6 Months

by Liam 01:02 1 comments

I'm finding it incredibly hard to believe that 6 months of this year have passed already. I'm 6 months into my live trading career, 6 months older and i'd like to think 6 months wiser. I had always intended to write a "mid way report" and as the end of June neared I started thinking about what I'd like to talk about. Of course there's the obvious stuff like my trading performance / % gained (or lost!) and win:loss ratio. Arguably, this is all that people care about but I won't get into the holy grail discussion as you've heard it all before. I think i'll keep my overall performance to a separate blog, there are other areas that I wish to discuss in this entry. I'll be talking about psychology, emotions, the general life of a trader and the one area in particular that has been on my mind a lot lately; the support of family/friends/loved ones. This all then ties in with the stigma that surrounds trading. I'm using this first paragraph as an introduction to what I can only imagine will become a small thesis as I develop ideas in my head about what I want to talk about. I have a lot of stuff I wish to get off my chest.

I'm sure every trader starts the same. Burning out calculators figuring out the millions you can make in 200 trades. Getting excited about the Lamborghini's that you'll be driving by years end and whether or not to have a swimming pool on every level of your 10 storey house or just every second. Everybody has done it. If you hear someone say they haven't then they are a liar.

I recently became a member of Big Mike Trading based on two threads that I was directed to by a good friend. These threads can be found at the following links - Do you admit to being a trader? and Support from wife/kids/loved ones in your trading. Whilst I don't have a wife or kids the message still rings true! You don't need to be a member to read the threads but I decided to join based on the ethos of the website. Essentially, anyone talking shite or being a pain in the ass gets banned. There seems to be a real drive to promote friendliness and above all, good trading. They also have a huge section on psychology which i'm picking my way through. I hope they hold true to their ethos as certain sites like Forex Factory and Trade2win are full of naysayers. 

Returning to the two threads mentioned above. This has been on my mind a lot lately. Due largely to feedback from friends and new people that I meet. I used to be more than willing to explain and launch into a speech about what I was doing now that i've finished college. When I was starting out it was all exciting and I wanted everyone to know. Soon enough I got the typical responses that i'm sure a lot of people have heard. "That's really risky isn't it?" "You'll lose your shirt doing that." "You'll lose the roof over your head with that." "Sure that's only gambling, you might as well bet on sports." The list goes on. I'm now very particular about who I tell. As some of you are aware, I still work part time so trading isn't my full time career. Yet. Despite this, we all experience the same negativity towards trading. It's incredible how little people understand the subject yet they are very quick to put you down.

My Dad has been 100% supportive of me from day 1, after all it was him that got me into trading in the first place. I guess i'm taking over the reins as he's unfortunately too busy with work to devote the time needed. Having said this, we do talk on a daily basis. Both of our knowledge has increased exponentially over the last year. My Mum seems to be slowly but surely coming around to the idea of it after a lot of time not really understanding. To be honest I think it boils down to her being overly motherly and scared for my well being / future security. I guess I can understand that but i'm slowly making her see it from my point of view.

As for friends at home, most of them fall into the "you're gambling/going to lose it all" category. I don't even talk to them about it any more. If one of them happens to ask how it's going i'll let them know. Even then I don't go into great detail. The other day one of my best friends said to me "i found a great website for you, it's called gambleaware.ie" I don't think i even responded. Perhaps with a "fuck off" but I can't really remember. It was probably intended as a joke, but it's one of those times that explains how someone is feeling about something whilst being passed off as a joke. I was enraged. What I am doing is not a joke, it is not gambling, it is trading.

I've spent a lot of time on forums over the past year, in particular Forex Factory. I'm delighted to have met some like minded traders from all over the world that I speak to on a daily basis. Without these people and the knowledge that I have gained from them I most certainly wouldn't be the trader I am now. Their support is unending, which I am very appreciative of. Particularly during this poor month.

Psychology is an area of trading and life in general that absolutely fascinates me. Whilst being fascinated with it, i'm yet to master it. I don't think people realise that trading is an emotional rollercoaster and mentally draining exercise. Particularly when you're reasonably new to the area. I feel this is having a profound effect on my trading and is something I need to work on a lot more. My emotions keep getting the better of me and I need to learn to trade with a clear head. My Dad is a trained practitioner in both Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), whilst i've used a few techniques before I will start employing these tools on a daily basis. I've found the methods to be very effective in the past so I now need to start applying it to trading.

Another fatal flaw at the moment is breaking my own trading rules. This has to stop. It's only little things but If I set the rule in the first place, there was a reason I did so. I need to be absolutely disciplined when taking a trade. Might be worth my while creating my own check list for going long and short. I've heard of this technique being employed by many traders. There will be losses, I am completely aware that I can't be right all the time, but i've made too many little mistakes recently that have cost me.

As well as improving my overall psyche there are areas of my personal life that need improving too. Getting better sleep / eating well / going to the gym. Seeing as I spend a lot of hours sitting in front of a computer every day, these things are imperative both to keep healthy and to keep my mind alert at all times during the trading day.

What I do need to remember is that i'm only 23. Probably not the youngest trader but certainly the youngest person I know who is trading. I have a huge advantage over a lot of other traders in that I have the time needed to dedicate to it. If i'm not a millionaire by the end of this year, that's quite ok! There's absolutely no pressure at the moment other than the pressure I put on myself. 

I must stress that I absolutely love trading. I feel as though i've really found something that I can apply myself too. I've kept the determination going for 6 months between the highs and the lows. It has got to the stage now where I can't see myself doing anything else. I am essentially working towards becoming a full time trader at the moment. I'm not sure when this point will arrive but what I am sure about is i'll know when i'm ready.

If you have got this far and are still reading then thank you. I've taken nearly two hours to write this! Hopefully it has a flow to it and i've touched on some points that resonate with you. I also hope i've expressed what It is like to be a trader. It's an incredibly lonely business as you have only yourself to deal with.

I'll write another post over the weekend detailing my trading performance from the start of the year. For now, i'll leave you with this (admittedly a little cheesy) video;

Cheers,

Liam