Uncovering the REAL reason behind your trades
And why pinning down a ‘starter goal’ is your first step to true success.
Give the following question a bit of thought…
What it is you actually want to achieve by trading?
Yes, I know that making money is going to feature somewhere, but even that is going to mean vastly different things to different people.
So before you think I’ve lost the plot by asking such a dead obvious question, have a proper good ponder and write down exactly what it is you think you want.
I’ll come back you on this in a minute.
In the meantime, let me give you an idea of how 4 different traders might give contrasting answers…
Trader A is a ‘pocket money’ trader – he’s aiming to tuck a couple of hundred of pounds aside whenever he can, so he can treat the family to a holiday, courtesy of his trading skills.
But Trader B has much bigger aspirations. He’s hoping to build a full-time home-based trading business so he can eventually retire rich beyond his wildest dreams.
Trader C might be happy with twenty quid here and there (so he can talk to his mates down the pub about the real money he’s been making from the markets).
And Trader D, deep down, isn’t really bothered if he makes much money at all. He’s in it just for the adrenaline rush. Even though it might take a bit of persuasion before he’d actually admit this!
These are all real-world situations. I have come across every one of them in my communications with traders.
And you know what? There’s no right or wrong approach. The guy who sets out with big things in mind – a multi-million-pound trading empire – is no ‘better’ than the guy who has smaller targets in his sights.
The trouble is, traders are not always honest with themselves when they first come to the markets.
It’s easy to get brainwashed into following an unrealistic get-rich-quick agenda.
But the get-rich-quick agenda might not be right one for YOU (in fact, it’s almost certainly not the right one).
After all, what’s wrong with taking things steady, accepting there’ll be a learning curve to navigate, and get rich slowly?
If you do take things a bit slower you’re much less likely to quit too early out of frustration (when the overnight riches don’t appear inside your first week) and you might even get to enjoy some of the scenery on your journey!
So to protect yourself against the pressures of thinking you need to achieve overnight riches it helps if you have a meaningful goal in mind: a starter goal – one that’s meaningful to you personally and your current situation.
So let’s go back now to my original now…
Let’s get your starter goal pinned down and then we’ll look at the very first thing you need to put in place in order to achieve it.
Your starter goal: what is it you really want from trading?
There’s no right or wrong answer because there’s a space in the markets for every kind of trader.
But have a think about where you stand at the moment.
Your perspective is probably going to change over the months as your experience grows, but for today, just so you have a starting-point, how would you best describe yourself?
Are you looking for a reliable second income? A brand-new income stream that could help you afford those little luxuries? You know: the meals out, the weekends away, the latest tech gadgets – and a second income that you can earn in a way that doesn’t encroach on your current daytime commitments, or on the way that you like to spend your free-time.
Is it that you’re looking for a new mentally stimulating money-hobby? Starting out on a small scale – maybe aiming for a couple of hundred pounds a month. (Just be warned that once you see what you’re actually capable of you might suddenly take your hobby a lot more seriously!)
Or could it be your first step into a brand new full-time career? A way of leveraging your skills and entrepreneurial appetite into a fully-fledged venture of your very own.
If you’ve not already done so, write your starter goal down now.
Keep it to just a sentence or two. But do make sure it really is what YOU want from trading, not what someone else suggests you should achieve.
Businessman’s mind – the first step to achieving your starter goal
But let me tell you: it doesn’t matter where you see yourself heading eventually, the key to getting exactly what you want from the markets NOW – whatever that may be – is to treat your trading with the right mindset from here on.
Forget any notion of ‘playing the markets’ this is real business. Even if you’re a trading hobbyist you should operate in a business-like manner. It’s the sure way to enjoy the positive results you’re looking for.
Remember, when you enter the markets, you’re walking into the same arena as the professionals.
You can’t expect to compete without preparing and executing your trading campaigns in an adept manner.
(If you’re just after a quick thrill – the kind that Trader D in our example above was seeking – that’s a slightly different matter. Go for your life however you like. You’ll just need to accept you’re vastly reducing your chances of actually making any money.)
But don’t feel overwhelmed or out of your depth by all this talk of running things like a business. It just needs a subtle change in your thinking. And the first step is to get your ‘starter goal’ firmly in mind. Everything else follows on as a natural result of having that in place.
Once you elevate trading from something you’re going to have a punt at, to a solid, potentially life-changing enterprise – even if you’re funding it initially with just a couple of hundred pounds – I think you’ll be thrilled when you see the potential you have at your own fingertips.
By the way, once you’ve got a goal to aim for, operating in a professional, business-like manner is the easy bit.
You just need to follow a regular step-by-step process of analysing the markets, finding opportunities, and then applying yourself with discipline to trading them.
You might already follow a business-like trading routine. But if you’d like me to put one in place for you, I can show you the exact daily steps that’ll help you achieve whatever you desire. I just need you to have your starter goal written down ready to be accomplished.
And if that sounds like something you’d be interested in…
Keep an eye out for your email invitation to join me in the next Forex Breakthrough Academy class.
I’ll be emailing details within the next 7 days.
Be Prepared: Market Moving Data Coming This Week (London Time)
Wednesday 21st October
18:00 GBP Carney Speaks
Thursday 22nd October
09:30 GBP Retail Sales
12:45 EUR Interest Rate Decision
13:30 EUR ECB Press Conference
15:00 USD Existing Home Sales
Friday 23rd October
08:30 EUR German Manufacturing PMI
Monday 26th October
10:00 EUR German IFO Business Climate
15:00 USD New Home Sales
Tuesday 27th October
10:30 GBP GDP
15:00 USD CB Consumer Confidence
So let me know what you’re thinking of putting in place as your starter goal – you can drop me an email if you like. And keep an eye out for news of the Academy Class opening.
Until next time…
