Back in 2002, I met a girl. Actually, I re-met a girl, a girl I had known for some ten years, but hadn’t seen for a while. Anyway, horses had been part of her life since she was a child. She knew her horses, and she knew how to ride and ride well. Well, I didn’t know how to ride. In fact I understood nothing about horses, other than they were big animals that could run fast. Eight years later, I know a whole bunch more about horses, and I would consider myself a competent rider. I am confident, and I would put myself in just about any riding situation. Having said this, I would also say, I am no master and I will never be one. The time, commitment, and focus I would need to accomplish this simply are not part of what I want to do with horses. I will remain competent and enjoy my time riding, and that is it, which brings me to a question I received,
How long does it take the average person to learn how to trade well?
Some questions have specific answers, but this is not one of them. Like so many things in life, the outcome of a process is subject to numerous variables, many of them beyond our control. Those we can control, we do, at least we do our best to control them, and that is what creates success, that and a bit of good fortune or the avoidance of bad fortune. This last point is important. If success is about making good choices, it is equally about not making bad choices, and when fortune presents options, make no mistake the choice you make will determine the outcome. Some call this luck, good or bad, but no matter what one calls it, the outcome derives from the choices you make.
As to trading, one can master many of the variables involved. In fact, one can master them to the point of becoming quite adept at the mechanics of trading. The issue, of course, is can you make good choices when the variables outside of your control give you options?
In my opinion, one has learned to trade well when one consistently makes more good choices than bad, and the outcome related to those choices is more money in the bank. How long does this take? Again, the variables control the answer here, but I can tell you the process requires a good amount of time, solid commitment, and sharp focus. If you have these attributes, and you learn how to make choices that maximize good fortune and minimize bad, then you are close. If you are banking profit without lessening the quality of your life, you are there.
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
