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  • #581
  • Sep 9, 2017 3:54pm Sep 9, 2017 3:54pm
Quoting turnip15
{quote} Another display of faulty logic and marketing platitude. Think about it - many thousands of young men want to be highly paid super star footballers: few make it, even if they practice every week for years, but you don't hear of the many failures and frustrated ambitions that lie behind the few successes. But some idiot then says, " Yeah -Joe Bloggs is a top class footballer or rich retail trader, so you can too!" And conveniently omitting the fact that the greater likelihood is that the person will join the dustbin of failures hidden behind...
I pretty much agree with all the above,
But still like to counter it with an idea to play around.
Given you won't be the top 10, or even top 1000 football player or trader, because you don't get that special talent...true most probably...

Let's use for example driving a car.
There are race car drivers, stunt drivers, but also regular drivers who just to the basics successfully ( no accident) day in and on.
With the more time driving ( screentime) the more experience they gain, and more confidently do their daily routine.
Won't drive in F1 or NASCAR, but still in time learn to drive safely not only in sunny days, but in rain, in snow, in fog...

Sure most of the trader wouldn't be able to mentally and emotionally handle millions or billions, but most might be perfectly capable to make regular income of some quantity.

Knowing your talent's limitation, and choosing a corresponding realistic goal...the balance between being a loser or top trader, somewhere.
Trading is luckily not all black and white, there is pretty much endless variation between top to bottom, even between profitable and profitable.

Very few takes a entry level job at a fortune500 company and say in 12-18 month I will be the CEO...
Should a trader really open a 200$ account and claim to become millionaire from it?

Each for their own, by there are plenty levels of successful trading too, just need to find that one fits a person well.
there is always, always another trade!!
  • #582
  • Sep 9, 2017 4:24pm Sep 9, 2017 4:24pm
Is not a question of becoming a millionaire with small account. Is a question of being profitable. You don't need to compete with other traders. I have seen that competition is a great killer of account
Make all mistakes in demo and rain in pips in live account
9jatrader All Time Return: -66.1%
  • #583
  • Sep 9, 2017 7:41pm Sep 9, 2017 7:41pm
Quoting alphaomega
{quote} Highly unlikely to happen for most people! Maybe with automated (or semi-automated) strategies you can achieve some degree of success. But you have to learn to code. (And this by itself is another big challenge) Because the automated systems need adjustments and oversight all the time. And to create good automated systems you have to have good understanding of the market in the first place. That's why almost all successful traders who trade with automated systems are also good manual traders. They know the market very well. Most people underestimate...
I enjoy reading your insightful posts Alpha. It is the leverage I.e. Greed that kills the hobby trader in FX. My recipe for stocks is so simple anybody can yield 10-15% with no effort. I have been doing this type of "investing" since the 90s with zero analysis whatsoever. Invest in companies that you are associate with in your life. What we as consumers do are part of market trends. I take consumerism approach to the corporate world because of my consulting background in high tech. Simply buy stocks of companies who are offering products and services that require highly skilled talent. The downside was the concentration and over exposure in high tech sector which burnt me several times in the past 22 yrs but that's just life. Dollar cost averaging is still my holy grail for non-leveraged instruments.
Staying in my lane...
  • #584
  • Edited 6:54am Sep 11, 2017 5:52am | Edited 6:54am
Quoting Ace_1
{quote} tradista, thanks for your reply. It's good to know you don't have to worry about working at a "job". Mingary posted a video yesterday on this thread about people wanting to be rich. In the video there is an 18 yr old girl being interviewed and she says: "I find the whole idea of 'having a job' is quite ridiculous, that you have to depend on someone ... that you have to 'keep your nose down' and try to please them, and they end up paying you a pittance". I have to admit I agree with her and I have always felt the same way. I've always felt...
I actually totally agree with those statements. I wasted too many years of my life working a 9 to 5 just to see the unemployment line in my early forties, when the crisis took down half the world by storm.. saw my savings of many years go down the drain in a couple of years (not losses, just regular expenses, kids, mortgage, etc). I can't give advice, I can only tell what I know from my own perspective. Trading or any other endehavior won't save your life when you're in real deep sh*t like I once was. What will save your life is keeping your head up, think by yourself (not from others opinions), get good at reading your own gut and instinct about people and about what you want to achieve, always believe you can handle whats coming (not always easy), read as many inspiring stories as you can, learn to trade without indicators and most importantly don't RUSH IT, don't be in a hurry for anything when it comes to trading... Pick a strategy, stick to it and see if it fits your temperament (took me 2 years to find this out as I was so stubborn and obsessed that i should make money to pay the bills, so... best scenario is NO RUSH!! believe me, you'll be glad you took your time, because it'll end being faster than forcing things to work out!). Find something to support yourself, either by getting another job (temporarily) or doing your own thing, but don't really expect anything from your trading journey until you actually SEE IT happen !!
People say "if you can see it in your mind you can achieve it", yeah sure... keep dreaming... of course, that has some truth to it, but that's not it... that's just the starting of the journey of hardship that you must be willing to endure. After seeing it in your mind you must work on your confidence, so you must see it with your eyes! How do you do that if you're a noob? Well, learn, study, trade every day without getting fixed with the profits, don't put your cash on the line, trade on demo for a while, but do it with a plan, a purpose, like "i'm testing this method for the next 30 days" and do it like if it's your bread and butter way of trading... keep track o your progress on that particular system. If it feels good and you didn't cheat or made some stupid non-related trades, then cool, that's the way to go... else, you're not taking it seriously enough, so no wonder you'll stay mediocre and never make money, you're just wasting time and playing the "wanna be" game.
If you really want to become a trader you must COMMIT to becoming very extremely good at one particular method, and master it fully. This takes time. Then, little by little it will make sense and become part of you, of how you view your trading and the market. Put it to the test some more, bottom line being to try to trade under all market conditions possible, using always the same approach. When you start to SEE the profits based on an absolutely CONSISTENT approach, never deviated from the plan, never placed stupid "just trying" or "revenge" trades (which in a live account would cost you) then you'll start being confident in your ability, because you're seeing that you can be profitable each week, each month, time after time again. In the meantime, keep 'saving' money for a real account that will serve you to build on it (not to pay the market fee to learn the hard way!).
Then little by little work on growing the acount(s) by not taking money out too early for expenses, use compounding based solely on your consistency to make good trades. Focus should always be on the process of making the trades and never look at the balance once you're trading live. Then, little by little things start to pickup, people will come to you, you'll start making acquaintance with other traders, investors, whatever and opportunities will appear to grow your potential. Just give it time and stay at it (wanting to master your craft) like a maniac !
That's how I would have done if I could do it again.
  • #585
  • Sep 11, 2017 6:48am Sep 11, 2017 6:48am
Quoting tradista
I think this is the goal for many that come here regularly. How many of us have made it? How long did it take? What instruments did you start with? What where the obstacles to achieve success? Tell your own story in this thread. Let's make it inspiring!
It took me ages, 10 years almost, I've been consistent since 2015, now it is great, the journey was very tough, brink of bankruptcy stuff, I probably made every mistake it is possible to make, lost loads of money, the hardest thing I have ever done to be honest.
I live entirely from the growth of my personal trading account
  • #586
  • Sep 11, 2017 2:16pm Sep 11, 2017 2:16pm
2007,2008,2009 the first years ... a big rollercoaster.

Then in 2010 thru 2015 i've done that ... "trade my own account for a living" ... and developed some serious tools to help me in the task ( Iīve been a programmer and analist all my adult life ).

It was dificult and almost impossible, earning money only to go burst sometime later, even going thru a broker bankrupcy, that as keep me off my money for 18 monthes, a real "from heaven to hell" trip.

But meanwhile I was going foreward, always learning, testing new aproaches, reaching new strategies, trying to see wath is soo dificult to see, being creative and open-minded, dumping all the dogmas and supreme trues of Forex, searching the enlightment.

Now I am in a totally diferent level ...
Don't swim with the sharks ...
  • #587
  • Sep 11, 2017 3:50pm Sep 11, 2017 3:50pm
Quoting tradista
{quote} I actually totally agree with those statements. I wasted too many years of my life working a 9 to 5 just to see the unemployment line in my early forties, when the crisis took down half the world by storm.. saw my savings of many years go down the drain in a couple of years (not losses, just regular expenses, kids, mortgage, etc). I can't give advice, I can only tell what I know from my own perspective. Trading or any other endehavior won't save your life when you're in real deep sh*t like I once was. What will save your life is keeping...
tradista, that is very useful advice you have given. I will continue going forward with my quest for success as a forex trader. I see the same chart patterns happen over and over in the forex market and I know there has to be a way to exploit those reoccurring patterns to make a profit. That is what has kept me from giving up totally on forex trading. I think a big part of my problem is that I have basically been doing the opposite of those things you mentioned in your advice. I need to work on my discipline if I want to turn things around.

tradista, thanks again.
"Dream big and dare to fail." - Norman Vaughan
  • #588
  • Sep 11, 2017 3:56pm Sep 11, 2017 3:56pm
Quoting lcast
2007,2008,2009 the first years ... a big rollercoaster. Then in 2010 thru 2015 i've done that ... "trade my own account for a living" ... and developed some serious tools to help me in the task ( Iīve been a programmer and analist all my adult life ).
Icast, you said that between 2010 and 2015 you traded your own account for a living. But, what about these past 2 years? Did you give up forex after 2015? Or, did you mean in your post that from 2010 - 2015 is the time that it all came together for you?
"Dream big and dare to fail." - Norman Vaughan
  • #589
  • Sep 11, 2017 5:29pm Sep 11, 2017 5:29pm
Quoting Ace_1
{quote} ... that from 2010 - 2015 is the time that it all came together for you?
All over the years, it all came together for me ... my knowledge, my methods, my indicators, my automated trading system ...( I've made a few systems )... my money management, my risk management, etc etc.

If you dive deep in this matter ( financial markets ), you will find not one or two, but various ways to make money ... and then after the hard work, you will be able to put up multiple strategies to reach your goal.

One has to keep studying and working ... always ... ( And thats why is soo dificult to the majority of traders )
Don't swim with the sharks ...
  • #590
  • Sep 11, 2017 5:47pm Sep 11, 2017 5:47pm
I've been a trader for over 12 years. I took me over 9 years to be profitable. I've now gone 10 months without a losing month.

I can now officially say I'm making a full-time income from my home office trading forex. I took me so long to make it happen but things eventually did come into place with enough hard work and persistence.

It took me realizing that I needed a larger account to make forex trading work. The best traders in the world don't make more than 5-10% per month consistently. I worked really hard to consistently make just 3-5% per month. Once I was able to do that on a consistent bases, I then needed to save up at least $20-50k to make forex happen full-time.
  • #591
  • Sep 11, 2017 6:54pm Sep 11, 2017 6:54pm
Quoting swingtraderf
You guys are delusional, itīs impossible to generate a steady income out of FX without having a few hunderd K in your trading account.
You are very funny.. or are you for real?? if its true, then you are very wrong my friend

Quoting spekitox
Mmmm, no, you're not filthy rich with 900 bucks a month, because luxury, technology, flash cars etc, cost an arm and a leg no matter where you are. Flat screen TV costs the same in 3rd world Africa and Currys. Believe me. But you're right, many places you can live off $300 a month, and $600 makes you above local average. {quote}
i can pay my bills, go to restaurants you name it with 150$ PER MONTH in my country (even less), i can do almost whatever i want.. 900$ ?? pff im DA KING !!

People its funny here sometimes, thats why i always come back to check it out; i specially love the "Threads" about paper theorys and all that crap
  • #592
  • Edited Sep 12, 2017 3:00am Sep 11, 2017 7:43pm | Edited Sep 12, 2017 3:00am
Yes it can be done.

Whether you believe it or not, what you believe is true for you, and some things are true whether you believe them or not.

For myself I decided I was going to make it happen and would do what ever I had to do to achieve that, and years of research, study, multiple blown accounts, many sleepless nights and so many failures I can not remember, but I can say now for myself and my family that trading has been an absolute blessing to us.

A trading friend gave me a piece of advice that changed my trading and life, and I still apply it until this day " If your trading was the only thing putting food in your children's belly and a roof over there heads, what would you change and do in your trading to become successful " anyway, that's my 2 cents, hope it helps somebody, GW.
IMPROVISE ADAPT OVERCOME
  • #593
  • Sep 11, 2017 7:44pm Sep 11, 2017 7:44pm
Inserted Video

AND ONCE YOU HAVE REACHED THAT POINT OF SUCCESS IN FOREX YOU WILL KNOW THAT EVERY WORD IS TRUE,
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.
IMPROVISE ADAPT OVERCOME
  • #594
  • Sep 12, 2017 2:46am Sep 12, 2017 2:46am
Attached Image
IMPROVISE ADAPT OVERCOME
  • #595
  • Sep 12, 2017 6:20am Sep 12, 2017 6:20am
Great thanks to all sharing their success here; not thanks to those pessimist who believe it can never be done. All the pessimists here you can have these from great trader: "Every battle is won or lost before it's ever fought"- Sun Tzu. Here is another one:"Whether you think you can or cannot, you're correct" - Henry Ford. It means that whether you would be successful or not depends on your mindset and not market.
Make all mistakes in demo and rain in pips in live account
9jatrader All Time Return: -66.1%
  • #596
  • Sep 12, 2017 6:25am Sep 12, 2017 6:25am
If you feel it's not doable why are you in trading websites, trying to share your virus of impossibility. You could spend it in other things
Make all mistakes in demo and rain in pips in live account
9jatrader All Time Return: -66.1%
  • #597
  • Sep 12, 2017 7:05am Sep 12, 2017 7:05am
Quoting tradista
{quote} I am too, but never seem to have met one here at FF...
Yes but after a very long jurney and painful experience.
Trade fearless not careless...
Syed Mohsin Ali Profit This Month: -299
  • #598
  • Sep 12, 2017 7:22am Sep 12, 2017 7:22am
Quoting mohsinali
{quote} Yes but after a very long jurney and painful experience.
right on
  • #599
  • Sep 12, 2017 8:37am Sep 12, 2017 8:37am
Quoting Butterscotch
Is there anyone who totally depends only on Forex for living expenses. I do not have the surety of it.
They said its 5 business of average millionaire. ..
Trade fearless not careless...
Syed Mohsin Ali Profit This Month: -299
  • #600
  • Sep 12, 2017 11:52am Sep 12, 2017 11:52am
Quoting jdieieh
{quote} Andrew, if I can offer you those points. As an employee with a job you: 1. Spend significant part of your time in an office, most likely with people who you might not like that much after all and neiter they love you so much. 2. You put all that effort to serve your boss's wealth. Your 150k (-minus taxes) are not that much. I am sure he make after all expenses 10x or 100x times that. Are you happy with that? 3. Your 150k job today can be and will be replaced. With an skilled immigrant or a robot or somebody who can do it cheaper. I can assure...

No work colleagues are not friends, what is your point? I missed working with colleagues when I quit working for a large organisation.
I live entirely from the growth of my personal trading account
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