Patience, persistence, and hard work

Patience, persistence, and hard work

or as they say in more spiritual topics,

chop wood and carry water before enlightenment,

chop wood carry water after enlightenment.

"Chop and carry" is simply the human condition and applies to trading just as well.

I give little weight to arguments for talent, let alone genius, and in trading even more since there are so many facets and elements in play that need to be developed and mastered to be a student of the markets with the success that individual variants have little merit on how successful one becomes as a trader.

It comes down to

patience (conditioning and reconditioning of various processes can be highly time-consuming, and most of all, the other tools needed to become an astute market player show meaningful success after a decade of daily hard work),

persistence (this profession isn't for the faint-hearted when it comes down to overcoming obstacles and working on one's shortcomings-this is like a pilgrimage on one's knees up the mountain and back. There is undoubtedly no shortcut or an "avoidance behavior permission slip"), and

hard work (have you ever seen a documentary of a person that acquired mastery in whatever field they applied themselves to without hard work-not me)

Yet no one can survive a ten-year-plus pilgrimage without lights at the end of the tunnel.

The market, unfortunately, will not provide this light.

There are no temporary winning streaks or other rewards alike.

That means you have set a path of rewards yourself.

Set small goals, take breaks, and see clearly that this path isn't one for monetary rewards for a while. Do not think you are the one exception that cuts the learning curve in half, is more talented, or needs less screen time.

Do not become emotionally entangled or engage in thoughts of despair. The markets aren't after you. It is a test of your courage and patience.

Quit if it isn't for you. Do not violate healthy rules of self-preservation, sound financial preservation of your basic needs and realistically make a business plan for long-term survival where the path to success becomes an enjoyable one with small goals set and reached rather a desperate one that only focuses on monetary rewards.

Measure your success so you see clearly when you fouled up, broke the rules, or behaved emotionally. Do not let p/l determine states or how well you are doing. At times markets are more favorable to market players and your specific system. Sometimes they are less. That needs to be viewed independently from your performance as a trader following your set regimens, procedures, and rules.

In short, once you find yourself off from your original set path and expectations and meet the truth, bluntly staring you in the face, make a wholehearted plan in detail of what you will do next and evaluate if trading is for you.

If trading is still in your life by choice, make a sound evaluation of where you are and what it might take to get to where you want to be.

Chunk complex problems into manageable bites and find principle-based answers to many questions that might arise.

If you had quit your job underestimating this might take less long and ran out of money-gat, a job again and do not create a scarce or worse situation since scared money never wins-that isn't just a saying; that is a principle-based fact.

Different camps need to be established when climbing a high mountain. A path of ascending higher to acclimatize to thinner air and less oxygen is necessary before retreating to a lower camp again—a process of three steps forward and two steps back. To finally attempt an effort to reach the top.

Trading is much alike. Many setbacks are expected, and many behaviors and ways of thinking need to be reprogrammed and conditioned.

There is a reason why so few in this business are consistently extracting money regularly from the market. These few individuals enjoy big slices of the pie. This profession is to be taken seriously, and an exuberant amount of dedication is required.

Without patience, persistence, and hard work, you will not find the promised rewards in market play. And these promises are not only in monetary form, but you will also find yourself.