Going All the Way

Going All the Way

So you've decided to become a trader. You've decided that you want to master the markets and take home huge profits. You're not the only one. Each day, hordes of would-be traders turn to the markets to relieve them of the tedium of working a boring, mundane job. Although they all decide to trade the markets, most fail to achieve enduring financial success. Why? They may have decided to trade but they haven't made the proper commitment. To master the markets, you have to put more than your money on the line. You have to incorporate trading into your life and do whatever it takes to hone your trading skills to the point where you can master the markets.

The philosopher Goethe makes a wise observation about commitment that many novice traders would be wise to heed: "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back." In his book, "The Mentally Tough Online Trader," Robert Koppel observes, "Top performing traders are committed to overcome any hardship or roadblock to achieve their goals." Trading requires a huge commitment. You must commit money. You can't expect to make a living from a $1,500 trading account. If you are under-capitalized, it's necessary to get an extra job to build up the capital you need. You also need to invest time and energy. Unless you are a genius, it's impossible to digest the full range of trading knowledge over night. Learning about the markets and developing an intuitive feel as to how they behave requires time and practice. In some cases, it can take many years before you can trade the markets profitably. But to the trader who is fully committed, these are minor setbacks. Once you make the commitment to master the markets, you'll do whatever it takes to attain financial success.

Trading is serious business. You cannot treat it like a hobby. (Well, you could do it, but you won't make much money.) Without the proper commitment, you will approach trading lightly, and in the back of your mind, you'll think that outcomes don't matter, and that you might as well have fun, trade on impulse, and seek out excitement. In the end, a casual, uncommitted attitude will prevent you from excelling. Such a mindset will eventually wipe out your account balance. Trading the markets requires you to passionately commit to becoming the best trader possible.

Profitable trading requires commitment and passion. In his Innerworth Master Interview, Brandon shows the kind of commitment you need: "I usually work at night finding good trading setups, and watch how they develop the next day. I think those people who come in and say that they merely want to make a million dollars and quit are the people who never make that much money. They have the wrong focus. They are focused on the end result, so they'll tend to become more aggressive than they need to be. They'll take stupid trades because they feel rushed and don't really want to be spending all their time trading." If you want to make huge profits, it's not enough to decide to become a winning trader. You must also make a strong commitment to do whatever it takes to achieve enduring financial success.