Friday, September 18, 2015

Which Statistic Do You Want to Be: 90 or 10?

I know this may be a blog that you may not want to read.  Maybe by now you are in "education overload" because everyone and their mother is stressing and offering education.  I also know that you are tired of hearing that 90% of all people that try day trading fail.  I have been hearing that for years as well and I am sick of it too.  But I sat back and thought about it this week because our state is in the process of changing the way we evaluate teachers.  Now, teachers will be evaluated on the success of their students.  I wondered why in the last 5 years there hasn't been an improvement in the 90% failure rate of day traders.  We have seen a boom in the last few years in gurus offering "education packages" to help you get started in the right way.  And still, we are stuck with the 90% rule.  So why can't we get past this.  As a professional educator complete with advanced degrees, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that most of the education being offered by these gurus to aspiring day traders is missing the mark.

 The largest fatal mistake an aspiring day trader makes has to deal with education.  Some believe that they can watch a few free videos and webinars and then they are ready to attack the market.  Then you have some that choose a guru and education package that is based on glitz and glamour and the promise of money and freedom that do not produce.  Or you have those proud individuals who believe they know what to do and that they do not need anyone to tell them how to trade because it's simply buy low and sell high.  How hard is that?  But those individuals that really drives me crazy are the ones who are too lazy to want to learn and just wants to pay a guru to provide them with alerts.  Since I have started my journey into trading several years ago, I have associated with many aspiring traders and I can count on 1 hand those who are still trading with me.

Here is what I know; education is the key to success in day trading.  You cannot expect to master a skill if you skip through a curriculum and not fully educate yourself.  This profession requires lifelong learning.  Above all of that, you must choose the right educational package and guru.  You must make sure that you take it serious and not take any shortcuts. While most gurus and their educational packages out there are horrible and just want your money, there are good people that truly want to help.  The hard part as a person brand new to this industry is to know how to navigate though the sea of gurus.  I am writing this blog to help those who may be lost at sea in this to find their way home.

Education, experience and knowledge are 3 of the most important factors when it comes to beginning your trading career.  You do not need to try and save money on education by ignoring it's importance. This is why you need to invest in your education and knowledge.  I would recommend finding a coach or mentor to help you get through this period.  Someone who is not trying to sell their own trading education packages but someone who knows and understand what you are going through during this time.  I feel that this is the most important time in a new traders career dealing with expectations and emotions.

The next step is to research professional traders and get to know their style of teaching and trading before you purchase any education package.  The best traders will have free lessons posted on YouTube or their Web page so that you will be able to "test drive" their style.  You want to find someone that actually trades everyday and that trading is their primary source of income.  Also you want to find a community with several professional traders with complementing styles.  This will give you a good chance for a well rounded education.

I have found a community with excellent and complete trading education packages that are written by traders who actually trade everyday. In fact, I can see their trades, scans, and charts on my screen in real time as I trade throughout the day. I would rather learn from successful trading educators who are willing to apply their knowledge, strategies and education with their own capital rather than just talk about it.  The community I have found is Warrior Trading.  Ross, Mike, and Jeff are trading and teaching real time throughout the trading day.  Unfortunately I found them too late to take advantage of the packages with the simulator. The content is second to none and I have experienced all three of them teaching so I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt they are the real deal.  They have occasional free chat days and you can find some great videos on Ross's YouTube channel.

At the time I wrote this I was a subscriber/member of the WT community and not a paid affiliate so my thoughts and feelings were genuine and based on my own personal experiences.  I am now a moderator in the chat room and one of the Warrior Pro instructors and my feelings has even grown stronger because I have input in the education we provide.

The Warrior Pro Bundle includes 3 live small group mentor sessions a week.  You will hear from Ross, Mike, and myself in these sessions.  This is invaluable because we will be trading and teaching the same setups that you just learned about.  We can help you analyze your trades and walk you through what you did right and what you did wrong.  You will have more confidence when you know you have trading mentors behind you as well as with you all day in chat.  Getting a mentor was the smartest thing I have done to date in my trading career.  I trade less, get bigger moves, and make more money now.  I have to thank Mike for mentoring me and for helping me become a better trader.  Remember, to be successful in trading you must be willing to learn throughout your career.  Even the gurus have a mentor that helped them get to where they are and stay on their game.

I really feel the biggest reason traders fail is because they do no get the proper education from the beginning.  Every new trader I meet and get to talk to I try and get them to understand that getting the right education is priority one.  If you have 2k and want to start trading look at investing in your education first and start saving up again because if you take a short cut you will be saving up again to pay for your education.  I don't care what anyone says you do not learn how to trade by blowing up your account.  The only thing you learn by blowing up your account is that you need to get educated before you trade again.  People that say that and say they are just paying tuition to the market to learn are just trying to make themselves feel better about the money they lost.  I know because I used to be that person.

Take it from me.  Education is the key to your sustained success in trading. Period.





6 comments:

  1. I've been attempting to give full time trading a go the last couple of months without losing the bank, and I am really wowed by the need to educate myself in order to prepare for the changing market conditions as we've seen lately. Keep up the great articles, I look forward to learning more from you.

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  2. Ed I've been an avid reader of your blog but I can't help but feel that this sounds like an advertisement. One that happens to come a week after you've given up full-time trading.

    For the record Ross and crew do have some useful things to teach but their style isn't for everyone, and they're not above embellishing their success as with any entity that sells subscriptions. Use your discretion.

    What Ed says is true though. Never stop learning.

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    1. Hi Unknown, thanks for your comments.

      You are absolutely right part of this blog is an advertisement but it's not a paid advertisement. It's my personal promotion of something that I believe very deeply in. Most that follow my blog are interested in how I trade and how I am progressing because they identify with my journey so I am sharing everything that is behind that. I have shared my experiences with Nate at Investor's Underground, Kunal at Bulls on Wall Street, and Clay Trader and they are all awesome guys and traders and I still pick up things from them but the crew at DTW just fit my personality better so that's what I promote on my blog. I think I have mentioned numerous times in my blog that you would need to find who fits your style of trading and personality better and I still stand behind that. I simply invite those that are interested to try out the same community that I am a part of.

      Also I am still trading full time. If I couldn't continue trading full time I would not have taken the job I took. I just do not take a bunch of small trades during the day any more. I am also not posting as much during the day on Twitter. I have a small group of traders I communicate with during the trading day on Google Hangouts. I now look for solid setups that have the potential for larger moves which has been working better for me. It is all a product of my mentor sessions. I am beginning to trade more similar to his style which fits my trading personality even better.

      Thanks

      Ed

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  4. Agree 100% with you Ed. I used to study a lot about business and even to me was very hard to find good contend to learn on this community, I say that because in my opinion its easier to identify when someone is trying just to sell you a course or they are actually offering great contend when you know how business people think.
    The first video that really got me interested in day trading was one webinar that Ross did while ago. At the beginning I knew that webinar was only an introduction to Warrior's paid course but Ross taught me in that FREE webinar things that others Gurus never taught me. I learn everyday from Ross's youtube channel and I don't even joined Warrior Trading community yet lol
    I'm very blessed to have found Ross's Videos and then your contend Ed, in this community there is a few people who really want to help new traders and I'm sure you and Warrior Trading Team are the ones.

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