| Following a trading system is on one hand about the | | | | come in the form of switching trading systems. |
| easiest thing a trader can do and on the other hand | | | | I have known a lot of people in this business and a |
| it becomes almost an impossible task for most | | | | few of them have actually treated me with some |
| traders. In truth few traders can follow a trading | | | | contempt simply because I continue to trade the |
| system. I have known hundreds, perhaps a thousand | | | | same way I did 20 years ago. Even though I have |
| traders, some who were positively brilliant, and I will | | | | made a ton of money doing this they feel that I |
| tell you very few could follow a system. | | | | suffer from some kind of intellectual impairment |
| I am not sure just why this is so. Before I became a | | | | because I have not developed something new. |
| trader I was a psychologist and so naturally I have | | | | But my experience is that the system switchers lose |
| an interest in the psychology of trading. Nevertheless | | | | money faster than anybody else. |
| I have yet to develop a clear explanation why | | | | 3) Negative Life Events - When I suggest to persons |
| intelligent people cannot follow a trading system. | | | | that they can make money staying at home and |
| I post my trades and positions several times a day | | | | doing something no more difficult than taking trades |
| on my web site. Anybody can see I have good days | | | | that their computer tells them to take, their eyes |
| and I have bad days. But overall my returns are | | | | light up and they think that perhaps they have found |
| excellent and do in fact far exceed the performances | | | | the key to happiness. But trading can cause |
| of most professional traders. | | | | emotional problems that can lead to depression, |
| I have also demonstrated that this methodology has | | | | anxiety, divorce and despair. |
| been working for over twenty years and that I have | | | | When I really did quit my day job and started trading |
| traded it with accounts ranging in size from $6,000 to | | | | full time I initially felt very isolated and I missed |
| $6,000,000. Using this methodology any person, in my | | | | seeing my friends at work. Initially I felt profoundly |
| opinion, with 10 to 20 thousand dollars has the | | | | alone and isolated. |
| potential to earn hundreds of thousands even millions | | | | Having a busy and somewhat preoccupied Dad at |
| of dollars if they just follow a good system for | | | | home all the time can also cause stress on families. |
| several years. | | | | And even making a lot of money in the markets can |
| This is what I recommend you must do to become a | | | | put stress on families. If you go from being poor to |
| millionaire: | | | | rich your relationships will most certainly change and |
| 1) Open up a trading account with a discount broker | | | | the changes are not always for the better. |
| with ten to twenty thousand dollars. | | | | Good trading demands stability and consistency but |
| 2) Sit in front of computers for nearly eight hours a | | | | walking around with $100,000 in your checking |
| day for every day the markets are open. Plan to do | | | | account can undermine that. |
| this for five to eight years. | | | | 4) Negative Psychiatric Programming - Running a web |
| 3) Get a good short term system that you have | | | | site and selling trading software and advice helps |
| tested with piles of data. Do exactly what the | | | | reduce my feeling of isolation that comes from |
| computer tells you to do to do. Buy when the | | | | working at home all the time. Although some of my |
| computer says buy and sell when the computer says | | | | best friends and business contacts started out as my |
| sell. | | | | customers, this business has also put me in touch |
| 4) Keep careful trading records and strive to improve | | | | with some of the strangest people on the planet. |
| your skills with order execution. | | | | Two of the more interesting stories: |
| 5) Pay your taxes on time. | | | | Hobo John was literally homeless and called me |
| In theory the worst case scenario is that it will take | | | | frequently from phone booths. Fifteen years ago he |
| you eight years to become a millionaire. This is not a | | | | put together a few thousand dollars, probably selling |
| bad salary for five to eight years of work. | | | | drugs, and paid me $1150 for my trading package and |
| So why can people not do this? Why can people not | | | | used the balance to open a trading account. What he |
| follow a simple system for several years to make a | | | | got from my trading materials was that if you |
| million dollars? | | | | invested in the stock market you would get rich. |
| Well like I said I am a psychologist AND a trader. Also | | | | The guy bought one stock index contract and held |
| I have come in contact with hundreds of traders. | | | | onto it until all his money was gone. I was almost |
| Unfortunately, however, the portrait of the | | | | happy when that happened because he had been |
| AVERAGE trader I have known is not very flattering. | | | | calling me every day from a phone booth to report |
| Based on my contacts and experience this is why | | | | on the progressive decline of his account. |
| you probably will not be able to follow the above five | | | | Millionaire Mike had all the family money anybody |
| steps to attain one million dollars: | | | | could want and had never put in an honest day of |
| 1) Boredom - Becoming a professional trader may | | | | work in his life. He hardly knew how to turn on a |
| prove disappointing. Most people think of trading as | | | | computer and could not follow my system if his life |
| very exciting. It is not. The truth is that markets | | | | depended on it. |
| tend to move sideways about 85 % of the time and | | | | He lost large amounts of money on a daily basis and |
| so that is not very exciting. | | | | this did not seem to bother him at all. He talked to |
| Furthermore I make about 60% of my profits with | | | | me like I was his best friend and, like Hobo John, |
| 5% of my trades. What that means is I take a lot of | | | | called me daily to cheerfully report on his losses. |
| mediocre trades while waiting for the big one. Trading | | | | His marriage was in trouble and curiously he would tell |
| is like fishing and sometimes requires a great deal of | | | | me about buying gold and burying it on public land to |
| patience. | | | | keep it from his wife. The phone calls ended |
| I think that a good trader has a personality a little like | | | | mercifully with his divorce. |
| the personality of an accountant. But not many | | | | I am absolutely convinced that some confused |
| people who are attracted to trading have | | | | people get mixed up with trading because they want |
| personalities like an accountant. They tend to be thrill | | | | to punish themselves and want to lose money. |
| seekers and the thrill seekers quickly become | | | | In any case there are many reasons why people |
| disillusioned with my style of trading. | | | | cannot sit in front of a computer, at home, for |
| 2) Desire for Change - Making a million dollars using | | | | several years in order to make a million dollars. |
| MY systems and methods require that you do | | | | Following A Trading System can be either easy or |
| exactly the same thing day after day for several | | | | nearly impossible depending on how you want to see |
| years. Most people cannot do that. People naturally | | | | it. But if you really think you might have the right |
| want to stimulate themselves, perhaps as a reaction | | | | stuff and can avoid some of the pitfalls I have |
| to boredom, through change. Oftentimes this may | | | | described here I strongly suggest you give it a try. |