Traders Discipline and Will Power

Today’s article from Innerworth gives us some insight into traders’ discipline and our ability to maintain it. Don’t underestimate your self beliefs and the power they over you. It’s like swimming with or against the tide. Swim with it, you are generally less stressed and your bound to move further more quickly. Don't lose hope as you can also change your beliefs about your discipline to follow through and succeed.

Please enjoy

Cheers

Brian

www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com

Wealth Education for Life

One of the biggest challenges of novice traders is sticking with their trading plans. Rather than show self-control, many traders abandon trading plans prematurely. There are various factors that may influence traders' abilities to remain disciplined, but one set of factors concerns beliefs and attitudes about willpower.

What are your beliefs about willpower? Do you believe that a person's ability to show self-control is limited or do you believe it's possible to increase your ability to show greater self-control when necessary? In other words, do you believe that willpower is fixed and limited or malleable and unlimited? A recent study by researchers Anirban Mukhopadhyay and Gita Johar (2005) illustrates that beliefs about willpower influence people's ability to follow through on their plans.

Study participants were classified as believing that willpower was either malleable or limited. Participants made plans for achieving a specific goal, and researchers followed them over time to see if they actually stuck with their plans and achieved their goals. Results of the study suggested that people's beliefs about willpower predicted whether or not they stuck with their plans. People who believed that willpower was changeable and unlimited tended to stick with their plans and achieved their goals. People who believed that willpower was something that people were born with, limited, and unchangeable tended to give up on their plans. An interesting aspect of this study concerned people's beliefs in their abilities. People who believed that they had a high level of ability, in that they thought they could easily achieve their goals, tended to stick with their plans until they gained success, regardless of whether they believed that willpower was malleable or fixed. This finding suggests that it doesn't matter what you believe regarding your willpower if the goal you're striving for is easy to achieve.

These findings have a direct bearing on novice traders' ability to stick with their trading plans. Novice traders who believe that their ability to exhibit self-control is limited, and question their general trading ability, will abandon their trading plans. Novice traders who believe that their ability to exhibit willpower is endless will stick with their plans, even though they may question their trading ability. So, if you are a novice trader, it is essential that you monitor your beliefs about your willpower. If you believe that you can't show willpower and self-control, and that it is something you are born with that you can't possibly change, then it will be difficult to stay disciplined.

Although it may be difficult to maintain discipline, it may be easier than you think it is. If you can change your beliefs about your ability to stay disciplined, you'll increase your odds of sticking with your trading plan. Don't underestimate your ability to stay disciplined. You can stay disciplined if you try, and when you stay disciplined, you'll trade decisively and profitably.

Gratitude

I always believe in being grateful. There are just soooo many benefits, not only to yourself, but to those around you as well.

Here is an article written by one of my early mentors Kim Reilly on the the subject of gratitude. Again we look at servicing our millionaire mindset and exercising our emotional intelligence muscle.

Please enjoy.
Cheers
Brian

You are no doubt aware by personal experience, it is impossible to create something from the formless without first creating the vision in your mind. In doing this you set the wheels of creation in motion. All that remains is for its delivery to you.

I will use the analogy of the internet to explain how GRATITUDE fits in to this process. Gratitude is like your internet connection. If you want to download something from the formless, or the internet, you must have a solid connection. Any breaks or disturbances in that connection will result in a failed transmission. Well the same is true of gratitude.

Gratitude keeps you ‘connected’ to the formless intelligence which is about to deliver your request. Gratitude also ensures that you rise above any competition and maintain your faith and purpose. This is critical to your success and it requires some thought and contemplation.
It is easy to be grateful after the event. Real GRATITUDE is not simply paying lip service to thanking something, or something. The words ‘Thank you’ are so overused in our society that they have become meaningless. Have you ever counted the amount of times two people say ‘thank you’ during an ‘Eftpos’ or electronic payment transaction. You hand over the goods and the attendant says ‘thank you’, you then hand them your card and once again, ‘thank you’.

They process your card and hand you a receipt, you respond, ‘thank you’. They hand you a pen to sign with and you say ‘thank you.’ You sign the paper and hand it back, they say ‘thank you.’ They put your goods in the bag and hand them to you saying yet again ‘thank you.’ You feel awkward if you don’t respond, so another ‘thank you’ is necessary before you can leave the building. A total of 7 ‘thank you’s’ accompany every transaction you do so if you average 4 purchases a day, its no wonder ‘thank you’ is meaningless.

Gratitude, on the other hand is seldom apparent. Most of my life was spent moaning and complaining about how bad the country was and how bad the government was and essentially how bad everything was. Until I began traveling through Asia . I began to realize that things were not so bad at home, and that I was really grateful to be who I am, living where I live and doing all the things I was doing. This is the rock upon which most become shipwrecked. For gratitude to truly work, it must be truly given. I must also be evident before any events take place. The mind which is constantly focused on gratitude is the mind which is drawing closer and closer to the formless intelligence.

To let your thoughts wander to those of lack or of poverty or hardship, is to undo any creative work you have done. This was another crystal clear realization for me to discover that not only had I not been patient, and invested the required time doing what was necessary, at the first sign that something was not going to plan, I would react by blaming someone or something else for it. Not once did I consider the possibility that what I thought should happen, may not necessarily be the most effective, or productive way for the natural order of things to work.

Every event is perfect in and of itself. This is not to say you must give all you power over to fate. You always have a choice. That is to say that although you have an outcome in mind, you may not necessarily be aware of the most expeditious or beneficial way to see it through. For me, it seemed as though the more clarity I would get on an event, an the more rehearsed and definite I saw it, the more times it would fail in a completely perfect manner. That was until I was able to step back and look at the ‘big picture’.

This way of thinking was illustrated to me during my time as a navigator at sea. For a ship to successfully transit from one port to another, it is essential that a plan be drawn out onto the relevant charts. To begin this ‘passage plan’ I would start with a chart that preferably showed both the destination and the port of origin. To this chart I would apply a ‘mean’ line of approach, to give me a basic calculation of course, speed etc. Once this line had been created I could then transfer the ‘mean’ line to the larger scale charts. These charts would only show a portion of the journey, although they give a much clearer representation of any impending dangers, or things to be avoided, which are not apparent on the large chart. Sometimes, a detour of several miles may be necessary to avoid a reef or a shipwreck or some other hazard.

By looking at the big picture alone, these minor course alterations seem wasteful and even useless, yet they are vital for a safe passage. On the other hand, looking at each chart individually, the destination is not always apparent.

In a sense navigating at sea, is much the same as the processes which I am discussing here. It is vital to have a ‘big picture’ which contains both where you are, and where you want to go. During the voyage, however, things happen which at the time seem senseless or even wrong. At these times, more than ever, you must rely on Gratitude, Faith and Purpose, that your plan is definite, your ship is sound, and every day you are closing the gap between you and your destination.

Gratitude is the only method by which faith can be borne. In constantly fixing your mind on the formless with gratitude for what you have not yet received, you guarantee it will come to you, or you will arrive at it. Everything in your world has been brought to you in exactly the way you have asked for it. This may challenge your beliefs, or even cause you to become angry or frustrated. This is the regression of which I speak. The moment your mind is allowed to look on things as less than perfect is the moment all creation is brought to a halt.

Don’t concern yourself with the misery of others or their wrong doings or shortfalls. See your world as constantly expanding and experiencing more life. The life force has worked long and hard to bring humanity to the stage it is at and it is perfect. Like our passage plan, sometimes it may not look or feel how we would like it to, yet the infinite intelligence, which is in all and works through all, has a script with which you are playing the lead role. Put your unwavering Faith in the Director and fix your mind in constant Gratitude that you have been chosen to deliver the star performance. This is the source of all power.

Moving Forward With Thea Westra

Thea offers an easy access life coaching web service. A low cost and simple option for anyone who would like to experience using a life coach.

Thea Westra lives in Perth Australia with her partner Greg. She enjoys reading, creating inspiring online resources, meeting for coffee to have conversations with like-minded friends, watching inspiring movies, exploring internet resources in the area of personal development and a variety of creative expressions, both on and off-line.

She holds several degrees in the field of education, has studied countless personal growth videos/audios/books, plus participated in and contributed to, many self-development programs over 17 years.

Thea opened the doors to her coaching business in 2002, working with clients locally and internationally. She now uses the internet as her preferred medium for contributing to you. As a result of this redirection, she has renamed the "What does Thea do?" element of Forward Steps to that of "Forward Steps Maven", and removing her one-to-one coaching service.

Regardless of professional endeavour or place in life, all Forward Steps site visitors and subscribers have one thing in common: they are all successful, resourceful, and intelligent individuals who want to get even more out of their lives.

Forward Steps is all about just that ...forward steps. Her mantra is that "Each forward step enhances the value of your first".

No matter what our endeavour or goals, we need to keep moving forward. Not much happens when you are at a standstill. It's even extremely difficult to change course when you are standing still!

We are always learning and experiencing new things. Of course, things will still come at us, when we are standing still. However, we have much more power in determining our future when we are the ones taking very deliberate and personally chosen forward steps, towards our intended target.

"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking"...Buddhist Proverb

Click here www.forwardsteps.com.au and meet an expert.

Extra links

http://www.forwardsteps.com.au, http://www.ask-thea-about.com, http://bestezines.com/?Triggers&id=1417

http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/FSBlogs.htm

http://freemoneyebook.com/dlthea.html

Trading With Discipline

Todays article is very relevant to all aspiring traders. A key aspect often missed is trading a strategy that suits your risk profile that sits comfortably with your own investing personality. Match it well and the degree of discipline increases.

Please enjoy the article below.

If your looking for stock market strategies in wealth creation, then we have 10 in our homestudy wealth program. see here - www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com/homestudy.asp and check it out

Disciplined trading is vital for lasting success. Profitable trading requires a combination of skill and odds. The winning trader implements proven trading strategies over and over, so that across a series of trades, the law of averages works in his or her favor. Unless you make trades, you have no chance of winning. It's just like in sports. Unless you step up to the plate, you cannot hit a home run. The more times you try, the more likely you will succeed. An important part of discipline is consistency. When a trader uses one approach one time, and a different approach at another time, performance is haphazard. It is essential to use a strategy consistently, following a specific trading plan on each and every single trade, so that across the series of trades, you will make an overall profit.

If you follow the plan sometimes and abandon it at other times, you throw off the probabilities, but many traders can't seem to stick with their plan. What precipitates a lapse in discipline? Many times, traders forget the consequences of not following a plan. They may suddenly see an opportunity to make a quick profit and decide to abandon risk limits. In another scenario, a trader may question his or her plan, and out of fear, abandon it. How can you make sure you stick with your trading plan? Many times, we forget why we need to follow a well-defined trading plan. A simple way to remember is to pull out an index card with the reasons and read it over and over again. You might write, "If I abandon my plan, I will lose in the long run." You may also list a few trades where you abandoned your plan and you regretted it. The images of the trade, along with the feelings of regret, will encourage you to stick with your plan. By putting the consequences of abandoning your plan right in front of you so that it is clearly in your awareness, you will be more likely to stick with your plan.

There are other reasons that trading plans are abandoned. One of the main reasons trading plans are abandoned is that they are not specified clearly enough. By specifying every aspect of a trading plan from how much you will risk to when you will enter and exit, you will have an easier time following your plan.

Another reason plans are abandoned concerns fear. When your money is on the line, it's natural to feel afraid. As much as you try to forget, it's hard not to worry about losing money. There are times when you may feel so panicked by the chaotic moves of the markets that you can't think clearly. You may feel agitated and on edge. A detailed trading plan, however, can help you stay calm during the storm of market action. The more clearly the plan is laid out, the easier it is to follow, especially when you are agitated and upset. And when the plan is easy to follow, it's likely that you'll stick with it. You'll be disciplined and in control of your emotions and thinking.

The difference between winning traders and unprofitable ones is the ability to muster unwavering self-control in response to chaotic, ever-changing markets. Trading is serious business. It's not a hobby, but many traders approach the endeavor as if it were recreational gambling. They don't develop a trading plan, and if they do, they tend to abandon it prematurely. Winning traders, however, are methodical. They carefully develop a trading plan, execute it, and stick with their plan. If you want to trade profitably, develop well-defined trading plans and follow them.

Article originally released by Innerworth

7 Secrets of Millionaires

by Sandy Forster
Australia's Leading Prosperity Coach

Millionaires have certain guidelines they live by - that's one of the reasons they become Millionaires. If you haven’t created the wealth you desire, it can seem the Wealthy are privy to secrets you aren’t. The biggest secret is – you probably KNOW some of these so-called secrets already! You now need to APPLY them in your life, instead of just knowing them and you too can create your own Millions.

1. CONTINUE LEARNING To become a Millionaire, you must first create a Millionaire Mindset. Many Millionaires believe that your greatest asset is your knowledge. Your thoughts shape your future - choose your thoughts wisely. To realise your full potential, you need to continually be learning, discovering and educating yourself. Invest in your greatest asset by reading books, listening to audios and attending seminars constantly. By continuing your education beyond formal school years you will achieve more in life than you ever imagined. For dozens of free prosperity resources visit http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=654817

2. LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS This may not be the hot tip you expected, but this secret will assist you toward Millionaire status no matter what your income. A quote from Bill Earle sums it up perfectly “If your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall”. The typical Millionaire spends less than he earns, and invests the difference. Millionaires prefer to sacrifice high consumption today to achieve financial freedom tomorrow and for a lifetime.

3. BUILD A BUSINESS AROUND WHAT YOU LOVE Most of the richest people in the world own one or more businesses. To create true wealth, you must involve yourself in your own business – preferably doing something you love. Millionaires get that way because they do what they love. They love what they do so much that it rarely feels like work – they put their heart into it and the money just flows. This is where the money is – you will never get rich working for someone else. Find something you love, something you’re passionate about, create a business around what you love and watch the money flow to you.

4. BE PERSISTANT On your way to creating your own millions, you will definitely face some minor and major obstacles. The secret is to overcome these obstacles and move on. Do not give up - be persistent. True long-term wealth is achieved only by striding over, under and through the obstacles along your path to riches. “The road to success leads through the valley of humility, down the path of patience and across the wide barren plains of perseverance. As yet, no short cut has been discovered”

5. LEVERAGE YOUR TIME AND MONEY Millionaires do not have the time nor the inclination to do everything themselves and when it comes to making millions they don’t just use their own money. If you want to be a Millionaire you have to know how to leverage. Millionaires hire the right people to do far more than they possibly could themselves. And they utilise other people’s money to invest in income-producing assets.

6. INVEST IN REAL ESTATE ”One thing the Rich uniformly have in common is that almost without exception – the Rich either made their Wealth in Real Estate or they keep their Wealth in Real Estate” stated world famous Real Estate Investor, Dr. Dolf de Roos. It’s never too late to begin your Real Estate Investing career – with the right education and support you will be able to create long term secure wealth to pass onto future generations. Real Estate investing is one of the best-known ways to create millions – even if you have NO money to begin with! For the best Real Estate investing education around, go to http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=6548177.

GIVE BACK Many Millionaires are generous with their time and money in helping others. This wasn’t something they began after they became rich, they were givers before, during and after they made their millions. In fact many Millionaires even have their own foundations. They donate a percentage of their wealth to a cause they believe in. The more you give, the more you will receive. Don’t hoard your wealth, share it with others and watch it multiply.

Millionaires dream big, create a strong desire to achieve those dreams and then take consistent action to see their dreams come true. Follow these guidelines and you too can be on the way to your first Million!

© 2004 Sandy Forster

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandy Forster, Author of the International Bestseller How to Be Wildly Wealthy FAST, offers more exciting free resources, articles, tele-conferences, books and live events in the areas of prosperity, success and personal empowerment at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=654817

NOTE
You’re welcome to reprint this article online and offline as long as it remains unaltered and complete (including the “about the author” info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to sandy@wildywealthy.com or P.O. Box 362, Mooloolaba. Queensland 4557 Australia

Added Homestudy Bonuses - Effective Immediately

Dear Everyone

I am writing to everyone as a special one off email to let you know of Jamie's latest enhanced bonuses on the homestudy. Starting immediately Jamie has extended the 2 year membership to 5 years.

To receive the full benefits of the homestudy, you must nominate which 4 day you are likely to attend within 30 days of enrolling for the homestudy.(You are able to change from one event to another at no cost). Seminars attract high expenditure so by designating a venue helps the organizers in preparing for the future.

The next event is on count down mode at the Milennium Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand on the 29th June - 2nd July, 2007

You must attend the 4 day within 12 months of signing for the homestudy . If you nominate the seminar at point of sale or within 30 days and attend the 4 day within the 12 month period then you get 5 year membership including unlimited revisits to the 4 day and internet and business programs within that 5 years including email and forum access and support services.

PLUS
As a special bonus incentive for new members who enrol for the homestudy inside the 21 days will also receive the $1995 spouse 4 day ticket for free. If booking after the 21 days you have to pay for the spouse ticket so it is a real saving of $1995

ALSO
Another new bonus has also been added to the homestudy.
You can get access to select ASX listed shares at substantial discounts of market price creating instant profits and access investments usually only available to high net worth individuals. 6 months free subscription to 21st Century Investor Newsletter valued at $600.

With all these new added bonuses I see a real opportunity for you take advantage of the enhanced bonuses that can assist you in reaching your financial and lifestyle goals.

If you want to take up the offer, click here and order online at http://www.educatedwealthsolutions.com/homestudy.asp or reply to me and I will call you to place your order.

The program comes with a 100% 90 day money back guarantee. That's RISK FREE EDUCATION. What if the program was just half as good as we say it is. How much money will it cost you to not be doing these strategies!

Have a great day.

Kindest Regards
Brian

September News and Updates

HI everyone

I hope all is safe and well as another month flies by. In this update I want to pass on additional feedback from the team, inform you of some updated resources and provide you with a recommended reading list if you're keen to research more on trading.

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General Info and Housekeeping
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The US sub prime mortgage worries certainly put the wobbles into all the world markets. We see some incredible opportunities at the moment, but more than ever, sensible execution and responsible money management keep the bad stories away. It is quite normal for the markets to correct from time to time as punters reassess risk and the value of stocks. I'll be watching to see if there is another downturn that may turn into a trend reversal. I won't try and predict what will happen next but prefer to react to what the market actually does.

We have updated the graduate success stories resource on the forum where graduates are achieving some wonderful results. I love reading them as they keep me inspired. I am a strong believer that with the right education, support and appropriate actions, you'll produce results. Take a look and be inspired. See here for the link to Jamie's forum http://www.21stcenturyacademy.com/forum/

For those of you who are going to the Gold Coast 4 Day "Education for Life" Seminar this week end, I hope to hear all your wonderful stories and feedback. If you are new to us, you get complimentary tickets with all memberships to the homestudy. See here on what is covered - http://www.educatedwealthsolutions.com/4DayEvent.asp. Because this event has been fully booked out Jamie has scheduled another one for the Gold Coast on November 30th - December 3rd to accommodate the demand.

We have 2 days left before Jamie's Special Offer to get 2 free tickets to see Anthony Robbins on September 14th - 16th. If you are keen to pursue this homestudy opportunity, SMS me on 0423 523 866 so I can help reserve your seats.

I have also been asked what our relationship is to Jamie. We are licensed Business Partners and distributors to Jamie and the Academy. We completed the homestudy course in 2004 and actively and successfully use the strategies taught in the wealth program. We both love real estate and I just love the business of trading. I love the fact that I can offer these educational products that can offer investors greater value than the initial outlay.

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Recommended Reading - Trading
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Copied from an online book shop stating the top 10 trading books

1 Secrets of Candlestick Charting -- Louise Bedford
2 Trading in the Zone--Mark Douglas
3 Secrets of Writing Options--Louise Bedford
4 Trading Secrets-- Louise Bedford
5 Market Wizards-- Jack Schwager
6 Charting Secrets--Louise Bedford
7 Trading for a Living--Alexander Elder
8 Come Into My Trading Room --Alexander Elder
9 Rich Dad, Poor Dad--Robert Kiyosaki
10 Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom --Van Tharp

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Useful Websites
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Australian Stock Exchange - www.asx.com.au is always a great resource of online tutorials.

Secrets exposed - http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=651233 - Series of books that takes you up-close and personal with hundreds of Australasia's most successful people, in a range of topic areas.

We would love to hear what other useful websites you have found and use that can be of benefit to everyone.

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I look forward to hearing from you at some stage and hearing your progress, questions and thoughts.

Until next time, I wish you happy investing

Brian

August News and Updates

Welcome to the August NEWS and updates.

I have been asked by fellow subscribers to offer feedback on areas of interest and resources that you could use in your investing endeavours.

We have added new free ebooks and articles in the resource section of the website - http://www.educatedwealthsolutions.com/Resources.asp. "The Science of Getting Rich" and "The Science of Being Great" are ready now. If you have articles for the team, send it through to me and I will post it for everyone to share.

By the way, I'm celebrating - It's been 12 months since I quit my job and taken up investing full time. I say this not to impress you but to impress upon you that persistence and effective action can pay off. What ever your endeavor is, if you remain focused on the process, the money and rewards will come as a byproduct. I truly wish this for you. To be able to make the investment and lifestyle choices that ultimately allow you to live your life to the fullest can be very rewarding.

Anyway, on with the news

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General Academy News
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The September Gold Coast "4 day Education for Life Seminar" has been booked out and an additional event has been booked for December 2007. If you are considering going or want to know more about the event, see here - http://www.educatedwealthsolutions.com/4DayEvent.asp

Special Limited Offer: Two FREE Tickets to Tony Robbins Seminar "Unleash The Power Within" Valued at $2,500.
See here for more http://www.21stcenturyacademy.com/robbins.htm.

Spend two days with Tony Robbins, one of Jamie McIntyre's main mentors, at his famous Unleash the Power Within (UPW) seminar, as a Free Bonus, simply by enrolling as a 21st Century Academy Homestudy Member. These Free tickets to Tony Robbins UPW seminar will not last long, we have a limited amount available on a first come, first served basis. The tickets are valued at $1250 each, enroll in the Homestudy now and you qualify for two UPW tickets, one for you, one for a partner, at Sydney, Fri. Sept 14th to Mon Sept.17th 2007 - total value $2,500 FREE.

Imagine what these two days will do to help transform the rest of your 2007, and then to put this together with the strategies you will learn in the Homestudy, will make a massive shift in your life. If you have been sitting back wondering whether this kind of education will work for you, now is the time to take a leap of faith in yourself, and take action. Not only will you receive these two tickets to Tony Robbins, but by enrolling in the Homestudy now, you also receive a Free family member ticket, and a ticket yourself, to attend Jamie's 4 day Education For Life seminar, on the Gold Coast, Perth, in beautiful Fiji, or Queenstown NZ. Email us now to get full details before all tickets have gone, simply reply with "I WANT FREE TICKETS" in the subject, your name and phone no. in the email, and we will call you back as soon as we are able. If you absolutely don't want to miss this offer, call us to order immediately 08 9445 8587 or call +61) 0423 523 866

Remember, the Homestudy still comes with an outrageous TEN TIMES YOUR MONEY back guarantee, what have you got to lose..........For more information on becoming a member and receiving the new 5 year Membership Homestudy & Seminar see here - http://www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com/homestudy.asp

The Academy are offering one day workshops for E-minis at a location near you

E-minis Global AUGUST One Day Workshop Dates & Locations

4th August, Perth: Rendezvous Observation City Hotel, the Esplanade, Scarborough, 12.00pm - 4.00pm
4th August, Auckland, NZ: Novotel Ellerslie , 12.00pm - 4.00pm
11th August, Melbourne: Venue TBA, 12.00pm - 4.00pm
18th August, Rockhampton, QLD: Venue TBA, 12.00pm - 4.00pm
25th August, Mt Isa, QLD: Venue TBA, 12.00pm - 4.00pm
26th August, Brisbane: Venue TBA, 12.00pm - 4.00pm

See here for more info on eminis http://www.21stcenturyinternetsoftware.com/app/?af=602164


If you have any questions about the homestudy or products available through Educated Wealth Solutions, please let me know by replying to this email so I can get you started. We have nearly 6000 members in the academy now all enjoying a 21st Century Education. Let me know your successes, thoughts and ideas.

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Useful Websites
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http://www.incredicharts.com - Great site to start learning technical analysis. Free software for charting stocks. Has weekly newsletter that are informative and educational

http://www.marketwise.com - Free trading pychology articles sent out weekly that also offers technical tuition.

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Today's Thoughts Of The Day
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Muhammad Ali - "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in Life"

Henry C Link - "While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior"

Happy investing
Brian

Fear Of Success

Psychologists studied "fear of success" in the 1970s and this topic received a great deal of attention in the popular media. Today, some trading websites have had discussions as to whether traders secretly fear success. Do some traders fear success? There are no published studies on fear of success and trading, and we don't have a definitive answer to this question, but we can look at this issue with information from our Innerworth archive.

What is the scientific basis of fear of success? Where did the idea come from? In a classic study, researchers presented a group of women with a scenario in which a young women student ranked at the top of her class in professional school. Interestingly, women participants predicted that the young women would face unpleasant consequences as a result of her success. "Pop" psychologists in the 1970s said that these women participants had a "fear of success" in that they expected adverse consequences to follow success. Perhaps this research finding was restricted to a particular cohort of people who lived in a particular time. Maybe women would feel differently today. Nevertheless, the research continues. In subsequent years, research psychologists have studied fear of success in many different groups of people. Fear of success is correlated with low self-esteem, and unpleasant emotions. Women and minorities seem to experience fear of success more often than Caucasian men. The general idea is that some groups of people in our society may receive the message that they "should not go where they do not belong," and by doing so, they will experience adverse consequences: they may need to make new friends and that could be difficult, or they may be afraid to discover that they cannot accept the burdens of a new role. Or they may feel that some people may not accept their success and may spite them because of it. Whatever the reasons, some people may believe that adverse consequences tend to follow success.

Some traders may believe that disaster may follow their success as traders. If they are wealthy, they may want to move to a new upper class neighborhood, or make new friends that are more fitting with their higher wealth and status. These changes may be hard to make. It's much easier to stay where you are and feel comfortable. Others may be afraid that if they make huge profits, they will become accustomed to the luxuries of financial success, only to lose their fortune and have to go back to a modest lifestyle. As the old saying goes, "It's better to have never been wealthy at all than to become wealthy and then lose it all." In other words, once you've been rich, it's hard to be poor. Other people may feel they don't deserve to be successful. This deep-seated feeling of unworthiness may unconsciously lead one to secretly fear success.

We asked a group of our subscribers their opinions. Here's what we found. Many people in our sample, 90%, felt they deserved the profits they make as a trader. It seems that relatively few traders had a fear of success. It may be as little as 15%. For example, only 12% thought that if they made huge profits that others would try to take advantage of them. Only 10% indicated that they thought that if they were successful traders, their lives would change in adverse ways. Only 12% thought that other people would envy or spite them for having increased wealth. We asked several other questions about fear of success, and our estimate is that over 80% of our subscribers don't fear success.

As you can imagine, a fear of success can be a problem for trading. Investment success requires a relentless desire to succeed. Secretly believing that unforeseen disasters will occur if one succeeds, however, is bound to interfere with cultivating and maintaining a peak performance mindset. Fortunately, few of you seem to have a fear of success. But for those who do, it's worth gaining awareness of this issue. If you believe that profitability is the precursor to catastrophe, you'll hold back. You won't put in your best effort, and you will probably fail in the end. Don't let fear of success get the better of you. Identify your fears, and conquer them. You'll be more profitable in the long run.

This Article was originally posted on Innerworth.com and has been reproduced with permission.

You Don't Need To Be Perfect To Win

If you're driven to succeed, in all likelihood, you are an overachiever. And as an overachiever, you strive for perfection. The need for perfection can go too far, however. I'm all for striving for success, but the need for perfection seems to hinder many traders. Some traders spend most of the day neurotically searching for the ultimate setups or the ideal market conditions. Other traders compulsively look at redundant indicators as if seeing the same signal over and over provides new information and solace. Still other traders feel they need to hit upon a winning streak to feel in tune with the markets, and if they don't, they feel as if they are missing the mark, and that they might as well just give up on the trading profession altogether. Ironically, the traders who seek out perfection may never get anywhere in the long run. Had they just lowered their standards and executed trades that weren't so "perfect," or had only a moderate probability of success, they would have ended up more profitable.

Life would be wonderful if we were on a continual winning streak. Perhaps you traded during the bull market of the late 1990s and rode a steady wave of success, or you've had a hot streak that seemed like it would never end. It felt great, didn't it? When you have a Midas touch as a trader, striving for perfection can seem like a realistic objective. But most of the time, striving for perfection just leads to feelings of disappointment. You don't live up to your standards and you feel frustrated. Trying to live up to such high standards often sets you up for failure. It's better to strive for more modest goals.

You don't have to win all the time. Indeed, from a purely statistical vantage point, an extremely profitable trader can be more wrong than right as long as proper risk management is used. But many traders have difficulty taking losses in stride. From a purely psychological viewpoint, it's hard to accept losses. First, people imbue losses with personal significance. As youngsters, many people were taught that losing money was wrong, and so even in the trading realm, where losses are commonplace, many traders feel guilty when they lose, as if they broke a parental rule. Although natural and understandable, these feelings of guilt get in the way of thinking freely. If you beat yourself up for making a losing trade, it is vital that you forgive yourself. In the trading world, you need to lose money to make money, so don't feel bad about it.

A second issue many traders face is "all or none" thinking. They believe that unless they are on a winning streak, they are failing. It's nice to be on a winning streak, but just because you are not on one does not mean that you are doing poorly. Imperfection should be expected. Every successful person faces setbacks, and in the trading world, a winning trader faces many more setbacks than successes. Setbacks are not a problem, but fear of setbacks is a barrier for most traders. If you are afraid to make trade after trade because you believe that you must experience win after win to be successful, you'll avoid making trades. And if you avoid making trades, the law of averages will never work in your favor. You'll end up in the red. It may be difficult, but you have to take some risks. You have to put on trades to make profits in the markets. Sometimes you'll win, and many times you will lose, but your overall profit is all that matters.

Trading is a tough business. Few make it, and this fact can be daunting. If you give in to pessimism, however, you'll never make profits. Don't imbue losses with personal significance. Don't think that you must be absolutely perfect. Every trade will not be a win. You'll be wrong and you will lose. Losing isn't your fault, but letting it get to you is. If you take losses in stride, and radically accept and appreciate any profits the markets give you, you will end up profitable in the end. And that's the whole point, right?

All In Perspective

As a novice trader, Jack has just put on his tenth trade. He's still new to trading, but he is optimistic that he will be successful. He wants to succeed. He thinks, "I want to prove that I'm a good trader. I hope I do well on this trade. The outcome is critical to the rest of my trading career."

Jack's thoughts and feelings are understandable. Whenever we start a major endeavor - starting college, a new job, or whatever - we want to succeed. And it's nice to have early success. The first few moments of a major life turning point seem especially significant. When we aren't successful immediately, the initial letdown often haunts us for a long time, interrupting our train of thought, and shaking our self-confidence. Despite the reasonable hope of an early triumph, however, it's vital to keep the proper perspective when approaching trading: one must always think of the big picture, the long run.

Any single trade is of little importance. Experienced traders know this fact, and live by it as if it were doctrine. Even though they may focus all their energy on the current trade, they know it is of little real significance in the long run. It is wise to put each trade in proper perspective. It is essential that you consider, at least in the back of your mind, that a single trade is just one among a series of trades, and that the bottom line is the overall outcome across the series, not any single outcome.

There are psychological advantages to taking this perspective. When you downplay the outcome of any single trade, it is less critical to your ego. When viewed as just one in a long line of trades, it's easier to tell yourself, "It doesn't matter. There will be many more trades and opportunities to come." If there isn't much riding on the outcome of a trade, it will free up precious psychological energy. You won't waste your limited psychological resources needlessly worrying about the outcome. You will feel free and creative, ready for whatever happens next. All your attention will be focused on trading your plan, objectively analyzing how market moves fit into your plan, and taking decisive action for a clean exit.

Putting a trade in proper perspective is not only psychological, however; it also involves proper risk management. To survive the learning curve, or a severe drawdown, you must limit your risk on any single trade. By limiting your stake to a small percentage of your trading capital, the trade will have minimal financial significance. In reality, it will be of little consequence compared to your overall account balance. Merely believing that a trade is insignificant doesn't work very well unless in reality it is not significant. For example, it's hard to fool yourself into thinking that a trade is insignificant if you have a month's salary on the line on a single trade, and you can't afford to lose it. The stress will be unbearable. It's important for your psychological and financial security that you limit the risk on any single trade. Again, think in terms of the big picture. You don't need to make money on a single trade; the overall results across a series of trades are all that really matter.

When starting a new endeavor, it's natural to want to do well on every single attempt. All of one's hopes and dreams may be placed on a few key trades, for example. But trading is much too difficult to think you can quickly make a few trades and be set for life, with all your aspirations met. The successful trader is in the game for the long haul. The trading lore is replete with stories of traders who made huge profits only to lose it all later. You may see some big trades in your career, which will provide numerous war stories that you can use to entertain your friends for hours, but when going into a trade, it's vital to keep the trade in proper perspective. It's still just one trade of the many you will make in your career

This article is a full reprint from www.Innerworth.com that no longer is operational. I can be contacted at brian@educatedwealthsolutions.com and my website is www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com

Trading with Discipline

Disciplined trading is vital for lasting success. Profitable trading requires a combination of skill and odds. The winning trader implements proven trading strategies over and over, so that across a series of trades, the law of averages works in his or her favor. Unless you make trades, you have no chance of winning. It's just like in sports. Unless you step up to the plate, you cannot hit a home run. The more times you try, the more likely you will succeed.

An important part of discipline is consistency. When a trader uses one approach one time, and a different approach at another time, performance is haphazard. It is essential to use a strategy consistently, following a specific trading plan on each and every single trade, so that across the series of trades, you will make an overall profit. If you follow the plan sometimes and abandon it at other times, you throw off the probabilities, but many traders can't seem to stick with their plan.

What precipitates a lapse in discipline? Many times, traders forget the consequences of not following a plan. They may suddenly see an opportunity to make a quick profit and decide to abandon risk limits. In another scenario, a trader may question his or her plan, and out of fear, abandon it. How can you make sure you stick with your trading plan? Many times, we forget why we need to follow a well-defined trading plan. A simple way to remember is to pull out an index card with the reasons and read it over and over again. You might write, "If I abandon my plan, I will lose in the long run." You may also list a few trades where you abandoned your plan and you regretted it. The images of the trade, along with the feelings of regret, will encourage you to stick with your plan.

By putting the consequences of abandoning your plan right in front of you so that it is clearly in your awareness, you will be more likely to stick with your plan. There are other reasons that trading plans are abandoned. One of the main reasons trading plans are abandoned is that they are not specified clearly enough. By specifying every aspect of a trading plan from how much you will risk to when you will enter and exit, you will have an easier time following your plan. Another reason plans are abandoned concerns fear. When your money is on the line, it's natural to feel afraid. As much as you try to forget, it's hard not to worry about losing money.

There are times when you may feel so panicked by the chaotic moves of the markets that you can't think clearly. You may feel agitated and on edge. A detailed trading plan, however, can help you stay calm during the storm of market action. The more clearly the plan is laid out, the easier it is to follow, especially when you are agitated and upset. And when the plan is easy to follow, it's likely that you'll stick with it. You'll be disciplined and in control of your emotions and thinking. The difference between winning traders and unprofitable ones is the ability to muster unwavering self-control in response to chaotic, ever-changing markets.

Trading is serious business. It's not a hobby, but many traders approach the endeavor as if it were recreational gambling. They don't develop a trading plan, and if they do, they tend to abandon it prematurely. Winning traders, however, are methodical. They carefully develop a trading plan, execute it, and stick with their plan. If you want to trade profitably, develop well-defined trading plans and follow them.

This article is a direct reprint from www.Innerworth.com and will also be found at www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com. I can be contacted at brian@educatedwealthsolutions.com

Finding the Right Mindset

Jack woke up later than usual this morning. He didn't sleep very well, worrying all night about two big losing trades he made yesterday and kicking himself for trading too impulsively. Today, he is worried about how he will make back the money he has lost. He really doesn't want to trade today, and wishes he could just take the day off. Maybe he should stand aside until his outlook improves. In order to trade profitably, it is vital to trade with the proper mindset.


Ideally, all traders want to trade in the zone. While in the zone, trading is effortless. Setups are easy to spot. And when a trader sees them, he or she is confident that a profitable trade can be executed with relative ease. But you can't be in the proper mindset all the time. What do you do when you're feeling off the mark? Some seasoned traders gauge their mindset at the start of the trading day and if it isn't quite right, they stand aside, take the day off, and wait until they return to a peak performance mindset.

If you rarely have a day when your mindset isn't up to par, taking a day off occasionally can't hurt. But if you are chronically in the wrong state of mind, you'll see very few profits if you constantly take the day off. You may want to try to improve your mindset. There are a few goods ways of getting back your mental edge.

First, set modest goals. If you are in a poor mindset, it's dangerous to start making big trades. You might want to start out slow and small. Try making a few practice trades and don't expect too much. Once you start the ball rolling, you may suddenly find the grove and start feeling better. People usually feel in a rut when they are trying to achieve goals that seem impossible at the time. By lowering your standards, you will increase your odds of success, and when you encounter some initial success, you'll start to feel better.

Second, review a past winning trade. It will remind you of your potential. When you're in a rut, you tend to think, "I can't trade. I can't imagine making a profitable trade today." The mind can play tricks on you when you are in a bad mood. Suddenly, you forget all the profitable trades you've made and erroneously think that you can't trade profitably in the future. If you carefully run through a winning trade that you've made in the past, though, you'll start remembering how talented you could be. It will distract you from the negative thoughts that incessantly run through your mind. You'll stop thinking about how down you feel and you'll start to pick yourself up.

Third, tell yourself empowering thoughts. By themselves, empowering thoughts may not work very well to get psyched up. For example, if you really don't have a sound trading strategy or if market conditions are terrible, an optimistic outlook won't do much to set an enduring peak performance mindset in motion. You'll feel optimistic for a few minutes, but a few losing trades will merely get you disappointed again. However, if you start off slow, come up with a realistic trading plan that is consistent with current market conditions, and execute it with realistic expectations of success, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment even if you don't reach your goals. You'll think, "That's pretty good considering I didn't expect much from this trade." Once you start building a little momentum, a few optimistic beliefs can put you on a roll. You will start thinking, "I'll take each setback in stride. I'll see how far I can go. If I gradually expand my vision, I'll make more and more profits, and end up profitable in the end." It may seem a little naïve to think that positive thinking can do wonders, but if you have reliable trading skills and are merely in a bad mood, positive thinking can set you on the right track and get you moving forward again. So when you're in a rut or a bad mood, don't let it keep you down. By taking specific psychological steps, you can move from self-doubt and stagnation to confidence and profitability.

This article is a full reprint from www.Innerworth.com that no longer is operational. I can be contacted at brian@educatedwealthsolutions.com and my website is www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com

The Trader's Fable

Did your parents read you fables as a child? Fables are often fanciful and improbable tales that have a lesson to teach. Here's a thought provoking trading fable.

Once upon a time, there was a novice trader named Bert who tried to aggressively trade a $30,000 account in order to make big returns each week. In one of his biggest trades, he meticulously followed the stock price of a company called Secure, Inc. He diligently studied the price movement in an attempt to discern its unique price cycle. For the past six months, the stock traded at around $30 with a 52-week low of $29.50. Bert noticed that new product announcements usually produced a $1 bump. He purchased 1,000 shares at $30 in an attempt to take advantage of a product announcement at the end of the week. He figured that he could quickly cash out for a nice $1,000 profit. "What is the most I could lose?" he thought. Assuming that the price were to fall to $29.50, the most Bert could lose in theory was $500. Unfortunately, disaster struck. He thought he had accounted for everything, but he had a run of bad luck. He thought he had put in a protective stop, but due to a software glitch, he wasn't actually protected. Next, the CEO of the Secure, Inc. was indicted for embezzlement, and the product announcement was postponed due to a shortage of essential raw materials. In addition, an interest rate hike deterred many investors. Unexpectedly, the price fell hard to $25. Bert lost $5,000.

So what's the moral of the story? First, it's hard to predict every possible adverse event. As much as we want to anticipate and account for everything that can go wrong, we can't. What may seem like a good idea when we execute a trade may seem like a bad idea in hindsight. But the wise trader doesn't get overly upset when this happens. He or she tries to control as much as he or she can, but at the same time, he or she accepts the things that cannot be controlled. Second, it's useful to be skeptical. You can't become overly obsessed with every possible adverse event, no matter how unlikely, but you must be ready for the worst. You should be psychologically prepared for big setbacks and be ready to take them in stride should they occur. Disasters do happen, but they are only truly awful if you interpret them as such. If you go into trading expecting unpleasant things to happen occasionally, you'll be able to snap back quickly and be ready to take advantage of the next market opportunity. Bert has two options. He could either beat himself up for not accounting for every possible adverse event, or he could chalk up the losing trade to experience and immediately figure out how he can make up the loss. In this case, the ideal tack for Bert to take is to stay calm, and to actively figure out ways to make new, more profitable trades. Third, he might want to be a little more realistic in his goals. Considering the size of his account, he may have been taking a little too much risk for a novice trader.

Chaos and uncertainty are commonplace in trading. No matter how much we want to account for every possibility, we can't. Winning traders accept what happens and actively and enthusiastically forge ahead.

This article is a full reprint from www.Innerworth.com that no longer is operational. I can be contacted at brian@educatedwealthsolutions.com and my website is www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com

Reaching Your Trading Goals

Trader's need to set specific yet realistic goals. Why?

There is a complex interplay between goal setting and a belief in your ability to achieve goals. If you set goals that are too high, you will give up when you start encountering setbacks. It's better to set goals that are within your grasp, but not too low. When you set a goal that lies within your comfort zone, you will work diligently to achieve it, feel a sense of accomplishment each step of the way, and feel enthusiastic about continuing to work on the goal until it is accomplished

To read the full article taken from www.Innerworth.com , click here www.EducatedWealthSolutions.com/Articles.asp