Gentlemen, as i originally said that this article is not a solution, but a suggestion. The comments are noted, and i offer my apologies for putting up the mis-info on Jesse Livermore ( not mine as i pasted it from another source).
Anyhow, with all the instant market info we have, the magnificent charting packages, the instant price feeds and the abundance of trading methods or systems widely available to all of us, it is still evident that there are only a handful of individuals making a living from this profession.
Speaking from personal experience, I have found that trading is quoted by the so called sellers of systems, seminars, and trading manuals as quite easy to learn. To an extent, over the years i grasped the general workings of the market and the various systems from manuals and seminars. It was a slow march. In the end i took the plunge and went live.
Going live was an experience which sends your pulse racing, when you can see your money going up and down in seconds. When i paper traded the same method it was easy, no emotion was present. As the weeks went by i was looking at ways to change my system instead of giving it time to perform. within 6 months i had lost half of my trading capital. That's when i stepped back and realised that it wouldn't be long before i go bust. So i totally stopped trading. Stopped to analyse every trade i had made, and what went wrong.
I found that I had placed too much emphasis on the money, didn't look at it as a tool of my trade but got attached to the losses more and took my profits too soon, not as intended by the system. The system that i had decided to use had no chance of any success, because i was changing the rules everytime i had a few losing trades.
It has taken considerable follow through and time consuming analysis of my execution methods, and own personality, not to mention having a rethink on the emotions in play when you trade live. I have succeeded in employing a stop loss level and profit stop level, as soon as i enter a trade.to stop the fear and greed factor creeping in. I am very happy when i reach my weekly target of average 30 points on the daily ftse. It may not be much but its systematic execution, with less emotions and stress attached to it than my original strategy. (if you can call it that)
I intend to follow in this direction for quite some time. Whether i will make a living out of this only time will tell. It seems that the enemy is within us, but it takes a hell of struggle to find it, admit that its in us and then have the courage to take remedial action.