I just wanted to let you all know that I have just handed in my notice at work and will be leaving my job shortly to become a full time trader, trading both my account and that of a friend/colleague, from home.
It is a big step but this time I think I am ready.
It was almost exactly a year ago that I left work the first time. I was full of hope but I was severely undercapitalised with no real strategy.
I continually lost money and as I became more and more desperate to MAKE money to meet the pressure of living, I took more and more RISK which only increased my LOSSES.
Although the situation was on the whole, disasterous I gained some very valuable insights from it.
Firstly, making mistakes is a great way of learning what NOT to do. That is to say, I have a far better idea of how to prepare for going full time after analysing my previous experience.
One obvious insight was to make sure that I have a sufficient cushion of money to be able to survive for a significant period of time without the NEED to make money.
Another insight was the importance of being active. I always thought that sitting at home all day with no boss breathing down my neck sounded like a dream until I actually did it. When I did, I found the reality was that being on my own all day made me feel
flat. That is the best way I can describe it. Having not many people to talk to or interact with and being a position trader which meant prolonged periods of inactivity whilst watching meant that I fell into a kind of mental rut. So I have realised that it is very important to structure my days.
A very positive experience I had from leaving work was that I found J16 and more importantly, I found the concept of trading price action at a time when I felt like nothing was going to work for me and that I had to give up on my dream of being a trader and having financial independence.
Price action setups made sense to me but what was key to my progression was that I had to treat trading as a business. I had to take calculated risk. To trade setups that had a high probability of success and to sit on the sidelines until they appeared.
Long after I ran out of money, I went back to work and it was once I was back in the office that my trading began to improve. I was earning a wage again and I no longer HAD to make money in my trading. Once the pressure was off, I sat back and waited for the market to present me with opportunities and when it did, I took them and my account grew consistently.
One year later and here I am. I have an edge that I understand and have proven to myself is profitable and I am in a better financial situation to make this work.
The one thing I have to overcome is the negative reaction from those around me. Friends, family and loved ones want to believe in me but deep down whatever WE know about it - trading to everyone else is simply a socially acceptable roulette wheel. It's hard to change anyones opinion on that whether you make money at it or not. So I've given up trying. It is hard when people constantly tell you that you cannot or will not succeed but in the end you have to trust in yourself.
I hope this time that it works for me but I think that ultimately when we get to the end of our life and look back on it, in those final hours, the majority of us never regret what we HAVE done - only what we have NOT.
If any of you reading this have your own dreams, whatever they may be, trading related or not: PERSEVERE.
I firmly believe you can succeed at whatever you turn your mind to.
Tom
