Commitment doesn’t mean that it has to last forever, but while you are there, commit yourself 100%. By doing this, the quality of your life improves 100%. – Susan Jeffers
Anything truly satisfying in life takes time, hard work, study and commitment. It’s at the end of a journey we can reflect back and see what we accomplished, the good times and misfortunes along the way. But are you willing to make the sacrifices necessary to be successful and win? Can you put in the time necessary to rise above the rest of the crowd and produce extraordinary results? I think you can, but you need a road map.
Time is the one thing none of us can get back. So, when I say make a time commitment it is about make the best use of your time, turning it into a valuable addition to your mind. As it relates to option trading or stock trading/investing, there are a few tasks necessary to translate your time into success. Practice is one of them.
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice reduces the imperfection. – Toba Beta, author of Master of Stupidity
Michael Jordan once said, I play to win, whether in practice or a real game. Do you play to win at all times? Are you elevating and taking your game to another level? What steps are you taking to do this? In trading, practicing a new method or system is the best way to get better. Let’s understand this, future outcomes are unknown and we must rely on our good sense, judgment and instincts in the face of this unknown. A system or methodology may be the only thing that saves us from a disaster or total wipe out. What prepares us the best is trying out different trade ideas, experimenting. I will take it a bit further – failure and success in practice make for a better trader with improved eyesight. We can see the entire playing field, not just one direction.
“We’re talking about practice. I mean listen, we’re sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we’re talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last but we’re talking about practice man.” — Allen Iverson would go on to say practice over 20 times in a two-minute period.
Clearly Allen Iverson thinks differently about practice, and notice he has six fewer championship rings on his fingers than Michael Jordan. Tells you something!
If you have only ONE path and it’s all wins your perspective is out of whack, and certainly you won’t be humble – suffering from tunnelvision, and when a trade does go against you the first reactions are denial and defensive. This eventually leads to a paralyzing effect that freezes your mind and ultimately activity, over and over again. It’s hard to escape this negativity vortex. Try different methods and systems and practicing them over and over until you have high levels of success – mind you, not perfection…trading is not a game of perfect. But this requires time, homework, study and strong work ethic.
Most are in such a rush to succeed that they forget how to get there. It has taken me years to overcome my desire to ‘get rich quick’, because it’s true there is no joy or happiness in taking the fast road to success. Ok, some will disagree with me on that one, but I have chosen to enjoy the journey rather than point to the destination as my goal – and have never felt better!
Take the time to learn new methods of trading, either options or stocks. Practice what you learn, experiment and don’t be discouraged by losses because they will happen. Failure, however is NOT an option. Practice puts us further away from cliff and prepares us better for uncertain outcomes. Experience is the best teacher. Be flexible and open-minded, allow yourself room to grow and become better.
