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My goal is to have substantive content in my journal in one week.
Thus far, having spent perhaps 12 hours this past week reading stuff on this site and elsewhere, I realize the following:
I don't understand 90 percent of what I read
I shouldn't set up a demo quite yet because I don't know how to use it
I need to focus now on learning the basics, and on the mental aspects of trading, as that is something I can understand
I need to commit a plan to paper. This will not only help me develop a system, it will help me identify the steps I need to take in order to be able to develop the system. Nothing is worse than seeing a to-do list with nothing checked off.
I noticed that not many people have started a journal, or at least not in this site. I did it to instill discipline, and for now to motivate me to get to the point where entries in my journal are not embarrassing.
If nothing else, I've become acutely aware of managing money outside of investing, because I want to accumulate as much capital as possible when I start live.
Thanks to everyone who posts on this site. It's an inspiration.
Many of the posts here describe spending hours, months, years in learning and refining their craft: trading. It's obvious that this is a profession that's different from being a CPA or a lawyer or a physician. They, too, have to put in their time, but in the end they have tests that certify a certain type and amount of knowledge. Traders don't have that.
But I decided that one thing I can track is how much time I'm spending on learning, and so started to write it down, starting yesterday. Yesterday I did 5 1/2 hours, and today I did 5. The time was productive, and I concentrated, but I can see that this is not going to be enough if I only treat it like a hobby or part time thing.
I did set up a demo account at OANDA, and stared at the charts for about an hour. It's a start.
I apologize for another boring post, but I'm doing it so I can document my progress in a public setting.
Starting out and not having preconceived notions gives you an advantage you can exploit . One reason some people struggle for years with trading is because they have to "scrub" the stuff they learned about trading that doesnt serve them well from their brain , so to speak . Its hard to unlearn useless or potentially harmful info . So if you keep that in mind and be careful what you commit to memory and take to heart about trading you are ahead of the game . The rule of thumb is that what sounds too good to be true isnt and when you make a discovery like "this is the greatest method,call ferrari for me please while I count the money" , pick it apart and focus on its weakness' before you put down a downpayment .
Oanda is pretty cool and I use them for live trading but dont depend on them 100% . Theyre flaky with their java based fisher price grade platform and will leave you unplugged around news events . BUT , you can trade live with really little lots and for practice / analysis it works good enough to start with .
I put in at least 3 - 4 hours every day and some days 6+. 7 days a week, 365 days a year (rarely a day off). I was adding up my screen time since I started technical trading and I would guess it is around 2500 - 3000 hours. I have a few years to get to the 10K hours everyone quotes.
Good on you! Keep it up and before you know it you will be profitably trading while guys you see that have started way before you still struggling. It is the ultimate field leveler!
Go to work, talk with family, eat, then get down to it.
The Complete Guide to Day Trading by Markus Heitkoetteris has been helpful. "Complete" is a bit of an overstatement, but nevertheless it's taught me a lot.
aztrader9 is a heroic figure for me. He writes clearly, and the human and psychological elements of his discussion add interest. I haven't finished the entire thread, but it's like a novel. I don't know how it ends yet, but I'm hoping the best for him.
I looked at my sim account, and today it was clearer than yesterday. I'm starting to recognize many more of the abbreviations in the forum, and now understand what some of them mean. Slight progress.
It's fascinating that the main challenge for so many traders appears to be following their own rules. I find myself saying, "I'll never do that", but the road to h*ll is paved with good intentions. (Is this the correct aphorism?) None of us can say we weren't warned.
This forum is commendable for its civility. Way to go Big Mike!
Thanks for the encouragement! I appreciate it. Congratulations on your tenacity. I'm sure you'll do well.
Right now everything I read is helpful, even ads. Given the immense amount of time required, I imagine that many people are trying to figure out how to make the best use of the time they put in, how to allocate time among the infinite number of possible things to do.
Getting 10K hours of screen time will take almost 7 years, at 4 hours a day, every day of the year. Yikes.