Passing Interest or Total Commitment
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I saw the following motivational post today and it struck a real nerve with me, so I thought I would share it with the rest of you. How would you describe your interest in day trading? Do you simply have a passing interest, or are you totally committed 100%? When I say totally committed, I mean will you put in the time and the work that is required every single day, even on days when you had a bad trading day or days when you would rather be doing something more fun? For you personally, is it a passing interest or total commitment? Only you know the correct answer!
Remember, the real work does not start each day until after your trading day is over. Anyone can sit at the screen on a simulator and take trades for a few hours or even all day, but are you willing to put in another couple of hours afterwards studying those trades and your chart? That is what separates the winners from the losers in this game. To take that a step further, are you willing to make a total commitment for a year or maybe even two, three or four years if that’s what it takes?
After all, even five years of studying and sacrificing to learn to trade profitably is really nothing when you look at the rewards that come from success. This profession pays better than being a doctor or a lawyer, and those guys put in many years of study and schooling and then they have to put in even more years while they build their practice before the real rewards start to come to them. So yes, even five years is really a short commitment for the rewards that will come to a trader that learns to read a price chart like he does a first grade starter book!
Ask yourself if you are doing this as a passing interest or as a hobby? Does it seem like it would be fun or an easy way to make money? Do you really understand that day trading must become a boring job after many years of difficult and total commitment? Ask yourself those questions and think about them for a while before you answer. In the end, you must decide if this is just a passing interest or total commitment for you?
Comments
Joe February 10, 2016 at
Hi Mack, first off I would like to thank you for your interest in helping others.
I would describe my interest in day trading to be very motivated. I would like to say I’m 100% committed mentally but with a full time job during the day and it being somewhat physical on my old body it’s hard to give it 100%. However for 17 months now on average I have put in about 20 hours a week sim trading, live trading, reviewing your study videos on your PATS site and your daily videos on YouTube. To be honest it has only been the last few months that I have spent any real time studying my trading charts. I hear you say study your charts so I have and I can say it does help. I feel like I’m actually starting to speak the language, not that well but it does feel like it’s starting to make so much more sense now.
I’ve never been the studious type, I have always learned things by doing or hands on, so for me this type off learning is difficult. I may be one of the ones that takes five years to become really good at this but I can honestly say that after the few months I have been studying PATS and had never traded E mini Futures before, I win more than loose. That’s not to say I haven’t lost money trading but I consider it tuition for learning.
So for me this is a journey, I’m in for the long hall. So far it’s been about putting all the pieces together. Not just learning PATS but learning about the trading platform, brokerage account, rules and so on. It has taking these 17 months to get to the point where it makes sense to me to need or want to study end of day charts. But now I understand why it is needed and will put even more time into it, for the long haul!
Mack February 11, 2016 at
Good story Joe, and a good example of what it takes to make it in this business. As you stated, with limited time, it may simply take longer, but the journey is still the same. 🙂
Seev2014 February 11, 2016 at
For me it’s total commitment. On Feb. 13, 2016 I will have been studying PATS for 3 years! That’s when I ordered your manual & I haven’t looked back since. Before that I had looked at several different ways to trade the market for several years & I might ad that none of them worked. The only time I have taken a break has been to go on vacation a couple times a year. I have to say I never thought it could take so long to get every aspect of PATS down. In my mind I thought a year..max! Boy was I wrong! I’ve read the manual so many times over the last 3 years I can’t even count, studied all the videos on your website mutiple times, review your youtube videos twice every evening & study my chart. I can see why the success rate is so low for day traders as it honestly takes so much time and commitment as anything else you want to achieve in life. And doing it all on your own takes a lot of discipline! I’ve found how lonely it can be at times too. With any other job you have your co workers that lift you up, tell you that you’re doing a good job etc..obviously with this job it’s just you. Every now & again it’s nice when I send Mack my work and he tells me I did a good job! So it’s been 3 years & I have to say the last 3-6 months I really get it! I still get better everyday! I amaze myself that I really can read the PA so well & that with Macks help & my hard work it’s all paid off! To sum it all up – dedication & patience is key! And of course I’d never be where I am today if Mack wasn’t so kind & helpful! 🙂
Mack February 22, 2016 at
Excellent stuff here! Thanks for taking the time to reply, because I think it helps hearing it from someone besides myself. This is a journey, not a sprint. It’s like running the longest marathons versus walking to the mail box. It takes dedication and hard work, and most importantly, time! 🙂
Jim June 23, 2016 at
Good article. I’m working on my ability to stay focused on the right things when it comes to day trading.
pbs416 April 28, 2020 at
THANKS FOR YOUR MOTIVATING ARTICLE !
Everyday studying the EOD Charts will definitely 100%
improve our Trading Game and we all should make it a
daily habit like daily meditation ! No doubt.
Really, An Eye-Opener !
R E G A R D S,