The 3 Elements of a Successful Trader

Rule: RRR at least 1 : 1.5
My TP 25 to 90 pips

well said

1. Have big balls and take big risks.

2. Go with the masses.

3. Listen to the experts and analysts on various websites.

"Go with the masses."
more money is made going against common opinion.
"take big risks."
in trading? no way.
" Listen to the experts and analysts on various websites."
Like CNBC ? Those guys are supposed to be your contrarian signals.

Just because you believe in karmic debt - doesn't mean it is true for me.

Once our true nature is resolved, debt loses its meaning.

I just found a way to give a nice story, not to be patronised by your kindergarten level understanding of spirituality. Thanks.

Anyway Sarythsaya you are not welcome again to this thread. (see rule post #5). Thanks.

edge: comes from learning and applying
discipline: investor psychology has taken huge steps the last few years. good to learn the biases that humans have that can affect decision making
karma: this is an area i should focus on. i believe bill gross does yoga. never really thought yoga and meditation crap was worth much, but maybe it could be the missing link

If a market is a 'small' & closed system then yes.
Fx market is keep growing (everyday new players coming in), and too large to be considered zero sum game.

[quote=Les Lau;5497251]"Hi Roofx, i agree that aside providing liquidities to the market, this trading business don't give much to the society."

Since trading business don't really give much,
traders should think of ways to contribute, eg charity causes to the society..

.. Just like a tree is bigger than the seed, giving away a little of the thing you want will bring back more of what you want.
If we are conditioned to giving, our mind will also be conditioned to perceive receiving, and receiving becomes a reality..

Good begets good.. doing good and helping others can have an accelerator effect and lead to more goodness

3 important ways to boost karma, 施 戒 定 :

1) 施 (giving, donation, charity)
2) 戒 (refrain from bad deeds & self overindulgence..)
3) 定 (meditation, purify the heart & mind..)

I will try to elaborate on the elements you mentioned

Edge:
Traders must learn insight into every corner of fundamental and technical analysis, every support level, every resistance level, every tool you know, and to be able to process it at a very fast pace and to use that information to create a tunnel vision in your mind, to able to know the charts next 100 possible moves. If your too slow to do that before the charts sing another tone, then your trading without an edge.

I believe the next 2 intervene with each-other:

Discipline and (karma)spiritualness:
Traders must learn how to quiet the mind and to block all opinions, forex news rubbish and all other traders perspectives and to only use them as a guide. You are in charge of your own actions, and to every action, there is a reaction. A trader must be of a healthy mind an to be in control of there own emotions an learn to accept that all losses that happen in your time are just opportunitys to learn from, and to help you prevent yourself from doing the same things over and over that cause you to lose.

GL

Good good..
Actually the 3 elements are related/ intervenes with each-other

haha yes only 1 element needed, the element of life

Only a person with Highly spiritual/ good karma can utilize 'The Law of Attraction' effectively.
Hence traders should work hard to improve on their karma.


*Remember this is an Important point, which most books & 'Gurus' don't tell you..

Purifying:
Let go of all fear, greed & delusions.
Release the negative emotions & thoughts.
Purify the heart & mind..

Meditation:
Don't dwell in other place, past or future.
Always anchor ourself in here, now.
Harness the power of Herenow

OMG !! Now it's all boiled down into 3 elements.One of which might have relevance.
Well how do I get "the edge" and how do I get good karma? I guess discovering an edge would involve "study". But wait. That's another element

How do I get good "karma". Is that like proper mindset after a perceived edge is found to be accurate m/l But wait. That's another element.

idk


!

LesLau, I don't know what you would consider a successful trader, but if it is someone who trades the markets on a FT basis from his home office, has the ability to assess the markets and trade them accordingly, then I'm a successful trader.
As far as what has brought me my success, I can only tell you my personal experience and what I have observed in copious others that I have talked to over the years that I have been trading.
First of all, karma is not part of my equation because I do not believe in it, so it has no part, whatsoever, in my life. There are successful traders from all walks of life, and some are religious, some are highly fanatical, some are atheists. So karma is not the basis for a successful trader.
What I have noticed without exception, and it is true with me, and that is 3 vital elements. You will not be successful without these 3 important elements working consistently:
1. Methodology: That is the starting point. You have to have a method to trade by. Without a method of entering and exiting the market, there is no basis for success.
2. Money management: After the method to trade by has been established, you have to have money management skills base on many criteria. Why? Because no methodology yield a perfect trade 100% of the time. So when a losing trade is posted, there needs to be a way to get out of it with minimal loss. It also encompasses position sizing relative to the equity in the account.
Note: The top 2 items needs to be fully established before someone even thinks about going live. Some sort of consistent gains needs to be seen on a demo account, because the 3rd item you will never know you have until you go live, so you better have the 1st 2 thoroughly in place and working before you put real money up.
3. Mental discipline: No one knows they have this on a demo account. There are 2 very important aspects of mental discipline that needs to be addressed, and while they are being addressed is why I believe the trader should start off with a nominal amount of money. Those 2 aspects of mental discipline are fear and greed.
Some people get fearful once they go live and want to take their trade out long before they should have because they are afraid of losing. Sometimes, it is the opposite-- greed. They stay in too long, because they get greedy and want their trade to run longer than it should have. This also comes into play with the MM.
Sometimes they are so confident in making a certain trade, they increase their lot sizing more than they should have. Once in the trade fear takes over, and want to close the trade at the slightest sign of a loss. Sometimes it is the other way around. They get fearful in entering the trade, and the lot size is smaller. Once the trade is moving along, they want to overcompensate by adding on to it while chasing the trade.
Fear and greed comes into play in other ways. Their stop and TP is set after being in the trade. The trade takes off in their favor. They are now afraid of losing their money, so they move the stop to breakeven. The trade goes against them and they are out of the trade, but with no profit. More often tan not, the trade turns around after they are out and hits their TP, and then you hear all the phony excuses of how the broker traded against them when it was their fault. The same can also be said for moving the stop after the trade goes against them. They are afraid the trade is going to hit their stop, so they move it. The stop is there for a reason.

This is why I say you never know if you have the mental discipline until you go live. This is why the methodology and the money management skills have to be established before you go live.

I'm agreeing with you. The 3 necessary elements of trading have nothing to do with religion or any aspects associated with it.
Karma is only an opinion, and I'm proof that you don't need it to become a successful trader.
Personally, I don't think we should complicate matters of trading by trying to impugn religious ideas when they have nothing to do with trading, because when the rubber hits the road everything else is nonsense.