Probably very successful!

Personally I have given up too early on countless projects which would have been very rewarding on the long haul.

So much that I have started to experiment with some methods to become more patient!

Here are 3 tips that are working for me right now…

1. Always keep the end result in mind

We all know what we need to do in order to become successful.

Let me rephrase that: YOU, as everyone else, know what you need to do in order to become successful.

So why don’t you do it?

Because it takes time and efforts. Because you easily get distracted from your plans by the latest shinny object…

We all do.

What is the solution?

Simple: Always remind yourself why you need to stick to your plans.

I don’t mean to think about it once in a while…

I mean to write your financial goal on a sheet of paper, along with the precise strategy you are intending to use to get there and TO READ THIS SHEET OF PAPER OUT LOUD, EVERY SINGLE DAY, ONCE IN THE MORNING AND ONCE IN THE EVENING.

By doing so, you will constantly remind yourself WHY you are doing all these efforts. And you will greatly improve your chances to actually stick to your plans until you reach your goals.

Worth mentioning: this is not some “Secret” BS…

Reading the paper alone won’t get you far. You have to TAKE ACTION too!

2. Set yourself time limits

The more you stay in the markets, the more trades you will take and the less selective you will be.

At SurfingThePips.com we suggest you never spend more than 5 hours per day in the markets. And less is usually even better (like 2 or 3 hours).

Isn’t it easier to stay patient and selective for 2 hours than it is for 10?

3. Understand there will always be opportunities

Why is it so hard for us, Forex traders, not to leave the market?

Because we think we might just miss on THE opportunity to cash in!

This, as with much Forex related issues, is a mindset issue.

The truth is: there always will be fantastic opportunities in the markets.

Always.

As the market is constantly moving up and down, you don’t have to be worried about missing one trade. The next one is just around the corner…

By understanding there is plenty of money for everyone and at any time, you can disconnect without remorses when your time is up as well as only carefully select your trades when in the market.

Although logical (charts are just market representations through different time lenses), I was stunned that 2 people looking at different timeframes for a same pair can come up with 2 totally different conclusions!

On top of that, the amount of information we choose to use when trading also have a direct impact on our decisions. So, even presented with the same exact graph, using the same exact timeframe, can your conclusion be totally different from someone else.

And because strategies might be so different, even if you had the exact same tools, the exact same timeframe and the exact same pair as someone else, your strategies might just be opposite.

4 ways you influence your trading

This is not it! I forgot to mention that you are part of your system.

Indeed, you interact with it and, ultimately, do take the final decisions. You therefore also have a direct influence on your trading.

But often in ways you don’t even realize…

1. Your level of trust

The more you trust your system, the greater the chances for you to stick with it.

If you start off with a new system thinking “I’ll see how it goes” you might as well stop right off the bat.

You might then wonder how you could trust a system if you’ve never used it before?

What about having some back-tested data SHOWING you the system would have been successful in the past? Wouldn’t it help build trust?

2. Your expectations

Let’s say we both use the same exact system. However, I am aiming for 15 pips a day, while you are targeting 150!

Even if we would both make about 30 pips a day with this system, our view would be completely different…

For me, the system is wonderful, I am doing twice more as I planned to do.

For you, it is sh** as you are making 5 times less than expected!

3. Your beliefs system

Do you believe in technical analysis? Or are you more like a fundamental trader?

Different people have different beliefs. And you will never be able to trade a system (no matter how great it is) as long as you don’t trust the principles it is based on.

Why?

Because you’ll always explain your losses by the “facts” (which really just are “your facts”) that these principles are wrong. You will therefore believe there is nothing you can do to make it work.

And you will never make it work!

It is essential for you to trade a system which fits your beliefs system…

4. Your mood

On top of all these 3 factors, your mood has a massive influence on yourself and your trading.

Have you noticed that when you’re having a bad day, everything seems worst than it usually is?

Would you react the same after losing a $100 note if you were already struggling to make ends meet compared to if you had just won $5000 at the lottery?

I certainly wouldn’t!

Of all 4, your mood probably has the greatest influence on your trading decisions.

Conclusion

To become a great trader, you have to understand you are part of your system.

Furthermore, you are greatly influencing the outcome of your trading with your inputs, often without realizing it!

Staying aware of your own multiple influences on your trading helps you understand where you have to improve and what you have to do in order to really make the system work!

And even when we want to make efforts, we are pretty good at making excuses not to do it!

As I am writing this post, it has been 3 days that I should have gone to the gym. Of course, I have got an excuse:

“I am pretty busy right now”.

However there is no doubt going to the gym 3 days ago would have helped me coming back more relaxed and energized: in ideal conditions to grab a few more pips!

Often, we forget to see the real benefits of having a better lifestyle and “the time lost” making extra efforts could actually help us reach our goals faster!

1. Do Sports

Interesting experiments have demonstrated that if you “force” yourself to do something new for 30 days in a row it has then much higher chances to become a habit.

So, even if you haven’t done any sport for the last 20 years, you can still get back at it. It is just a matter of arranging your timetable and sticking to it.

Sure it won’t be easy at first. But give it 30 days and you might wonder how you did all these years without sport!

What does it have to do with my trading?

Doing sports not only is highly beneficial for your body, it also is for your brain.

It allows you to “empty your head” (release a lot of pressure and emotions) to come back in front of the computer stronger and calmer than ever (the state of mind you need to take rational decisions rather than emotional ones).

There is no doubt it will have a positive effect on your trading!

2. Eat more healthy

I really love to eat all kind of junk food. But I also noticed the less often I eat it, the less I feel a need for them…

I never buy soda anymore and eat much more fruits and veggies. And I almost always cook my meals from scratch, with fresh ingredients.

Of course, there is still plenty of place for improvement but I’ll say it is a good start.

What about you?

Eating more healthy should be common sense: you need to fuel the machine that keeps you going with what it needs.

By giving your body all the nutriments it needs, you increase your awareness, your concentration capacity as well as your mental wellbeing.

All 3 are necessary for you to trade in the best conditions possible.

3. Be content with what you have

Do you know what the first cause of mortality is, worldwide?

Lack of water.

When you think about it, we already are extremely lucky to have food, water and a shelter.

Does it mean you shall stop trading Forex and only be content with what you have?

By all mean no. I believe you should have monetary goals and strive for them.

As humans, we are goal driving creatures. Having goals is what keeps us going.

However there is no harm reminding ourselves we are lucky to be alive and healthy.

Being content with what you have also helps you see the bigger picture of Forex trading.

It helps you step back and realize you don’t need to focus on the money, but on the experience, enjoying the learning process. And the best thing is: once you start to focus on the learning, the earnings do follow…

The aim of Forex trading is maximum profits. Not maximum trading.

Maximum profits is achieved by carefully selecting the right trades. And you can’t carefully select the right trades if you’ve already spent 10 hours in front of the computer.

2. Stop gambling

Forex trading is about following and constantly improving a back-tested system.

If you are not doing this, you are gambling.

Stop it and work on your system. Now.

3. Have a system in place

See tip number 2 for reasons why.

4. Keep a trading journal

Your trading journal makes you accountable.

It provides you with a critical view on your past mistakes, helping you to plan your future.

5. Improve your system expectancy

The expectancy of a system is the amount of dollar made by dollar invested, on the long haul.

E=((net profit)/total number of trades)/average loss.

A positive expectancy system grows your account over time.

A negative expectancy system burns your account over time.

If you have a system making an average of $800 for 10% of the trades and losing $50 for 90% of them…

The net profit, per 100 trades= $800*10 – $50*90 = $3,500.

Therefore, E=(($3,500/100)/$50)=0.7

In other words, this system would produce $0.7 for every $1 invested, a 70% return on investment!

Even though it is losing money 90% of the trades…

As long as you follow tip number 4, calculating your system expectancy is easy.

As long as you follow tip number 2, improving your system expectancy is easy.

6. Learn from your mistakes

If you always do the same thing, you’ll always get the same outcome.

Only incremental improvements will help you achieve your goal: Fail, improve, fail, improve, fail, improve, fail, …

7. Keep at it

The difference between winners and losers is the ability to fight through adversity.

That being said, when it comes to Forex, you can’t do too much of it. Overtrading is a costly mistake for your account indeed.

Does it mean you shall completely forget about Forex trading, after being done with the markets?

Not necessarily!

Here are a few things you can do in order to improve your skills, when not actually trading…

1) Backtesting

There are 2 main reasons why you should always be testing and tweaking your system:

-The market is “alive”. What used to work 5 years ago isn’t necessarily working now. Therefore and in order to stay at the top, you have got to constantly adapt to new market behaviors.

-There is always room for improvement. Percent after percent, incremental improvement of your system is the key to go from ordinary to extraordinary income.

At SurfingThePips.com, we suggest you backtest new ideas on a weekly basis for best performances. If you can’t keep that schedule, opt for the monthly test at the very last!

2) Read and participate in forums

The most popular Forex trading forum probably is babypips.

On here, you’ll find a real community of people who share the same passion as you and me.

Reading the forum alone can help you improve your strategy but also open your mind to new, different ideas.

You can even directly ask for advices and feedback to other traders. If you do so, simply keep in mind everyone has a different opinion on the subject and there is almost never a single right answer.

Especially when it comes to Forex trading!

3) Read specialized books

Continuous education is part of every serious trader’s routine.

If you don’t really like to read a lot, simply choose the 3 best Forex trading books on Amazon (according to reviews) and read one every month for the next 3 months.

You’ll be amazed at how much knowledge you can get out of these!

If you actually like to read, simply buy and read one book per month.

Note that other broader financial subjects or even psychology books can help you become a better Forex trader too!

4) Follow courses

Would they be online or live, in a nearby town, there are a lot of Forex trading courses available for you.

Of course, I believe ours is the best.

But we encourage you and every other trader to look further and continue to get educated.

What many traders tend to forget is that it is often highly beneficial to follow courses about strategies completely different from yours!

This is where your brain will really start working, connecting dots and, hopefully, find new ways to improve your system.

Conclusion

You can’t learn Forex trading without trading!

That being said, you are missing a lot of opportunities to learn quicker by not following the few advices presented above…

But still. Even tough you know it, you don’t do it…

Why is that?

The trader’s excitement

Today’s world really is an “instant reward” world.

I mean, people expect to get results from their actions RIGHT NOW.

You’re hungry? Go to Mac D.

You’re too fat? Take a slimming pill.

You want to buy a house? Get a loan.

Hey, wait a minute…

Isn’t it better for you to take the time to cook a healthy meal?

Or maybe to exercise on a weekly basis for a few months?

Wouldn’t saving money help avoid all these interests?

Yes, these solutions are far better alternatives.

The problem: they take more time & efforts.

We all went into Forex trading with the same “instant reward” mindset: If you want to make money NOW, just trade, NOW!

No need for planning, back-testing, money management strategy, psychological fit…

Screw that!

The dopamine effect

When starting off, you might even be lucky and your “bet” is profitable…

BAM! Dopamine levels increase in your brain: you feel happy, confident and want more of that! The instant reward effect is on.

So you “bet” again but with more money.

Once again you managed to pull it off. Dopamine kicks in again.

However, luck never is eternal…

And, rather sooner than later, you lose it all on a couple of “bets”.

Where’s the dopamine now? Nowhere to be see.

You didn’t get that instant result. You feel angry, frustrated and quiet depressed, which increases the “need” for your next dopamine kick…

Every positive trade brings its amount of dopamine. And, as the long distance runner who is addicted to its after run dopamine rush, so are you when you win.

You always want more…

You trade more often. Losing, winning, losing, winning, losing, … At this stage you are on an emotional roller coaster: a lot of highs, a lot of lows.

Truth is: you really are no different from the gambling or the drugs addict.

And you know you’ve got to change before you go broke!

Fighting the “instant reward”

Problem: It takes time and efforts…

Becoming able to take losses as you take wins. Becoming able to take the next trade as you would take any other. Becoming a professional trader.

Letting your WILL taking over your EMOTIONS.

Trading less. Trading with a system in place. Becoming accountable for your results.

For that to happen, you need to fight the “instant reward” mentality.

You need to become strong enough to see the big picture AND stick to your plans.

Not for one hour…

Not for one week…

Not for one month…

You can bang it over and over again, people will always be looking for a way to do so!

We don’t like “not to know”.

This is probably why “horoscope” related searches are the second most popular ones on the Internet, just after you know what…

This is also why future prediction businesses are still thriving offline and online.

As human, we want to know what’s next because not knowing makes us feel insecure.

So, logically, in trading, news get a lot of wannabe traders excited.

After all, you just got to receive the news as soon as possible, take position and let the money flow in. Because the move is based on news, the trader thinks he knows for sure how the market will behave.

Problem: everyone get access to the news.

Result: The market usually gets crazy, moving up and down very quickly, simply because everyone is trying to take advantage of the news…

Remember that over 90% of traders are speculators!

Before going further, let me state I believe it is possible to have a successful system specifically designed around news trading. As I believe most concepts can be profitably exploited in Forex trading.

However, this is not for us.

At SurfingThePips.com, when an important news is released and most jump in, we jump off:

We get out of the market & enjoy our break. News are a bit like an extra break for us.

We only come back when the market is calmer.

Why?

Because trading news doesn’t fit our trading philosophy.

People who trade news need to act fast & in very small timeframes. That’s way too stressful for us.

We only want to make money in a calm, relaxed manner.

Are we missing potential gains doing this?

For sure.

But we’re also missing potential losses, right?

In fact, being successful trading Forex is probably more about what you don’t trade than what you DO trade.

And part of a highly efficient system is the careful selection of your trades.

Trades that fit your overall strategy AND your trading philosophy!

That’s why we don’t trade news…

So when presented with the opportunity to trade currencies, it was a case of “why not – I could do that”.

Like most, the promise of easy money (and lots of it) held a certain attraction and the asking price for a weekend course whilst hefty, seemed a small price to pay. After all, on the other side of that weekend, I was home free – no need to work another day in my life and look at the nice speed boat I’ll have berthed outside my brand new waterfront home – OMG – where do I sign?

Needless to say, the person who came out the other side of that weekend could no more trade currencies successfully, than solo fly around the world – without a plane! This experience is typical of the introduction to the Wonderful World of Forex for many people. Lots are disillusioned after their accounts dwindle; they write the adventure down to “experience” and declare FX a scam – never to discover their objective.

Others stick to their guns believing that the text book can’t be wrong – it must be me. Invariably, they empty a second account and the filtration process continues. Those that survive this second kick to the solar plexus are either lunatics or determined individuals. I haven’t yet discovered to which of these groups I belong but I’m extremely happy to count myself among them because on my “graduation” into the ranks of profitable currency traders it depended.

I’ve wanted to document this experience since discovering the key to turning the losses into profit but until I could look back a full twelve months and say that my account has grown consistently over that time, I refrained. I hasten to add that the year in question (Financial Year 2011-12) is widely regarded as the toughest trading conditions in FX history. There’s no question the road that I travelled is but one of many to this destination and I don’t even claim it’s the best but I’ll tell you what – it has been thoroughly enjoyable and totally enlightening. I’m more than happy to share it with you.

Probably my stubborn refusal to accept failure (especially costly failure), drove me to further research FX Trading and my very first tip to anyone considering this journey is to do your research (lots of it) BEFORE you part with your hard earned cash.

You probably have two choices to learn more about the market and how to trade it:

1) Join Forums and read text books, effectively teaching yourself or

2) Find a reputable mentor/coach.

My choice was #2 primarily because I became confused with the absolute plethora of material/differing opinions on the topic. Once that decision was made, it became which one of the endless list to choose. This necessary filtering process is very important because believe it or not, there are lots of unscrupulous operators lining up ready to fulfil your wildest expectations and THEIR pockets.

In my case, I eliminated every operator who charged an upfront fee – I’d already been that road! Next came the “let me do it right for you” brigade who promised to have me among the world’s top earners in no time. Frankly, not many survived those two screenings.

From that point I discovered that there were traders who allowed you into their trading rooms to sample their wares. This was an ahah moment for me and I decided this was the ONLY way to go. At the time there weren’t that many operators doing this so the field of likely candidates was small.

The points of difference that led me to Surfing The Pips numbered two. The first was the quality of the trade signals I was receiving – the success rate was outstanding. The second and I recognise in retrospect the more important, was the ability of the trader/mentor to “connect” with me. His attitude and method of sharing his knowledge appealed to me and I felt comfortable and in good hands.

I picked the strategy up reasonably quickly yet struggled with its application. After a few hiccups (mine not his) my temperament was tested and to his absolute credit, my new mentor recognised a flaw and completely changed the way I viewed and applied his strategy. This psychological adjustment is probably the major reason I can convey this story with a positive outcome. Among the many wonderful gifts in my life, I count this re-focus as an absolute standout.

Knowing what differentiates successful traders from not so successful ones is empowering yet extremely illusive. I now know why – it’s because a text book can’t feel what I feel, it’s because ONLY someone armed with the ability to “connect” with the student and understand the turmoil taking place in their psyche can harness their potential & convert it to success.

Most who read that will question its validity. If you are among them you are either not a successful trader or you haven’t tried to become one! It’s absolutely due to this that I count myself among those who have survived the disappointments and frustrations – the losses and the heartaches to emerge not only with a different income stream but with an entirely different perspective.

You won’t be surprised to learn that I am now part of the Surfing The Pips organisation but you may not understand the reason why. As with most things in life there’s more than one. The most obvious and first that will come to your mind is that I am compensated for what I do and that’s the truth.

The less obvious but to me MORE important reason is the concept of paying it forward. It is my absolute desire and commitment to pass this winning formula onto others and already, I’m reaping the rewards by witnessing new students grasping the strategy and beginning their trading journey.

Consider the reward you get from watching your kids perform to their ability and you’ll get where I’m at.

It can be done guys – I’m an ordinary dude who took the right path. If it helps you – I’m happy.

Oh – I’m also a great quotes fan and one that I like is the one I’ll leave you with – enjoy the ride.

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
Dale Carnegie

Article written by Geoff Pyne, certified SurfingThePips trader.

I believe everyone can become able to make a living trading Forex.

Yes, everyone.

But then, why is it so many people never make it trading Forex?

Not so because Forex trading is not made for them. More because they are not (yet) made for Forex trading…

The willingness to change

As stated above, you, as everyone else, have the capacities to become a great Forex trader.

But only if you’ve got the right mentality!

I said it before but your worst enemy, especially when it comes to trading, is yourself.

If you don’t open your mind, if you don’t try different strategies, if you don’t accept and embrace your learning curve, you won’t stay long in the markets.

Some will convince themselves Forex trading is not for them. Or even that Forex trading is a scam altogether!

The truth is they didn’t want to evolve and preferred to give up. (But that’s probably too much for their ego to accept.)

If you always do the same thing, you’ll always get the same results (and will finally quit).

Try, test and constantly improve your system.

As the world moves on, so should you!

The zen attitude

For us, at SurfingThePips.com, the mental has a central place in our strategy.

Because we know we need to stay calm and relaxed in order to take decisions based on facts rather than emotions.

Of course no one becomes a zen master in one day.

But if you can’t progressively learn to trade calmly and confidently, you will never make big money trading Forex.

Becoming a zen master doesn’t mean you should shave your head and walk barefoot. It rather means you got to build a system AND a mental allowing you to stay cool at all time.

Even when you get a series of losses!

The passion

It is pretty easy to get excited by new things.

I mean, the first trading months are pretty exciting, aren’t they?

However, to truly become great at Forex, you’ll have to work at it for years… (more about this later on)

It’s like anything in life, practice makes perfection.

And for you to stick with it, passion has to be there.

In other words, there should be something else about it than making money!

Usually it is the mental challenge that is really appreciated by traders.

Enjoy what you’re doing and money will follow!

The time

The next time you get to read about someone very successful at Forex trading, don’t get jealous. Better ask yourself: how long has he been at it?

In his brilliant book, outliers, Malcolm Gladwell concludes his researches by stating that you need an average of 10,000 hours of active practice to become an expert at something.

Think about all the best people out there in sports, acting, business… How long have they been at it?

Not a few years only. Certainly not a few months (apart from Bieber).

More like several decades and often a whole life dedicated to their craft!

What about you?

How long have you been actively trading Forex?

Even if you trade 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, you’d need over 12 years of trading to become an expert as defined by Gladwell.

Do you need to be an expert in order to rack a lot of money? Not necessarily.

But making it big after a few months only is very, very, very rare.

Conclusion: Are YOU (yet) made for Forex trading?

Probably not. But every step you take is a step closer to it…

As long as you are willing to:

-change;

-become a zen master;

-act with passion;

-be patient…

You just need to keep walking!

I want to make myself clear. Our approach to trading, as you may have noticed, is a little different from the rest of the educational offer available on the market.

We like to be solid, so solid that our strategy accounts for as many as 5 definite instruments to be used simultaneously and 7 clear steps to follow each time a trade is being carried out.

There’s no escape to that.

The same as when you write your shopping list, or thinking at what to cook, if you forget an ingredient the recipe does not turn out well.

W also like to fly high though, and observe analogies between trading and the rest of the life. Some freak would define our way of viewing things as an holistic approach. Since we have never understood what this term really means, we limit ourselves to saying it. As in life, also in trading. If we were blasphemous, we would probably say: “ as in heaven, so on earth”.

Today’s word is imagination. And more precisely, creative imagination.

Let’s make an example: there are many ways to individualize a trend in the Forex. If you are not trained enough to observe things and your eyes are those of a beginner, you will wait for your graphic to show two crossing lines (typically the so-called average lines), and if you are even less evolved you will buy for yourself a pricey indicator with red and green lights and will wait for the colour to change.

If vice versa you have an adult frame of mind you understand that there wouldn’t be any doctors who study for twelve years before earning some money, people who break their backs working in factories, students who spend their nights on books, if just a few red and green lights were enough to pay for their rents.

You understand that in order to do something well you must devote time and passion to it. In our way of doing training the things that receive some degree of it are basically two: mind and eyes.

Today we will speak about the eyes.

Training my eyesight has always been fundamental to me. I started just as everybody else, thinking that training could be something as a videogame, but after a couple of burnt accounts I started to understand.

I had filled up the graphic with useless objects, covering the only important thing: price. I studied with great humility and also bought books to help me out. After a short time, I understood that I did not need those either. They tried to repackage things that I had already read somewhere else, unnecessary and unpractical things such as how a Head and Shoulders was made.

I threw all the book away and started to behave as a mad man.

A conscious mad man, of course.

That is, I started clicking on the new small metatrader arrows (the ones that allow you to draw back on the price without the platform automatically leading you to the last candle) and I leafed through the past. I leafed through the past of the price just as if it were a book. Trying, as if it were a crosswords magazine game, to take note of recurring forms and giving them fancy names (creative imagination).

Price patterns and Japanese candles which caused a price acceleration.

I just wanted to understand where did the price accelerate. With my trade-management rules I just needed to have 7-8 pips of profit to be quite confident I would not lose.

I did this for every single week-end for six months and I slowly realized that reality was taking shape before my eyes. It was the same as when an archeologist tries to decipher a lost language: there is a great deal of patience involved, there are pieces to be added to the puzzle, but eventually …bingo! You have found the combination.

I have found a series of price patterns and candles that cannot be found in any book and that, once materialized on the graphic, give me a high probability of price acceleration.

Therefore: profit.

Just a couple of things to add: first, in order to do so you need to let yourself go a bit, have creative imagination, train your eyes, a bit like those 3D pictures where you must detect the image behind.

Second, you must be aware that nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, but everything is transformed.

As all the rest, your loved secret patterns have an expiry date, too. Sooner or later they will lose efficacy, some others will last for years , but it is important to dedicate at least an hour or so each week-end to what I call Pattern Research & Development.

Still today I happily devote an hour of my time to creative observation/imagination each weekend. I have a look at all the timeframes up to the 5-minutes, take notes and see if there are new forms that repeat themselves. If you do it each weekend, you keep your training high, but if you stop for a long time you will lose the power of your scanner-eyes.

On our site, SurfingThePips.com I share the most powerful patterns of the time and sometimes I also do the same on the ones I am still testing. Some of our customers have proved being excellent pattern researchers and they even bring out ideas for new patterns.

As always, united we stand, divided we fall…