Cancer to Your Trading

The best way I can think of to explain the reason for your failure in trading is to tell you a story about a young boy became obsessed with eating sugar. Apparently during the 1930′s, a young boy became obsessed with eating sugar. His mother decided to share with her idol Mahatma Gandhi – “Gandhi, my son consumes far too much sugar, will you please tell him it’s bad for his health?”

After listening to the woman patiently, Gandhi thought for a while and refused to give the boy advice and told her to return in two weeks. The mother left a little perplexed and wondered why Gandhi had not asked the boy to stop eating sugar straight away. Two weeks later they returned to visit Gandhi. This time Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said “Boy, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health.”

The boy nodded towards Gandhi and said he would do his best to stop eating sugar. The boy’s mother was curious as to why Gandhi needed two weeks to tell her son that. Gandhi smiled to her and said “Two weeks ago I was obsessed with sugar. I needed that time to cut back myself.”

What have you learned from this small story? Yes, your word must match with your action and whenever you are teaching or advising someone, same must be followed and implemented by you also. But when you talk about trading most of the advisors and trading gurus are not a trader but making money with teaching and advisory. My question to you all is that, if market is giving huge opportunity to make passive money, then why people are focusing on making money from advisory and teaching?

Remember, 90% of traders who open a live account close that account with less money than they started with. Most traders stop trying before they reach their goal. Trading has what is referred to as a “low bar for entry”. You don’t need an education. You don’t need skills; you don’t need a personality. All you need is enough money to open an account. (And brokers are making it easier and easier to do that.) Subsequently there is a very high attrition rate. Most people get started with grandiose dreams but no real idea what it takes to succeed.

These are the Cancer to Your Trading Success

1: Useless Trading Books and Journals

Most of the books are written 20 years back and well known to all traders. There are more than 10000 books for trading are available in market today, but if you start reading these books you will not find the valuable practical information in 90% of the books. You will pick some book and stop reading after few pages and if you read all pages, you will not find any practical approach to market. All books are easily available to all people, but truth is that still traders are struggling for success. Very few books are written by successful trader, but another truth is that no one is interested in reading these books because these books are logical and difficult to understand by average person.

2: Trading Videos on You Tube

Here again people are publishing their videos on you tube and social media because you tube is easily accessible by everyone, there is no validation of quality of contents, there is not any regulators and most importantly they use you tube to advertise their business. You will not find any strategy or knowledge will be applicable to practical market. If they will give true knowledge on you tube and social media, then how their business will run and how they will make profit.

3: Trading Gurus and Mentors

I don’t want to insult any gurus, but I think every trading guru must be successful trader first and then they have earned right to guide aspiring traders. But usually, I find they are teaching full day and not making money while trading in the market when market is open where huge opportunity is present.

4: Stock Tips from Advisors

They never trade for self but use to make money from uninformed people. I am constantly amazed at the calibre of people who end up knocking on my door saying lost money in market due to advisory. They are engineers, doctors, small and mid-sized business owners. Yet most of these same people are losing money every day in the market.
These are scam artists playing on your emotions. These are the same emotions that are causing you to lose money each day in the markets. They are a cancer to your success. If you do not have sufficient knowledge about trading, then let me be bold and say STOP TRADING IMMIDATELY. You have not earned the right to put your money at risk in the market. And I dare say you are not trading; you are simply gambling.

I hope this will give you some valuable insight and will save retail traders from self-destruction.