Becoming A Successful Trader (Takes Time)

I wish I were wrong but the truth is becoming a successful trader takes some time.

All the bullshit you read and see online about how some random guy who got rich overnight trading forex after just 24-hours is a lie.

As with everything in life, being good at something takes time, patience and practice.

Everybody can become a forex trader but if you want to be a really successful one, you must have something that others don’t have.

Knowledge and Experience

Preparation and Discipline

Nerves of Steel and Personality

Before going into more detail about this subject, please take a look at the graph below.

Maybe this sounds familiar to your journey, if not, it soon will.

Inside a Forex Traders Mind

Inside a Forex Traders Mind

To expand on the three key points above on “How to become a successful trader”, I’ve taken more of a deep dive into each.

Knowledge and Experience

Forex trading is a professional business and since there are many factors involved, you have to read, study and learn.

Take time to learn the terms, charts, technical “stuff”, which at first seems like a foreign language, but over time you’ll pick it up. Things like indicators, support-resistance and trend lines etc. All key areas to learn, and also an unlimited resource to learn about.

Other areas to learn are factors affecting the markets, trading platform’s functions, risk management… etc.

I go into much more details but, at this point, I don’t want to scare you off.

Anyway, you are lucky because you can find everything on the internet and brokers allow you to have a demo account so that you can practice and gain experience. Experience is as important as knowledge because markets’ reactions to events are not always logical.

Preparation and Discipline

Being a successful trader begins with a profitable trading plan. After searching and reading many sources, either you can find a good plan or you can create one. This plan will help you to monitor your performance, reduce stress, prevent emotions from affecting your judgment. Trading without a plan/strategy is really dangerous.

Nerves as Steel and Personality

It is important to follow your own decisions. Never get motioned from other trader’s calls.

The method you choose totally depends on your personality and trading style; it is part of the process of discovery for each trader.

Don’t let your emotions take control over your mind, there is no 100% winning so accept it when you lose and move on.

Never blame the market for going in a different direction than you want. It is important that you feel comfortable with your style and the time frame you are trading in.