that looking back you feel a bit silly. You'll then reach the point where you think all
the ones who are calling pips after pips are liars - they can’t be making that amount
because you've studied and you don't make that, you know as much as they do and
they must be lying. But they're in there day after day and their account just grows
whilst yours falls.
You will be like a teenager - the traders that make money will freely give you advice
but you're stubborn and think that you know best - you take no notice and overtrade
your account even though everyone says you are mad to - but you know better.
You'll consider following the calls that others make but even then it wont work so
you try paying for signals from someone else - they don't work for you either.
You might even approach a 'guru' like Rob Booker or someone on a chat board who
promises to make you into a trader (usually for a fee of course). Whether the guru is
good or not you won’t win because there is no replacement for screen time and you
still think you know best.
This step can last ages and ages - in fact in reality talking with other traders as well
as personal experience confirms that it can easily last well over a year and more
nearer 3 years. This is also the step when you are most likely to give up through
sheer frustration.
Around 60% of new traders die out in the first 3 months - they give up and this is
good - think about it - if trading was easy we would all be millionaires. another 20%
keep going for a year and then in desperation take risks guaranteed to blow their
account which of course it does.
What may suprise you is that of the remaining 20% all of them will last around 3
years - and they will think they are safe in the water - but even at 3 years only a
further 5-10% will continue and go on to actually make money consistently.
By the way - they are real figures, not just some I’ve picked out of my head - so
when you get to 3 years in the game don’t think its plain sailing from there.
I’ve had many people argue with me about these timescales - funny enough none of
them have been trading for more that 3 years - if you think you know better then
ask on a board for someone who's been trading 5 years and ask them how long it
takes to become fully 100% proficient. Sure i guess there will be exceptions to the
rle - but i havent met any yet.
Eventually you do begin to come out of this phase. You've probably committed more
time and money than you ever thought you would, lost 2 or 3 loaded accounts and
all but given up maybe 3 or 4 times but now its in your blood
One day – In a split second moment you will enter stage 3