There are 3 letters, forming one word, which can be detrimental to a trading account.

TRY

Yoda said “Do or do not, there is no try”, and there never should be a try in trading – especially in day trading.

In this life we should hold ourselves accountable and plan our actions, path and goals as much as possible. Then we simply accomplish each and every goal on that path towards our desired outcomes.

Trading is the only market, avenue, venture, profession or hobby that I have even been a part of where I can devote 40 hours of my week and receive absolutely zero in return. That’s why I have said and I will always say “You will be able to make more money in business than in trading”. I am not talking about treating trading as a business, but a literal business: lawn care company, HVAC, or your own dental or chiropractic office, for example. Businesses can always create more money than trading consistently.

Don’t trade the markets for money. Trade because you love it. You know how sometimes you catch yourself staring at a burning fire and you totally zone out? You go into this whimsical illusion of peace from staring into the flickering flames? That’s how trading is for me. I can stare and candles and the price action moving all day. I love it. Likely, I always will.

But loving trading and being able to profit from trading are two different things. That’s like loving campfires and profiting from the fires burning. How could you profit from a campfire? Own the land it’s burning on.

How can you profit from trading? Being patient. Planning trades out in advance and never ‘try’ a trade. If you ever catch yourself uttering the phrase “Well, I’ll just try this trade.” just mail me a check because you’re probably going to lose on it. You should challenge yourself to know within two seconds of looking at a chart what to do. Up, down, or sideways.

Within two seconds, any human can look at a fire and know that it’s hot and has it been burning a long time or a short time.

In trading, practice determining immediately what you are going to do with a stock. Then plan it out. Then follow the plan. If you are sitting in front of your computer screen, but you are bored and unprofitable from the day and you decide, “Eh, what the heck, I’ll try this trade.” This is as meaningful as burning your money, in the long run.

Protect your capital. If you are trying something because you are bored, or maybe it’s your first time doing the strategy, try it when the money is fake. Begin to create a solidified trading plan, find a trading coach to hold you accountable and simply, do. There is no try.

Jerremy A. Newsome