With effective forex training, foreign exchange trading offers extraordinary opportunities to enhance personal income and change lifestyles. It can be literally the window of opportunity and change that dreams are made of. It is a fact that we are all aware of, and a genuine truth. It is the beacon that attracts those of us with dreams that aspire to financial independence and the freedoms that wealth can bring.
Naturally an industry of courses and self-help manuals has grown around this, some good and some not so. What many have in common is that they are expensive, but then why not if they are going to offer you the secrets to make your fortune, and they tend to employ a degree of disingenuous marketing to sell their products.
The complete picture is basically simple: Success and its associated wealth is certainly achievable through Forex trading. The road to success however is deceptively difficult. It is certainly achievable, but not as simple as we are often led to believe. The common approach, or hook, that we are sold is that we need only purchase appropriate software, learn when and how to apply it and simply watch our funds grow. And yes, that is not untrue! But it is disingenuous.
Disillusion is far more likely to be the outcome without a better understanding of what the typical scenarios are for those new to trading:
- Most people stop trading within three months because they typically lose up to 90% of their funds within that time frame.
- The trader is the principal reason behind the long-term profitability of their account. There is literally nothing else to be blamed.
- The more you ‘desire’ to make money the more elusive it seemingly becomes.
- Profitable trading is ultimately boring.
The problem often is that when we are sold courses, acquire teach yourself material, or start trading based on some little experience that we may have, we are essentially buying into what it is like to be a seasoned and successful trader. Getting to that point however takes time, patience and commitment. It does not happen straight away. So we start with unrealistically high expectations. We have been sold it as fairly simple, takes little time out of our day and the rewards are high, all of which is true, but not for the beginner. Without appropriate guidance while watching our account dwindle before our eyes with no obvious or effective solution undermines any real willingness to persevere. An obvious and all too common result of this is to cast around for somewhere to lay the blame. Successful traders are only ever responsible for the trades they place whether winners or losers, no matter what. That is at the core of a seasoned trader’s mindset almost more than anything else, and developing the appropriate mindset to trading is fundamental to successful long-term trading.
The road to becoming profitable as a trader has nothing whatsoever to do with thrill seeking. A gambling mentality is anathema to the professional trader, and a desire to make large quantities of money very quickly is not only unrealistic but also tantamount to all the bad habits that undermine long-term success. Trading successfully and profitably is ultimately boring; in the same way that driving is boring to an experienced driver: It’s instinctive; you go from A to B in the safest manner without seeking thrills on the way. You may occasionally get lost, but more often than not you know where you are going.
So how do we get to this stage? We need to be committed, willing to learning to trade forex, and we need to find the appropriate methods and environment from which to learn. Like learning anything properly it is knowledge based and that takes time to build and grow. It is not just a question of getting the hang of some software.
For me, and I’ve undertaken a few forex training courses, one of the best opportunities out there is Rob Colville’s ‘Lazy Trader’. Apart from the catchy title he has a wealth of experience, is completely honest and upfront about the pitfalls encountered on route to trading successfully, offers profitable trading strategies, his trade alerts, and on-going guidance and support. And he argues again and again for developing the right mindset. He is offering a membership, not just a course. So you will not find yourself in that position where you are left floundering and wondering why everything you thought you had learnt on that course you bought isn’t quite coming to fruition.