Last week a developing trader d-m’d me with some questions about my own trading journey and what I’ve seen over the years. You can read Part 1 of the Interview HERE!
Below is Part 2 of the interview where I touch on the struggles facing developing traders, how to get past the learning curve, and how to survive in the game that some of the most competitive people in the world love for over 20 years.
Jeff, what advice would you have for traders who are struggling? How can they get over the hump?
The biggest things I see(and let’s face it, even experienced traders) do is over trade, over size on their positions and not respect stop losses. Those seem like 3 easy things to fix, but few people do. Trading takes a lot of discipline and most people I find do not want to do that. It is more fun to take some big swings in the market and hope you’re right… until you are proven wrong! If traders would focus more on collecting lots of smaller wins and not shooting for home runs, I think they would be a lot more successful in the long-run.
Also, I can’t stress enough the beauty of sitting on your hands. This is another thing that most traders do not want to do. They always want to be trading, even when there is no edge and they know they are fighting against the trend. Jesse Livermore said it best I think, “Money is made by sitting, not trading.” We should all embrace that more and only trade when we have a clear read on the markets and we feel there is an edge to trading.
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How long did it take you, before you felt comfortable, and got to the point where you could call yourself a professional trader?
I definitely struggled for a decade early in my career. It wasn’t an overnight success at all. I have experimented with 100’s of different strategies and I continue to do so today. Along the way, I have found a few things that I feel give me an “edge” in the market and I try to make those the core things I focus on. But no matter how old I get, I always want to learn more and keep experimenting!
How long have you been Mentoring and Educating traders for now?
I have formally been teaching and educating traders through RagingBull for well over a decade now. We have had over 200,000 people enroll in our services over that time and it has been an amazing experience to work with so many people with diverse backgrounds. I have learned so much about trading and human nature by just watching these traders over the years. I have a unique perspective on the markets just from interacting with our community.
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What’s your favorite thing about trading? What keeps you motivated doing this day in and day out after 20 years?
I just love trading. It is a passion of mine. It is better than any video game you will ever play. The fact that I can compete with the best traders in the world every single day is an incredible opportunity, but I am also humble enough to realize that I am not the best in the world. The great thing about the market is that you don’t have to be the best. You just need to play by the “rules” and strive to get better every day!
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