The wonderful thing about trading and investing is that age is no barrier.
I have come across 15 year olds who, with parental assistance, have been able to build a small portfolio just using their pocket money. I have also met 80 year olds who have recently become determined to take control of their financial destiny.
As age brings the wisdom caused by life experience, so age can actually make you a better investor.
An example of someone who seems to improve with age is Warren Buffett himself, who appears to be getting more and more proficient in his building of his company, Berkshire Hathaway.
Buffett’s lifelong friend and business partner Charlie Munger, is famously quoted as saying that Buffett “is only getting started”.
Personally, I feel the most significant factor that has made all the difference is that I started to take action on what I had learned, through carrying actual live trades using my savings, as I was learning.
Doing this accelerated the speed of my learning curve, as I had a significant enough “Why” (motivation), and therefore I knew I had to learn quickly so as to avoid making silly mistakes.
You may be asking, how long does it really take to become a proficient trader and investor?
The answer to this question is that it depends. I would much rather be direct and tell you the truth than say that you can simply attend a weekend seminar and begin successful trading on Monday! It simply doesn’t happen like that. Trading and investing is like any other profession. Learning and practice is needed.
Asking yourself the following questions will help you in your journey:
- What do you want to achieve through investing and trading? What is your purpose and goal?
- What level of experience do you currently have in dealing with the markets?
- Have you made physical investments in the markets in the past?
- Do you see trading and investing as passions in themselves, or do you see them more as means to an end?
I had one disadvantage against me when I made my start. This was that the internet was only in its infancy, and the learning resources out there were very limited. I had to go about my research the “old school” way. I went to bookstores and looked through books. Amazon.com had only just been established, and I didn’t even know what it was!
Obviously, times have changed, and there are a vast number of resources online today. This makes the process a much easier prospect for you. However, the large number of resources can actually become a problem if you allow yourself to feel overwhelmed with too much information, so make sure to guard against that. Take things one thing at a time.
If you possibly can, try to find someone that you could learn from directly. This can be very useful.
Having a mentor was a great source of help for Warren Buffett. His mentor was Benjamin Graham, who is seen as the father of value investing.
There is no need for you to attempt to reinvent the wheel. All of today’s giants once stood on the shoulders of others.
I learned through the generosity of countless people, and you can do the same.
While things can be made much easier through learning from others, remember that not everything you learn will immediately gel with you.
The type of investor and trader you become will be determined by your personality, and the formation of your exact style will take time.
However, this should not hinder you from learning and reading from a variety of sources, as it is through learning and doing that you “find your path”.
I have learned the truth of this through my own experience.
I started with Warren Buffett and value investing, but soon realized that I also enjoyed active trading. Therefore, I took up many and varied trading courses, like trend following, swing trading, macroeconomic trading, and even day trading in a vast array of securities like stocks, options, forex, and futures.
Eventually, I was able to settle down and found my love of value investing and position trading in stocks and options. I enjoyed this, and found my edge within these markets. I decided to let go of everything else, such as day trading, forex, and futures.
It was my realization of my real passion, and my willingness to let go of everything else that led to my financial success from investing and trading.
Therefore, it is clear that the path to investing and trading success is not about adding more and more but rather about finding your “mojo” in a narrow area that you enjoy most, and letting go of everything else.
Doing this leads not only to sanity but also to a much happier and simpler process of achieving financial freedom.
In summary:
Allow yourself the gift of 6 to 12 months minimum as opposed to something like a weekend seminar.
Make sure to learn from varied sources, and do not dismiss anything until learned and tried.
Start investing first before trying trading, as trading really is investing but on a much shorter time frame and with much greater frequency.
Begin making investment of real capital on a small scale once you think you have the basic understanding and knowledge you need, as nothing will ever beat having real money on the line.
Decide on the area you are passionate about in the markets, and be willing to let go of everything else.
Take one thing at a time on board. Master one thing before moving on to the next. What’s the rush?
Remember that you never truly stop learning, even after you have been in the field for a long time.
I have now been on this journey for nearly two decades, and I continue to find things I can improve upon. Trading and investing is a never-ending process, so it is best to focus on your enjoyment of the journey and the process itself, and let the results look after themselves, because they will. Focusing on the profits from day one only puts a lot of unnecessary pressure and stress on yourself, and can actually jeopardize your long-term financial success.
It has done so for me, and I am certain it will for you.
I have been through the journey as well as become close friends with many others who also have been through the same journey, so I am able to share first-hand experience.
One thing we all have in common is that we were patient, and did not give up when the going got tough. We ploughed through, ploughing along like farmers until our crops were finally ready for harvest.
To find out how you can safely learn to trade and invest in 10 simple steps, click here
