This past weekend, I spent several hours perusing some older trading texts and noticed that there were several chapters that applied more today than when they were written decades ago. Those were the chapters dealing with the psychology of trading and the traits make one successful.
Successful trading hinges on your psychology and the bottom line is that if you don't know who you are, nobody else does either. The chances of you becoming a successful trader are pretty remote.
Trading is an occupation where you must be a realist. Dreamers need not apply.
The list of traits that make up a successful trader isn't very long but it is complete. Think about the traders you know. Which ones are successful? Which ones aren't?
The traits that make up successful traders are:
1. They are rugged individualists. I'm not talking about Grizzly Adams here. What I'm talking about here the type of person who stands on their own 2 feet. They don't need a support group behind them giving their self-esteem a boost. 2. They are determined. Successful traders have a strong will. Trading is a difficult business and has a lot of ups and downs. People who lack the will to succeed won't. You must stick it out through the good and the inevitable bad times. 3. They are loners. What I mean by this is that the successful trader doesn't ask for a lot, especially favors. Quiet contemplation is a key to success. They have a job to do and they get it done. Not a lot of fanfare - that type of stuff. 4. Successful traders are avid readers (to a fault). They read everything that they can get their hands on related to trading, investing and current affairs. It doesn't stop there - they also read in a lot of unrelated fields as well. 5. Successful traders are adept analysts. Not in the fundamental or technical sense. They have the ability to step back and analyze their actions. What's going right and wrong? How can I improve? This kind of thinking allows a trader to be pro-active instead of re-active. 6. In the same vein, successful traders are meticulous record keepers. The keep daily trade sheets, daily journals and post trade books. The ability to study past trades (both good and bad) can't be overstated. 7. Successful traders aren't bashful about asking others for their opinions. Gathering information from other sources allows you see the other side of the coin. Perspective matters. In the end, the only opinion that matters is the one belonging to our trader. The decision to make the trade (or not) rests with them and only them. 8. When it comes to talking about trading, successful traders are pretty tight lipped. If they talk about it at all, it's to gain insight into what went wrong and how to fix the problem. I like to pick the brains of other traders. What's working for them? Have they ever encountered what I did wrong and if so, how did they fix it? 9. The final trait that all successful traders have is that the buck stops with them. They accept total responsibility for everything that they do and they never make excuses.
In my lifetime, I've never met a natural born trader. I have met natural born gamblers, but that's a topic for another day. All of the traits that a trader needs to be successful can be learned and acquired with a little effort.
In the end, successful trading is about knowing yourself, pursuing the truth and expecting the best.
by R.A. Christy
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