you the false impression that it is easy, that there are shortcuts or magic formulas.

– Make sure you understand the basics and then find out what works for you. Don’t be in a hurry. If you are wired to trade, this is a great profession. If you are not, then there are a lot of other things to do in life.

– Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The markets aren’t going anywhere, take your time and do things the right way. Remember that if you are thinking about the longer term, winning the wrong way is not only still wrong but it’s also not a repeatable and consistent way to run a business and deliver results.

– An overriding theme to keep in mind is: ‘this is not a game, it’s a business’. Be solid. Be professional. Be realistic with your expectations.

– The good news is that it’s really not that hard to understand the basics but the not so good news is that it’s hard to be able to internalize these basics and stay on-track in a live trading environment.

– Don’t forget that it’s pretty much always the same movie but the context is ever-changing.

– Easier said than done but once you have set yourself up with a realistic road-map; you just have to stick to your rules, plan and set-ups. That’s the hard part. No fancy things, no bells and no whistles; do more of what you do well and less of what you don’t do so well. Very simple really but not always easy to put into practice, as most of you know.

– The key balancing act is; being a flexible humble student of price action and market psychology whilst being rigid on positive reinforcement and mechanical execution in a live environment.

– Keep in mind that self-sabotage, whether conscious or subconscious, is probably at the root of most issues you will face in your trading journey.

– In different shapes and forms: leverage kills. Once you understand and control that, you can get away with a lot and still be around to fight another day.

– Many can talk the talk but few can translate this into a decent track-record… the basics are, pretty basic but practice is more tricky. If this rings true for you, you might want to focus more on understanding bet size and how that effects the translation of your edge. Obsessing about entry and triggers, all things being equal, is probably the least important aspect yet very few ever get this. Remember that if you get your bet size wrong, you could end up with a negative p&l even with a guaranteed mathematical edge.

– Remember that things move in cycles and that what goes around comes around…

For all of the new followers, don’t hesitate to explore all of the content on the blog. The interviews could be a very interesting place to start to help put the business of trading into context and to give you an idea of what to look for in terms of realistic expectations. There is a lot of free content on the blog for those that are willing to take the time to explore.

Should you be interested in a more in-depth discussion on the topics mentioned in this post and a more structured approach to setting yourself up to have a chance of succeeding, you might want to check out the  Foundational Webinar Series.