Pay it Forward

One of the projects that took me away from my blog was a workbook I was putting together for trading.
I had planned to sell the book and do weekend workshops but I have decided to share what I have written for free on my Blog, I am fortunate enough to make a decent living doing what I love and if I can help others achieve that goal that is payment enough for me.
Each day I will post a page or chapter from the workbook. I hope you find it helpful. For some it may be a little too basic and others may disagree with my approach and the way I interpret the markets. I am good with that> If just 3 people benefit and pay it forward then I couldn't ask for more.
Here is the first post

Opportunity

Day trading, swing trading, or long term investing. The stock market provides opportunity for everyone. Whether you seek to earn daily income or you’re looking for a way to make your money work for you to provide additional income to achieve financial independence. The stock market can help you achieve your goals. The lure of easy money is very tempting and often people go rushing into the market with delusions of grandeur. Reality is 90% of day traders and many investors fail or struggle to break even. There are many reasons for this and the purpose of this workshop manual is to help you avoid those pitfalls regardless of the type of trader you want to become. Most people fail because this is a difficult, time consuming, emotionally charged industry that requires passion, hard work, strategy and discipline. If you are willing to learn, to do what it takes to succeed, this will serve as a map to help you get there. 

My Journey

My background consists of being involved in the stock market for the better part of my life. My beginning was as a young strapping stud at the age 20. I had tremendous success over the years, along with some complete failures when it came to investing. Fortunately for me, my successes far outweighed my failures. It was that success that gave me my passion for stocks and investing. Ultimately it is that success that has allowed me to pursue my dream of making my living trading the market. I have worked hard all my life and been everything from a butcher to a baker but I was never a candlestick maker. I had a very successful career in the corporate world but my true passion has always been stocks and I needed to find a way to make a living trading them. Investing is a long term strategy and one that can pay off huge but it takes time, lots and lots of time. Its fundamental analyses and doing research, its understanding a company and its potential, reading the balance sheet and listening to conference calls while having some vision as to where things are heading. Investing is what gave me the funds to learn how to make a living trading. I like finding the hidden gems out there and I have the patience to let those gems develop. Some may refer to that as "bag holding" but if the bag you are holding continues to grow because the cash in it continues to expand well then that's a bag I don't mind holding onto.

Now, with the day trading tools, and the technical analyses of charts I have a whole new arsenal that has allowed me to achieve my dream of trading for a living. I have the tools to do so successfully. However, I am also still investing, I have become a hybrid I am an investor / day trader /unemployed comedian. 

I am finally free, I can work from anywhere and I answer to no one. There is no better feeling in the world. This has been a long journey and one that I will continue to travel successfully. It is my best hope that this manual will contribute to your success as well. Regardless of what type of trader/ investor you wish to become.  

I do not consider myself a ”GURU” and the opinions here are just my opinions. I am not a financial advisor nor am I a licensed securities trader. I decided to share what I have learned on my journey and what has worked for me. Results will vary for each individual and in no way am I suggesting that if you follow every word of this blog that it will guarantee success.   

Where Do We Begin?

Let’s first start by asking you a question. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to succeed? Recognize that the odds are stacked against you. You will not learn to be successful in this business through osmosis! That would be like me hanging out with a bunch of gym rats and expecting my body to transform to look like theirs without putting in the hundreds of hours they spend getting the results they desire.

 

To be successful you will need to put in thousands of hours of HARD WORK. It will require you to learn how to evaluate your risk reward, technical analyses, develop a strategy/game plan, discipline, psychology /emotional intelligence, the markets and how they work, your strengths, your weaknesses, break bad habits, and change the way you think about the markets and money management. It’s a journey that requires true passion and commitment. One where you will likely have more losing trades than winners, where your will to succeed will be tested each and every day. Do you have what it takes? If you think you do then let’s get started.

Build a Strong Foundation

To be successful in trading there are four principles you need to learn. Consider this the foundation that you will need to build off of. First you need to do a reality check. By this I mean, you may want to be a day trader and have this be your new career but before you go quitting your job to venture off on your new career we are going to make sure your vision is grounded in reality. We are going to define what your risk tolerance is and what type of trader/ investor you should work towards becoming. 

We are going to explore market psychology and your emotional intelligence to help you understand not just yourself but the crowd psychology of the market and the role it will play in helping you succeed. You may be surprised by what you learn about yourself and the crowd. Understanding the role of psychology and the dynamics of it are crucial to your success.

We are going to learn about the different phases of the market and how to analyze them. More importantly you will learn what to do for each market phase and various trading systems to navigate them. You will learn specific chart setups, classic patterns and some of my own signature setups, aligning on multiple time frames, volume Indicators, scanning tools, trends, channels, and a host of other technical trading tools and strategies. You will not learn every trading system out there nor will you learn every indicator that can be used. I tend to try and keep things as simple as I can and it has worked for me.   

Money management is without question a huge component to the ultimate success or failure of any trader. This is probably the most neglected aspect of trading when it comes to beginners. If your money management is poor you will be out of business after a few losing streaks that are inevitable to happen. The losses can destroy an account if they are not managed properly. As long as you have inventory, meaning cash, then you have a fighting chance at success. Sound money management techniques will give you longevity and better odds for success as you continue to refine and learn your new trading skills. Simply put it keeps you in the game longer, and blowing up your account is not an option.

It is these four ideas that we are going to focus on and by the end of this compilation you will be better equipped to go after and achieve your goals of becoming a successful trader.