To be able to do trading for a living is a dream of countless part-time traders. One only has to look at the numerous seminars, training sessions and trading bush camps these traders attend to understand how intensely they want to do this. The lifestyle of a full-time trader looks so perfect: you never have to leave your desk, never have to face an angry boss. You can take leave whenever you want. You determine your own salary.
Without the right set of tools, this will stay an elusive dream for all those hapless part-time traders though. Let us take a look at what you will need to make it a reality.
The first prerequisite for a full-time trader is that you have to realize something: you are not actually trading against other traders, or against the market. You are trading against yourself. If you are unable to overcome your inherent weaknesses as a trader, you will never be able to trade successfully over a long period of time.
You can do all the trading courses, read all the manuals and have all the latest software, but if you are unable to control yourself, the market will control you. If you tend to stay in losing trades forever, hoping they will eventually around, you will never become a successful trader.
The same is true if you do not develop the discipline to let a winning trade ride – to allow it to reach its full potential and make some serious money. Selling winning trades the moment they have made a little money and staying in losing trades forever are the two major causes of failure for newbie traders.
You also have to decide which type of trader you want to become. Do you want to do day trading, swing trading or longer term trading. New traders always find day trading alluring. They are attracted by the idea of making quick money. And by the adrenalin of making profits and losses sometimes within the course of a few minutes. The fact is, however, that the market is much more unpredictable over the short term than the longer term.
You will also have to decide which market instruments you will be trading in: commodities, shares or currencies. Each one of them will require a different skill set and different tools. They also require a slightly different approach to trading. With share trading you must get intimate with the financial statements of the companies you want to trade in. You have to know the market for their products or services. With currency trading and commodities you have to study the underlying factors causing price movements in these instruments. Things like droughts, surpluses, inflation and interest rates.
Of course you will also need the right set of tools. The first and most important tool is yourself. Be prepared to spend some money in getting yourself equipped to do the job. You have to be able to read financial statements and interpret charts. You have to know what technical indicators are and how to use them to try and predict market movements.
Furthermore you need to register with a company that will provide you with the latest prices for the instruments you want to trade in. Many free services provide delayed prices – which is good enough if you trade in a longer time frame. If you want to get involved in day trading, you absolutely have to make sure you get live prices though.
Trading for a living therefore does not have to remain a dream forever. Start with yourself. Get the necessary training, then learn to control yourself. Finally get the right tools and you are all set to become a successful full-time trader.
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