Trading on Target: How to Cultivate a Winner's State of Mind

FOLLOWING SOMEONE ELSE IN HOPES OF TRADING FOR YOURSELF

Some new traders opt to adhere to a mentor-trader in the belief that it will put them on the fast track to trading for themselves.

In this mentoring relationship, the trainee becomes an apprentice to the master, following his system. There are three problems with taking this apprenticeship track without adequate preparation by educating yourself about trading and your own resources:

1. The first problem with this relationship is that the mentor has developed a trading style that works for him, but not necessarily for the apprentice trader. Trading styles are like hairstyles: They are personal. What looks/works for one type of face and one type of hair does not work for another type.

2. Second, you must take into consideration the resources of the individual who you want as a mentor. His education, trading capital, and experience allow him to do what he does. Make sure you know what resources he has, his environment, his background, and his beliefs before you start trying to trade someone else’s style. If they do not match your own, you can find yourself moving at light speed from your goals.

3. Finally, in this category, you will find mentors who know a great deal about the markets and do not always remember to fill in the detail of the education you need to follow what they are doing. If you do not have a good base of education about the markets, you might not know the right questions to ask that will make all the difference ...