My way to highway

not too easy to make up my mind about writing this piece or not about ongoing motivation, goals, and such.
setting initial expectations and goals is hard and subjective enough, and on the road down things get just more and more subjective.

so much so, that in a way i think those who not personally experience it start to not understand things, just because their angle wont align with those who travel this path.
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.
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i think it is better that i removed the original post i wrote here today.
i did work about 2 hours on it, and still was not convinced it is well enough written to reflect my thoughts.
on the other hand my own numbers and goals probably not interest even that many as the general idea of setting and having goal.
or even better, milestones, so they wont need to established periodically, but only to signal a new section of a journey.

i personally feel that my own journey also has entered to a new chapter, where many of the initial goals were fulfilled already, and there is an obvious need to set some newer ones going forward.
while hard to explain all my thoughts, one important point is, these goals doesnt have to be at all a simple 'more and more income to make'. on the contrary.
wealth is relative, time is limited.

happy weekend!

as in our physical form you mean ? the fact remains that money can't buy physical and mental health but it can buy stuff, "a lot of stuff" some are useful most are just excess we only need a certain amount to be satisfied and happy anything more does not improve our quality of life, the common sense that applies to all area of life I think also goes for money, everything in moderation for a blissful experience however short or long it may be. I'm very much looking forward to the next phase of your journey PF!! I'm growing to like your principle when it comes to trading and the direction you're headed more and more.

May is ON!
while 1st May many places a public holiday, forex market doesnt care it much.
in fact i was also busy all day today moving into my new trading "office" condo.
the usual ups and down, some trouble getting my monitors work together for one, no idea why, but in the end it seems things start to settle.
in fact i got about 80 minutes trading even, in the end, some scalping on EU, GJ and GU ( on this seriously early exit! )
but the day is up so far, the +40 pips equal +59%, a good kick of the new month.

i sincerely hope that this move will solve my power and internet issues i was suffering from on the countryside, and now that rainy season started, it got more and more an issue.

here is how my new setup looks like...miss the chair, but cant have all:



and my new, wastely improved internet speed ( for the same monthly fee!!)



and as an added perk, the view from my "office"



all is left to make some good trades to cover the extra overhead, fingers crossed!

happy trading!

Nice view

you are too close to the TV; perhaps move your desk backward by at least 2 meters

the TV for the ambience of the photo
i dont care to watch TV, really, for scalping the news dont do much, just need to be neutral when they released. and for movies i will be good distance.

i am more excited about that view, as i fully plan some of my off hours to spend in that pool and gym ( the 2 story on the left ) to get some good use of my time.

Gorgeous, new office and fast Internet!
Dude, you've arrived.

1.1% today, sweet!

hi Dude, and all!

actually, not that great a day, the TE not account for floating drawdown that i closed out, unfortunate for a loss.
today the bulk of my trading was GJ long, and in the end the bulk of the profit ( about 3/4) came from there, too.

but my timing was a little early, and thus the drawdown went a little deeper than where i like.
since i am still slightly in the red on this TE account, i try to stay safe.
and at -4% drawdown i have to admit, i haven't feel that safe, and sure it crossed my mind that the bad could turn worst and that if i dont want anything right now is an equity SL.
yes, i am not fully absent of emotions, if one thought that an EA produce the daily consistent gains, it isn't an EA. and me not being a robot get emotional. too.
was not trading that big or that heavy, but obviously, it was little big or heavy for my current liking, as the past 60 days my worst working drawdown haven't passed -2.1%...well, it passed today.
though nothing major, in the end it was enough to not load back on trades, and to bail out early with "acceptable good profit" vs holding for the real rebound i was expecting.
as of right now the price already rebounded 148.13...and a few pips difference could mean huge difference on an averaged scalping position.
anyway, nothing new, but for educational reasons here is the GJ chart.
my original trade idea was that 148 will hold. the partial closes are the proof that one can adjust the plans. for education also, it is same size loss, less the scout in front ( 1st entry).
i think 20 GJ longs, all total with the prior, ( and 5 other scalps on different pairs).
today total +0.97%, the 3/4 of that from GJ....and sadly watching how much i left on the table...
position sizes, position sizes, risk, risk...
there is another trade, but this was pretty straightforward, what i messed some.



happy trading!

end of week.
NFP Friday.
knowing that not much to expect before the NFP release, left my plenty time to enjoy a bit life too...perk of the new setup, and i am lovin'it!



May started strong, after 4 days in i can say that.
Now it is only working on to keep the party going! Not an easy task, but i am on a good run right now. just 2 months without a losing day. Things may get tricky here, but i am fully in belief that i can recover near/above HWM before anything bad will happen.

Today was mainly EurUsd, some trades on NFP, some more on the aftermath, and a little stuck in some, enough to lose the feeling for more. A mistake, clearly, but just had enough. 13 EU entries brought only as much as 4 others ( 2xGJ, 2xGU), ending today with +0.54%. Could be a lot better is a major understatement. But always better safe then sorry, when not at highs, and even then!
Anyway, as once said, time also matters, and today all was done within 1.5 hours.

The week, even though wasnt trading Monday, ended a respectable +2.51%.
And yes, the year is still in red on this account, about -1.9% missing to even.
However, i think Axi acct and prop there is now at HWM, which is always a good thing. The timing for additional deposit proved good so far.

It is pretty clear what i need to do for the rest of the month, will see how the executing of the plan goes!

happy weekend!

PF, good to be back to the HWM again; it's a nice feeling; especially when lying on the pool.

having a good environment for trading is important.

not every single thing is at HWM yet, but i can see the light

Ah, "Mindfields" (-:



Great trading, keep it up !!!

LuXing

middle of the week.
also Victory Day!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Day_(9_May)

that is Victory Day of WW2...and certainly barely apply to my trading day today!

all was started extreme boring, so much so that i rather had an afternoon nap. woke up just around the PPI news, shouldnt really.
but later i got into EurCad...although had a small entry on GbpCad too, not sure why i chose this one....i think like the technicals more.
unfortunate choice. EurCad is my worst performing pair on the account, really more down to bad luck, but nevertheless has caused some scars that hard to ignore.
thus i wanted to play safe, and it was today definitely not the ideal approach.
ended up with 20 entries total on EC, and about 4 hours trading time.



in the end got out, but the drawdown/profit ratio for this isnt something to brag about...approx 4% worst working drawdown, vs. the day made +0.33% profit in the end.
lately i was posting mostly charts where things arent going ideally.
really no one pointed out, or asked why, but i think more to learn from them, then from the days when everything goes as planned.
in the end still was able to even close +21 pips on this.

was also thinking today some...
it is about 300 days now that i started to write this journal.
while it is mainly for myself to look back, it always feel good to know that there are someone else who is reading it, and find it useful.
some even find it motivating, something that i really would like.
but i think most of the things there is i mentioned already.
had some updates.
had some thoughts discussed.
even had a chance to get to know few of you a bit more during the "mentoring", something that was really fun, although not sure in the end what one could use from it or not on a permanent base, but often all it takes is one good idea or a different view to help moving forward.
there was also some talk about prop trading, a bit on pro and con, and as an alternative way to get funds and more, to learn to handle the funds responsibly.
and there had been charts, and mention about few trade ideas, and for those who could read between the lines, most of the trading method i use disclosed too.

but then, in the end i feel there is nothing really left.
i am not really looking to form a trading group to make live calls, something that not too practical for scalping.
neither looking to make youtube videos.
was thinking that to mark the TE's BE for the year, i would do more mentoring chat ( note, i have not much doubt it will be done very soon, now -0.77% for the year)....but lately there is very few shows interest, and that kind a forfeit the point spend time from my side.
i know, it is not a 50$ to millions self-challenge, so cant rightfully expect traders to pay attention.
not even a fancy system, or a half baked idea of one, with zero proof, where one can enjoy exercising his mind, trying to figure out what the obvious millionaire OP doing.
just a journal...
i sort of feel that after 300 days, maybe it would be time to abandon it, and send to the recycle bin.
for me, it served its purpose, gave me some ( then steep looking goals) that i did manage to achieve (all) at one point or another in the past months.

happy trading!

I always look forward to reading your stuff! Thank you for your honesty, helpfulness and being a great role model for emerging traders.

I also like to read your journal pf!
I know i have not responded much to all that was written, but i like it.
It is kinda comforting to read a journal where the op is slowly grinding his way to financial freedom, it feels real and it feels "doable".
But in the same time i understand should you decide to finish it here.

Thanks!

Very well said:
It is kinda comforting to read a journal where the op is slowly grinding his way to financial freedom, it feels real and it feels "doable"

PF, I suspect that your hidden audience is massive.

Same as above, I enjoy coming here, and take bits and pieces here and there but I completely understand if you prefer to finish it.
Carry on if it is fun otherwise just stop and enjoy your swimming pool instead of losing your time on FF: sounds logic!! ;0)

As for the approach itself, or at least what I understood from it, it is just not something I could do myself (too heavily leveraged at time, when timing was wrong with the counter trade, for my peace of mind. The draw down can go very fast in these leveraged time. I would have an heart attack despite the 10% equity stop, as I would be scared it would happen every day... not good for me ;0), but it clearly shows here that it is working very well for you, with amazing returns and that it is real.
The fact that it is real and with a TE is actually quite rare here, especially for that amount of time.

I really enjoy your talking about prop trading as well (same, because it is real, down to earth), and the "scorpions style" stories are very entertaining too ;0)

But once more, if it starts being a bit annoying, then just enjoy the swimming pool in your free time, and I wish you plenty of $ and a happy life :0)))

Cheers,
J-F

Hi Profitfarmer

I am a regular too to this journal, reading all the posts and trying to get all the good that you offer with your trading experience and methodology.
I am sure many more , silent members like me do read your posts on a daily basis.

Have a great time.

Regards

hi J-f,

thanks for the comment.
i would like to reply to the highlighted part some.
of course the full approach may not suit everyone, and if you recall, just in the last post i mentioned that the past few occasions i was focusing highlighting only the trades where problems arise.
i think it would be more boring ( or misunderstood for bragging) if i post every single trades when i have 15/15 winners intraday with all single entries and without scaling in.
trust me, i have such days. and i know the TE showing the trades it couldnt be said i cherry-picked the winners, as we all suspect that is the case on many threads.
it is true that once heavier in, the trade gets overleveraged some. but it never comes close to margin call territory, i always have about 800-1000% free margin left on TE account, plus as you pointed out, there is an equity SL.
as much as it matter, i could use up to 1/20th of the current sizes on this TE account....and in turn make the P/L to be 1/20th....ie equity SL could be as little as 0.5%, and daily gains tiny, but nevertheless, same consistent. even at that size, it is likely to beat current bank interest rate, with tiny risk!
to toy around a little with it, i am not using progressive lots. it is not a martingale sequence, sort or full, or another sort.
but one certainly could play around with lot sizing if picking an ultra conservative risk and equity SL.
also, i am sure you havent missed the partial closes on any of the bigger sets, something to help control the risk a little, for better or worst, and not just sit around idle with a prayer as best hope.

the main reason really is, to show and to see, that with a certain set of rules and consistency, things may just work out on the long run.
as for me as an average joe trader, same for any other average joe traders.
there are bumps, certainly, like i was not really expecting a back-to-back equity SL, and sometimes these play with our emotions, sure, as we arent robots.
grinding out consistent daily profit isnt glorious like doubling the account in 10 trades, or swinging for 1000% month. ( for the record, i had also 2000%+ month, with 20$ left from a blown up small account...and when to BE blown it up again, going for the moon and the stars, feeling invincible genius, LOL...was a while back; i also had months of 3% a day return on average, only to see a part similar fate, though more was salvaged. the point is, i like to see such threads but they are entertainment, and not real life of a trader.)

the trading here is to show that without a fancy system, shiny new indicators, etc., one can still devise a way for himself not only to make profit, but even to trade full time eventually. it may not be the youtube forex lifestyle video, but sure it is a living, with free weekends, flexible hours, and an acceptable pay rate for the effort.

happy trading!

I'm not sure if I wanted to "like" your last post as I don't want to see very few of my favorite hangouts disappear as some others have one by one , but hey that's life everything moves and shifts nothing is permanent I'm going to blab on about my new age stuff now stop me

In all seriousness if the author feels like it's time to bid farewell I shall respect your decision.

But I hope to see you around the block PF!

time to celebrate?
i think not just yet!
TE is slightly above BE, myfxbook is little bellow BE...and both in agreement to be bellow HWM. but admittingly this month is looking strong so far!
for a special someone i had promised that may take a trip to HK if a certain profit number gets hit this month...and i maybe did it hastily, as frankly i have been to HK more than i care to count. but a promise is a promise, and should things continue smooth, i may have to get my passport ready.




happy trading!

PS. the numbers between the 2 looks a little weird. considering that they both have the same # of trades this year correctly (675)