by Ntombi Malatsi | Apr 14, 2017 | FOREX FOR BEGINNERS, FOREX TRAINING
Ego Is An Enemy That Stands Between You and Your Success
Hi, welcome back again. I want to keep this post as short as possible. I might sound a bit controversial (I’ll probably go hide after this, smiles) but that is not my intention. My intention is to create a platform where all traders feel free to speak about real issues that affect us. The net is full of Forex blogs and sites.They are mostly focusing on issues that are not applicable to us in South Africa. Sometimes the information is just so unrealistic to what we face on daily basis. Now let’s talk about these issues here. Over the years that I have been trading, I have noticed that everytime I read Forex related books or articles, they always refer to traders as “him/he”. I always complain in silence and say but I am right here (ahem! hoping that an author out there will finally recognize us and start using words like she/her). Ok, enough about my whining. Shout out to all female traders out there. If you are here reading, Hi.
Ego is mostly associated with men. This is not a total truth though because I am sure we all know that one lady who has an inflated ego. We always say to those women that they have men like-egos (now I am really not sure why we say that when the ego is not only a men issue). Ego has no place in the markets. Let’s take a closer look at how traders get affected by their ego. Below are some of the ego related issues.
I know how this is going to turn out, I have never been wrong about it
Now, this is definitely an ego talking. A person who has an inflated ego is likely to repeat his/her mistakes simply because this person wants to be correct all the time. When he/she gets caught in a bad trade, it is so difficult for this person to take a loss and move on. This person just wants to be right (do not be that person). Unfortunately, as a trader, you are going to be wrong sometimes and when it does happen, your ego shouldn’t stand in the way.
I have been self-teaching for a year now and I do not need much from a mentor, I just need to brush up my skills and up my game
Just so you know, I took a deep sigh after writing this sub-heading. This is what I hear almost every day. My observation got me thinking that it is mostly men who have this issue (women as well, but not as much as men). Most people who are followers of this blog stumbled upon it while searching for Forex related information (maybe you also stumbled upon here today from Google search). The fact that you are on Google searching for information means that there is something that you need to know or “crack” even after so many YouTube videos and downloading manuals trying to self-teach. When you finally found this blog, the information that you were looking for should be enough to brush up your skills. If after reading here, you still need to talk to me, just throw your ego out of the window and admit that you need help. But it does not always happen like that. Ego always takes over. Get rid of the internal Ego so you can learn.
Ask yourself this question, how many times have you missed out on opportunities to be mentored simply because you allowed your ego to stand in the way? Accepting help does not mean you are a failure. We all need mentors or help from time to time to take us through. Whether it is a paid mentor or someone that you just follow (like you follow on this blog), we all need it. I am actually about to pay a mentor to teach me a few tricks about blogging. In case you are reading here and you actually do need a mentor, this is now your cue to pick up your phone and call or Whatsapp me on +27 64 510 4132 or +27 76 966 9392.
Sitting in a losing trade that will never come back to positive is somehow linked to an inflated ego because all you want is to be right
Think about that day when you made only winning trades from morning till evening. Think about what that did to your confidence, it skyrocketed to another level right? But if you have mastered the art of keeping your trades to yourself, often you have no bruised ego or confidence to worry about.
Very few traders have mastered the art of keeping their trades to themselves (get yourself to that list or stay there if you already have, I intend to stay). When you make a habit of trading and posting your immediate results on social media, you are likely to develop an ego as you get fans who will constantly like and praise your winning trades. When you get it wrong even when you know very well that your fans cannot see what’s going on, you kind of feel like you are letting your fans down (because you have made it part of your daily routine to trade and publish your immediate results). You are also likely to feel pressure and that might lead you to leave a losing trade for longer. Ego (sometimes, you are not even aware that you have developed it) is now talking “you are always right, leave this trade a little bit longer”, at the back of your mind you are already thinking about your fans and your next screenshot ( I know someone out there is going through this, take this unnecessary pressure off your shoulder). Please do not get me wrong here, I am not saying everyone who trades and publishes their immediate results has an ego issue. This is just something I experienced and I hear about it from time to time from my followers. I did mention on my previous post that I treat my Forex account as a business, I stopped doing the publishing thing as soon as I started to see my account as a business. That on its own contributed a lot in my overall outlook of Forex and my consistency (I still make a bad trade from time to time, we all do). Every time I close a trade (good or bad), I use the time to revisit it, check how it went, check if there is anything that I should have done to get better results (even on profited trades), check what I can improve to do better than I did. And all that information goes straight to my trading journal. Now see why I never find time to publish my immediate results anymore? I try to get rid of all destructions. I am not saying be like Ntombi (I was just sharing).
On my previous post, I mentioned that I treat my Forex account as a business. I stopped doing this publishing thing as soon as I started to see my account as a business. That on its own contributed a lot in my overall outlook of Forex and my consistency (I still make a bad trade from time to time, we all do). Every time I close a trade (good or bad), I use the time to revisit it, check how it went, check if there is anything that I should have done to get better results (even on profited trades), check what I can improve to do better than I did. And all that information goes straight to my trading journal. Now see why I never find time to publish my immediate results anymore? I try to get rid of all distractions. I am not saying be like Ntombi (I was just sharing).
Thank you for reading. I enjoyed writing this post. It actually felt like I was standing in front of you having a conversation about real issues that we face as traders. I know I said I will keep it short. I always say that even to my mentees, but look at this post now…
by Ntombi Malatsi | Feb 26, 2017 | FOREX FOR BEGINNERS, FOREX TRAINING
Trading For A Monthly Income -Is This Even Possible?
I come from a different school of thinking when it comes to Forex trading. I am often told that my personality and authenticity does not really fit the Forex trading society (whatever that means). Anyone can apply for the USD debit cards, but not everyone can actually get a chance to use the cards. Ooh! the cards are used for withdrawals, but unfortunately not everyone who trades actually gets to withdraw the money. For many traders these cards will only decorate their wallets and they will never get a chance to use them. This can be changed though, you can change it. You first need to decide if you want to trade for fun (not sure if anyone does) or if you want to trade to actually earn some extra income consistently. If you happen to have one of these cards, just refuse to have a debit card that does not serve its purpose. OK before I loose track, let me get straight to the important message.
Some few questions that you have to ask yourself before you can talk about trading for a monthly income
- How much do you want to earn per week from your trading?
- How much money are you willing to invest?
- How much work are you willing to put in to make sure that you achieve your goal?
- Do you have a plan and are you willing to follow it?
Your earning potential is in line with your start up capital (fact). This post is not about earning an income from recruiting others to join Forex trading (which is the latest trend), from promoting brokers or from fees charged for teaching. This post is all about earning an income from your actual trading account. Let us be realistic now, trading is not easy. I know everyone is painting such a beautiful picture about it but that is not the case. It requires commitment and self-control.
Trading for a monthly income is not something that happens after a week of learning how to trade. You first have to learn how to trade. Then start practicing on your demo account until you feel that you are ready to invest. No matter how long you can practice on your demo account, your first day on a live account will still feel like the first time you saw a trading platform, it will still feel as if you have never placed a trade before in your entire life. Now imagine if you are expecting to withdraw some money in your first month, what do you think will happen? Of course you will just add pressure to yourself and your trading performance will definitely be affected. I see this happening month after month with my mentees.
When I write blog posts, I always make sure that I write about things that I have personally experienced and not just researched information. Looking back at the time when I first started with my trading, imagine if I did not have any support structure or income. Learning how to trade may not be a struggle. The real struggle begins when you start trading your real money. The challenge is to make money consistently that you can keep and eventually be able to take it home. You need experience for that and experience cannot be purchased. Each one for their own experience.
An experienced trader does not get as nervous as someone who just got started. A newbie is likely to panic more and close trades prematurely. A new live trader is likely to get excited and get carried away by what everyone is trading around them. A new live trader is also likely to feel over-confident which sometimes works against him/her. Making a mistake is something that a newbie is likely to do, for instance a mistake of placing a 0.50 Lot size or 5.00 Lot size instead of 0.05 (I have been through this). So you see, you have to leave a room for all these and it takes time to master. Once you become a master, there is no turning back you can now talk about making an income. For now , work on yourself because it won’t just happen. For me, it happened after 3 years of trading and there is absolutely no turning back now. Fight for experience and start earning an income from trading so that even if all these platforms that offer bonuses or high commissions go under (because that is going to happen sooner or later) and you cannot earn money from recruiting anymore, you may still survive. The companies that offer different benefits may come and go, but your knowledge of the markets and your experience will stay with you forever. Thank you for stopping by and and taking your valuable time to read this post.
by Ntombi Malatsi | Feb 5, 2017 | FOREX FOR BEGINNERS, FOREX TRAINING
Hello readers, If it is your first time coming to this blog, you are welcome.To my regular readers,welcome back. Today I am going to talk about the success rate in Forex trading and also about the challenges that many traders face (challenges that I also faced and managed to deal with successfully). The statistics about the success rate in Forex trading are shocking. Last week I was just minding my own business and a good friend of mine dropped an image via FB messenger showing the statistics of survival rate in Forex trading. He came to my inbox and wrote a message in all caps that read ” I THINK IT’S HIGH TIME YOU COMPILE A BOOK ABOUT FOREX”. OK he did not even greet or anything but I understood that he just wanted to cough it out. I am not sure If those statistics are accurate but they seem to be what I have seen and witnessed before. Let me break this down for you. The statistics were in this sequence.
- All traders start with a dream to get rich quick
- 40% trade only for a month
- 80% quit within the first 2 years
- Only 7% remain after 5 years
All Traders Start With a Dream To Get Rich Quick
I was once one of the people who came to Forex trading carrying a huge dream, not only a huge one but a very very unrealistic dream. It all started with following on Forex trading groups/forums. Maybe you are reading here and you are one of the people who likes every page that has Forex word in it and joining every Forex group on social media (mainly Facebook, it seems to be flooded with Forex groups). You know that when you are still trying to do your research, it is very rare to come across realistic information (congratulations for finding this blog). Your next step is likely to book yourself for every Forex trading seminars in every town (that is where I started back in 2009). My dream to be a millionaire was soon shattered when I realized that everything that I read about or was told about on seminars was not even close to what I was witnessing. The thing is no one is really telling it as it is in those seminars. The only thing that they are doing is to get you hyped up and pumped up with visual riches. I personally lost lots of money paying for the information that never helped or assisted me in anyway. I am here today writing this blog post simply because I dint t give up.
40% Trade Only For a Month
Now this group right here usually drop everything to pursue the trading career. They resign from work and take all their savings (which is something I do not encourage), they drop out of school and start preaching the ” self education will make your a fortune” verse, we all know this bunch who criticize academics and only want to be street smart. This is the same bunch who think I am crazy when I encourage my Forex mentees to be productive and not rely on an investment( Forex trading) only. Every smart person knows that relying on one source of income is never a good idea. They are mostly pushed and are inspired by every guy who drives a faster or a bigger car but never reveal to other people that he owns other businesses as well and that it is impossible to make a million when your investment is only $50 ( I am being realistic). You are probably sending an email to me right now asking about how much can you start with. Read this post Here, it has all your answers.
This bunch do not talk about anything else but Forex trading and how they are going to make it and become millionaires. They are also huge fans of seminars and they eventually find someone to teach them and they start trading. To their surprise, they just don’t make even 1% of their account on a monthly basis. They are simply gambling with their money no matter how great their mentor can be, these guys are looking for big money. Anything that is below 50% per month is nothing to them, they want to make 50% on a daily basis and they risk loosing all their money in the process. They fail to understand that Forex trading is the only legit investment that can yield even 5% per month and no other investment can do such.
These guys become slaves to a broker. They work hard and keep on adding money to their account without actually trying to figure out what is it that they are doing wrong that causes the losses (they don’t have time to do that, their thinking is clouded and they are uncoachable). When they make profit, they make a lot but when they take a loss, they go straight to a margin call and they specialize in blowing accounts because everyone is normalizing it, everyone says a trader has to blow accounts before they get to be masters. Maybe there is some truth in that, judging by the fact that ahem! yours truly was a queen of blowing accounts (smiles as I write this, just got reminded of old times). These guys never take money home (withdraw from trading account). If they do withdraw, they blow everything that was left and go back to their bank account to fund their Forex account again (and they never tell). These are the guys who last only for a month or so. Then they go around telling everyone how they’ve tried and failed, how Forex never works and they are the same guys who are likely to open a Forex academy in the near future or shortly after their failure (making money solely from classes while teaching the same method that they used and failed, they have no experience or whatsoever to be coaching the next person). This has been a huge problem in this industry as everyone wants to open an academy after trading for a month or so. We see Forex gurus popping up week after week. I hope I won’t be attacked for this truth (saying a prayer for protection). Some of them become gurus of schemes shortly after they messed up.
80% Quit within 2 years
I almost fell in this category. After trying so much I came to a point where every guru I paid never even tried to reach out to me or even try to assist. I moved from one Forex guru to another and they all spoke to me prior to making payments and soon after that they got so busy to even reply to my emails, whatsApp messages or FB. Some of them even blocked me a few days after I paid them (tough times) and that is one thing that turned me off from FB Forex groups (but I am sure there are good ones out there). What helped me though was the fact that I decided to give this my all and dug as much as I could. So this girl right here came a long way and she is still going far. So if you are on the verge of quitting, try to revisit your steps up to now and see if you can try what I did. Remove all the clutter to clear your mind. Leave those groups if they make you feel like they made me feel. Restart with a sober mind and see if it will work, it worked for me.
Only 7% Remain After 5 Years
Now this is talking about me and that other person who remained. We remained because we refused to be ruled by emotions and we worked harder than most (on our emotions). Now let me tell you about why I remained. I remained because I started to set realistic goals for my self. I started to focus on one method of trading while I worked so hard to improve my craft up to a point of mastering it. I managed because I started to keep a trading journal which I wrote all different scenarios as they were unfolding on my trading and therefore learning to do better month after month (I still have that journal and is it forever updated, last update was last Friday the 3rd). I separated myself from the crowd (Forex forums) and started to look back at all my trading activities of the past year. I made a decision to stop being a jack of all methods and a master of none. It was too hard to even login to my trading account and to see those loses. For me to remain in the markets for the next 10 years and even more, I have to remain grounded as I am and focus my mind to reaching my goals. I have grown and I no longer look for daily, weekly or even monthly returns (even though I set them) this year I will not be measuring my progress by what I can make on a monthly basis. I am now gunning for the yearly returns. I have learned that if you trade without setting daily limits, you are just like a driver who drives around with a map but no destination. Experience has taught me that setting monthly, weekly and down to daily targets is not necessarily limiting myself. It is also the most effective way to teach yourself discipline and learning to trade, bank and walk away as soon as your daily target is reached and be productive somewhere else (which is the main reason why my last margin call was in 2012). If you have no idea where to start with setting your own targets, you might find this post HERE handy. and set up your own as long as they are realistic enough.
Note To a Newbie
Know what you want, if it is to invest and grow your money month after month while keeping your risks low, invest more in yourself and note that a master is not the one who wants to know all these trading methods. If you are lucky enough to find a mentor who is willing to hold you by hand, avail yourself to be mentored and watch your account growing from strength to strength, that’s the whole idea of having a trading account (to be able to grow your money month after month even if it means by only 2%). Trading is also a great way to test your strengths and your weaknesses and it teaches you a lot about yourself as a person and how to handle glitches in all areas of your life. Understand that it takes time to make consistent profits month after month. Work on yourself first and profits will soon build up. If you can learn to master your emotions and protecting your equity, you have won half the battle.
This is one thing that separates winners from losers. I struggle a lot with my mentees as well. Those who make it are those who know how to control themselves and the unfortunate part is that I cannot teach them, but I can only assist if they are also doing their part (which is not always the case). Start with smaller volumes no matter how big your equity is (watch everyone laughing at you for trading smaller lot size), you do that to make sure that you create enough room for mistakes. If you trade higher lot size like someone who is way more experienced than you, you are likely to loose all your money because you are still new, you get nervous and make more mistakes than someone who has experience. Thank you for stopping by and reading this post I hope you learned something that you can use. Kindly share with your peers using the share buttons below if you find this information valuable, let this information reach as many people as it can.
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by Ntombi Malatsi | Jan 15, 2017 | FOREX FOR BEGINNERS, FOREX TRAINING
Hello readers, it’s me again. This time a thought just crossed my mind and I thought let me come here and share. I am sure you can all relate to what I am about to talk about. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to make that pip and in the process we overlook the small but the most important factors of our lives that may end up affecting our trading performance.
I have listed just a few that I have personally experienced. I am sure there are plenty, you can engage by leaving your comment and hopefully I will also learn something from your experiences. Just tell us what do you think is the main issue or issues that affect your performance. Let us help each other. Mine are listed below and of course I had to identify them first for me to even start working on them.
Conditions That May Affect Your Performance In Forex Trading.
Stress : As people we are faced with different challenges from time to time. When you feel that you are not emotionally OK, it could be due to a break-up in your relationship, a death of a loved one, rather deal with your emotions and stay away from the markets until the issues are resolved. You are more likely to lose money when trading under a lot of stress. I did just that in December 2016 when I was not coping well with my brother’s illness and I felt so emotionally drained I ended up closing my laptop for trading around the 10th just to avoid making mistakes. Trading when stressing is like eating a lot when you are upset, it only creates more problems and never solves anything.
Distraction: This may be caused by so many things in our lives. You might be distracted because you have visitors who came over for the holidays in your house, your business or job suddenly needs more attention especially during peak times. It is OK to close your laptop for a week or so and focus more on the matters at hand . You can always go back to your trading account once everything is settled. Always remember that this is your account, you do not report to anyone and you are the one who is calling the shots.
String of losses in one day: When you get bad trades from your first trading session of the day, you are likely to feel discouraged and disappointed. Trading when you feel those emotions may lead to more losses as you tend to panic a lot during the trades and you might just close your trades prematurely in fear of taking another loss. As much as I have daily targets, I also try not to measure my progress by daily activities (I check my progress weekly). Oooh! You don’t have daily targets? Set up your’s using the tips that I shared on this post HERE. As traders we need the patience and also the impatience. We need the patience to be able to wait for the perfect setup and also to let our winning trades run without rushing to close prematurely. We also need the impatience to let the loosing trades run for a long time, we need to learn to accept when we get it wrong (it happens to most of us) and close the bad trade and move on. It is hard to move on or even see other trading opportunities when we let the loosing trades run for days hoping that they will come alright. Each individual is responsible for his/her self-control. Prayer is good, but let us stop abusing it by letting bad trades run hoping and praying that they’ll come OK.
I hope you guys got reminded of important things that your need to look at and things that you shouldn’t overlook. I have successfully taught so many people, from individuals who have never seen a trading platform before to the ones who have been trading for years but only wanted to learn how I personally trade. But there is one thing that everyone has in common, all these individuals get so discouraged by a loss, it could be a very small loss but somehow we tend to think that things will always go our way (guilty as charged), but the good thing is, I know when to walk away (it took me years to master that, be patient you’ll master it soon as well). I had to struggle for years to teach myself self-control and discipline. Unfortunately this is one thing that I cannot teach the next person. I am however patient enough to hold everyone by hand as long they are also willing to receive the help. Thank you for stopping by and reading this post.
by Ntombi Malatsi | Dec 13, 2016 | FOREX FOR BEGINNERS, FOREX TRAINING
Gratitude Goes a Long Way – Thank You For Walking With Me In 2016
The year has come and almost gone now. It feels like yesterday when I was writing my last post of 2015, it is that time of the year again. I am not a professional writer but I’ve had so much fun in the past 11 months, I certainly hope you also learned something from my blog posts in the past 11 months.
Looking back at where we started, firstly it was Brexit which took place in June, many traders lost big monies and they never looked back to trading the Forex markets again. It was very hectic (I survived because I pay attention to the economic news, hope you did too). As if that was not enough, one day Theresa May (Prime Minister of UK) suddenly announced that article 50 will be triggered to start the process for the UK to officially leave the EU, the Pound (GBP) crashed leaving many traders confused of what had happened (again I survived the crash because I was aware of what was happening), I hope you survived the storm too. On the 8th of November the U.S elections took place resulting in Donald Trump being elected as the U.S president. Donald Trump is currently a president elect and will be officially inaugurated on the 20th of January 2017. The latest was the Italy Referendum on the 4th of December whereby the Italians hit the polls to vote for their constitution to be changed. Renzi (former Italy Prime Minister) was for the Yes vote and threatened to resign should he loose the votes, and yes he did resign after he lost. 2016 was such an eventful year indeed. I am actually looking forward to seeing how the markets will be in 2017. This post is all about showing gratitude for all your support. You might have not seen it anywhere where a blogger actually thanks the readers, I am one of the few who does and this means a lot to me.
To my subscribers
Thank you so much for pushing me to write blog posts on a weekly basis. Knowing that there are people who are waiting for my next post did not only feel good, but it was truly encouraging. There are currently 322 subscribers (at time of publishing this post). I would actually post even when I was at my worst (you gave me purpose, thank you for reading my posts and for your subscriptions). If you have to know, I used to write blog posts and no one would read. I must say, that was a very bad feeling I remember thinking to myself “am I writing all this to myself?” imagine how discouraging that must have been. I am so glad I never gave up. When I write a blog post just to show gratitude, you guys should know that I am not at all exaggerating with all these thank you’s. If you are reading here and you are not yet subscribed and you’d like to, simply look for “”SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG” on the sidebar, enter your email address and click “”SUBSCRIBE”. An email will be sent to your email address (look for it on spam/junk folder if not on inbox), click on the link to confirm your subscription and voila, you will receive the posts straight to your emails every time I publish one.
To everyone who shared my posts
When we read on blogs and share the posts afterwards, we can only do so if we find the posts informative or valuable and therefore wish that everyone can read. Thank you so much for sharing my posts with your social media groups or peers (it means a lot to me), this wonderful act of yours does not only encourage me to write more, but it also assures me that the information provided on posts is helpful and valuable (without your shares, I wouldn’t have known). Thank you, thank you, thank you, your act of kindness is much appreciated.
To everyone who ever commented on my posts
Thank you for engaging with me through your comments. I want you to know that I do not filter comments, I publish all comments as long as they are related to the blog post. I only filter those nasty ones from spammers who are posting links that leads to porn sites or slimming tablets. I have a positive feedback for you. I have mentored people who have stumbled upon my blog and saw how we engage through comments, thank you, thank you , thank you.
To everyone who enrolled for private lessons
I know I have told you this before, but thank you again for trusting me. Like I always say, I will always keep my promises as long as you also keep your part of the deal. It has been amazing connecting with people from across the globe. This is also to show us that nothing is impossible, if the locals do not recognize your good work, continue to do good anyway, the world is watching. This is my cue to say happy holidays to all of you, may you receive all the desires of your hearts. I am officially off trading till 2017 (taking a well deserved break). This might be the last post of 2016, but you are definitely going to hear more from me again in 2017. I promise to remain truthful and only share my experiences and warnings if I have to. I promise to keep it real and I pray that my mind may not be corrupted as long as I trade the markets. Thank you once again as I sign off, meet you again in 2017
Same space, same blog
Cheers..
by Ntombi Malatsi | Aug 14, 2016 | FOREX FOR BEGINNERS, FOREX TRAINING
I know social media and your guru told you that Forex trading is easy, anyone can do it and you can actually make a living trading Forex. This is not a lie, it is actually possible. A lie is when you are told that you can certainly achieve that within a month of trading.
It takes more than just learning a Forex trading strategy to make it in this business. It takes courage, patience, discipline and being able to exercise self-control (which is something that you can learn but you and you have to be willing to work on it).
Self-control is a big issue when it comes to Forex trading. Most people who are sustainable in this business are those who have mastered their emotions and can control themselves. Let me tell you the truth, month after month my class is filled by 15 enthusiastic and excited new learners.
They are all privately taught and mentored by me in the very same way. I give each learner undivided attention during training sessions and also trade with them on a daily basis, we meet up via WhatsApp and do our live trading sessions whereby we all trade almost the same pairs and take our profits (that is if the markets provide us with trading opportunities daily).
The reality is that not all 15 become successful traders. It is hard for some to master their emotions which usually leads them to take random and unnecessary trades and ending up losing what we made together during out trading sessions.
Now, this is a challenge. With my assistance and support, after a few weeks or even a month of battling with their emotions, they conquer and master them. Then that is when they really start to make money and be able to enjoy the markets.
Trading is not supposed to be exciting at all. It is that very excitement that makes new traders to lose money. They are simply clouded by the excitement and the fact that their guru is constantly making them to envy him/her by showing off their own lifestyle instead of showing them the reality of this business.
One thing that I did few years ago, was to stop liking or following every Forex group or forum, we all know this, they are usually about lifestyle and not about the reality of trading or practical solutions. I managed to focus more when I was no longer following those pages, till today I am not a big fan of Forex pages on FB. (I am not saying Forex pages are bad).
The emotions that are left unchecked are very dangerous. In every field of study or business venture that one takes, personality should be the first thing to consider.
Few years ago I worked for a well-known private college and I remember how matriculants would excitedly walk in to inquire about the courses and some of them would walk in very sure of the course that they want to do.
There was a computerized career assessment program that we used in order to assist them in making sure that they do not choose a course just because it is popular and everyone is doing it. The assessment was mainly about personality traits that a potential student posses.
One day a young lady (18) and a very shy girl walked in to register (her mind was already made up that she wanted to do media which included Public relations, advertising, journalism and marketing).
I explained to her about the career assessment program that we had but she insisted that she knew she wanted to do media. I remember how shy she was, the whole time while we were conversing, she could not even keep eye contact and could hardly express herself (not to mention how shaky her voice was).
I then told her that she had to do the assessment anyway (yesss I admit, I lied but it was for her own good). I wanted to tell her that she does not strike me as someone who can cope or even like the buzz that comes with the course that she was so sure that she wanted (but I couldn’t say that to her pretty face).
I assessed her and just as I thought, she was better off being in an office environment as she did not even liked being in crowds or not an outspoken person, she looked like a very reserved person. Ooh well, she was so happy that we did it and she chose a course that she ended up enjoying and she really liked it. (she almost subjected herself to 3 years of misery by studying media).
The same thing applies with Forex trading or any form of trading. You need to be a person who can be in control of your emotions. Another perfect example would be a person who has a gambling problem (like a person who spends weekends at the casino and doesn’t even mind loosing all his/her salary on those casino slot machines ) can never make a good and a successful trader simply because the gambling tendencies will always creep in, until they are dealt with, such an individual should stay away from the markets.
Am I saying trading is the same as gambling? NO not at all, but a gambler is never satisfied and a gambler will always want to try one more time (gamblers are greedy). Imagine a casino gambler who owns a Forex account, he/she would probably think it is OK to rely on luck.
I am trying to be practical here and also trying to assist you to see if you really have some emotions that you need to deal with as far as your personality is concerned.
A person who is impatient is likely to have a failed relationship and also tend to give up easily in everything, those are the personality traits that we need to check as traders. I am a very patient woman, in everything that I do I usually give it my all and actually nurture it till it becomes what I want. This personality trait is my strong point that made me to be where I am as far as my Forex trading career is concerned.
How you deal with things in your life in general will always play out in all the areas of your life, be it in your career, your business, your friendships and even your intimate relationships. The personality traits that you posses will always play a big role in how your overall life turns out, trading is no different.
I challenge you to learn more about yourself before you venture into Forex trading. Forget that guy who told you on FB that it is for everyone, learn more about yourself first before you can learn about the financial markets, If you don’t know where to start, start by asking yourself these questions:
- Are you a patient person?
- Are you indecisive?
- Do you get easily influenced by social media?
- Do you follow the crowd or you are a type of a person who likes to create his/her own path?
- What are you looking for in Forex trading, are you looking for an investment that you can be in control of or are you looking for quick cash?
If you really like the markets and you have been struggling with self-control, just know that change is possible, and if you can be able to have self-control in Financial markets, be sure that you can definitely master anything that life throws at you. I have seen it with my mentees, those who struggled the most are now masters, it is possible. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please kindly share with as many people as you can.
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