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

THE EASIEST PART OF THE DRILL/THE HARDEST PART OF THE DRILL

The easiest part of the DRILL for most traders is the first part—Devouring the information about trading. Becoming an expert in the markets, reading everything on the shelves, and developing an encyclopedic knowledge of the field involves a great commitment of time and energy. But, for many of the people who go into trading, research and an affinity for technical fields are second nature to them. They feel comfortable seated at a desk or computer reading about challenging mathematical concepts. This is exciting for them. It is also completely risk free. There is a tremendous emotional payoff for this group of traders in the learning phase of the DRILL. Some traders become so comfortable in this phase that they never really move into the hard part of trading, following their system in the face of potential loss.

There are traders who have a tough time with the learning part of the DRILL. For them, the very part that is the easiest for many is the hardest part of all. To make matters worse, a fair proportion of these traders are going into trading for the wrong reason. They crave excitement and think that trading is the pot of gold, the place of easy money to be gained without effort. These traders are essentially gamblers and, with luck, they are washed out very soon.

There are also traders for whom school was never a happy place. Often, they are not technologically oriented. However, some are highly intuitive individuals ...