Jim is a master trader. He manages a multimillion-dollar hedge fund and has made substantial profits for the past five years. He drives a Mercedes and lives in a beautiful home in the affluent part of town. Many of his friends and neighbors admire Jim and ask him how they could follow in his footsteps. Jim doesn’t mind the attention, but frankly, he doesn’t really care for it. He secretly knows that the only thing that matters is what he thinks and does. He has a true sense of confidence and inner worth. If you want to be a successful trader, it’s not the markets you must master. It is your personal psychology that matters.
Why do most people trade? Obviously, it’s the profits and what the profits can get you. The great irony, however, is that the single-minded pursuit of profits usually doesn’t lead to success. It is vital to focus your energy looking inward. There are a few key steps you can take when it comes to looking inward and achieving success.
First, don’t let your net worth define your self-worth. It’s tempting to let your account balance dictate what you think of yourself. The winning trader, however, doesn’t care about profits. When you focus on profits as a source of self-worth, you start putting contingencies on the value you place on yourself. When you are doing well, you feel good, but when you are doing poorly, you feel inadequate. It’s wise to remember that you have value regardless of your account balance. You are a creative, intelligent, and worthy person no matter how much money you have in your account.
Second, focus on the process of trading rather than the prize. Winning traders truly enjoy trading. They would trade even if they earned only a living wage. Trading is inherently interesting. Doing it can provide its own reward. When you truly love what you are doing, you end up doing it well. The more you can truly appreciate how fun trading can be, the more successful you will be at it.
Finally, if you can truly feel a sense of self-worth, look inward for guidance, and truly enjoy what you are doing, then you will feel relaxed and creative. You’ll be in tune with your inner self and you’ll learn to trust your intuition. Your perceptions will be vivid and clear. If you can achieve this higher level of consciousness, you’ll trade creatively, effortlessly, and profitably. You’ll achieve lasting success.