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Today's Featured Article
 Nothing could be easier, right? Look at a picture on a screen. Make a decision about what is going to happen. Click the mouse thing. Make a lot of money. Simple. And yet, we all know, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. We also know -- if anything is that easy, everyone would be doing it. Yet, many indulge the task of learning to trade futures from a naïve perspective ... and many struggle mightily to be successful.
Timeless wisdom teaches us that ill-conceived shortcuts are inevitably more expensive and more time consuming. Timeless wisdom also teaches us that we must do our due-diligence carefully evaluating the nature of any journey we embark upon so resources may be budgeted appropriately. Appropriate due diligence maximizes the potential for success. Ignoring the wisdom in such due diligence inevitably results in under-budgeting of resources, a short fall, failure to "summit" and the wasting of valuable resources.
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Think of a mountain climbing team attempting to summit Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet ... a team who failed to do their due-diligence ... a team who looked at the mountain and, in effect, guessed, "... can't be more than, um, 10,000, maybe 10,500 feet in elevation"... a team who budgeted for a 10,500 foot ascent ... a team who failed to pack supplies for a 20,000 foot ascent ... a team who failed to allocate the time necessary for a 20,000 foot ascent ... a team who failed to condition themselves physically for a 20,000 foot ascent ... a team who failed to understand the inevitable difficulties and complexities inherent in a 20,000 foot ascent ...
ultimately an imprudent team who sealed the fate of their ascent before they began climbing! The ascent was doomed from the beginning because they failed to understand the nature of the task they were undertaking.
 If you cannot view the picture above, go here.
Such is the fate of many a novice futures trader. In futures trading, like nature, the trader is either predator or prey -- the "eater" or "the eaten" -- and the predators are sophisticated, experienced, trained, strong, patient, skilled and prepared. As in nature, the weak, the mediocre, and the unprepared are eliminated as an inherent aspect of the natural process.
This perspective begs a few questions:
- What is the true nature of futures trading?
- How do I avoid the fatal under-budgeting of resources?
- How do I become the "eater" and avoid being "eaten"?
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First, thorough due diligence regarding a comprehensive understanding of the nature of futures trading is essential. You must know as much as possible about the "terrain" you are going to be covering. Gather ALL information. There are seven main areas in which you will need a thorough understanding.
- Software: You will need to thoroughly research the software available and ultimately select the software that you will utilize to train yourself to trade -- then ultimately trade with.
- Technical analysis: You will need a thorough understanding of how to analyze the price action on a chart ... without the aid of software.
- Trade Plan: You will need to know how to build and back test a trade plan.
- Money management: You will need a comprehensive understanding regarding money management principles as well as how to build a rules-based money management strategy.
- Trade Preparedness: You will need a comprehensive understanding regarding the skills and perspectives necessary to manage yourself so your trade decisions are not emotionally based.
- Psychology: You will need to understand the limitations created by your subconscious mind as well as how to access your subconscious mind to unlock your potential.
- Business Plan: You will need to understand how to create a business plan as well as how to create one for your trading business. This business plan serves as a road map for all of your trading activities.
Last, but not least, you will be left with a fundamental choice and a challenge. The fundamental choice is this -- do I engage a mentor (guide), or do I undertake this monumental task on my own? The truth about coaching and mentoring is simple yet powerful: the right coaching relationship empowers us to accomplish what we cannot otherwise accomplish.
The "challenge" can be finding the right coach or mentor...
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About the Author
Gary Avignon
is a Licensed Psychotherapist with almost 30 years of professional experience who specializes in the psychology of futures trading. He is also a partner in R2R, a cutting edge organization that specializes in the comprehensive training of futures traders ... COMPLIMENTARY for those who qualify. R2R utilizes Nexgen T-3 Fibs ProTrader exclusively in their elite trader mentoring program. Nexgen offers COMPLIMENTARY demos of this extraordinary cutting edge futures trading software. |
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