The quick answer is, "YES you do", but finding that trader within you is the challenge. In today's article, we will break down some challenges most traders have and offer some solutions.

You will need to quickly realize that you hold the key to success when it involves trading. The success is not with the strategy or following other traders. The very fact that we are all unique as individuals must give you a hint that you already own the key to successful trading.

I think it has become more difficult to be a successful trader. This is not because there is a lack of information and options available because there is ample available and this is now a part of the problem. Before new traders even begin their real development as a trader they are being exposed to solutions and courses that are "marketing business" geared up to sell things.

 It is difficult to recognize the real deal from the no deal.

It takes time to develop

For most traders, it will take almost two years to get to the real starting line. This is where your official development begins. It is after you have had your fingers burnt from various online environments and your own sabotage.

In my very early days as a trader, I recall a conversation at the time with another newbie and he mentioned that he wanted to craft his trading skills over the next five years. At the time I thought it was a ridiculous statement to make but knowing what I know now, that was a very smart and thought out commitment. The trader had a development plan in place.

What are the trading traps?

They are all around you. Each step and trade creates a new environment to fail. Everything from money management, trade selection, and trade management can consume your thinking.

The trading world brings with it the opportunity to make money or lose money. The only way we keep score is by observing the funds in our trading account. We see this as a reflection of our own image when in fact it is a process.

We then need to identify and deal with our own psychological battles. These scars carry the most burden and are the most difficult to repair for our trading world.

Most times, the courage to deal with our trading psychology is the final frontier within the trading cycle. It should be the first issue that we deal with however that is not possible as we need to take on the battle first before we can correct them, it can only be this way.

A few ideas that might help you

First, you need to understand that the art of trading is always evolving; there is no end in your trading development. It will take several years before you have built a strong enough psychology to deal with the markets in a consistent regular basis.

Ground yourself in quality information and traders that have had many years of trading. These are the traders that have been through the school of hard knocks.

Invest into your trading. Those that think they will learn how to be a successful trader without investing some real dollars into their development need to think a little deeper about the situation.

Think and grow rich

Napoleon Hill wrote "Think and grow rich" and was published in 1937. This book took twenty years of research and is now the cornerstone book for many successful people in the world. This is not a book you read once and put back on the shelf. This is a book that you continually study and apply the concepts to your life as you develop. As you evolve, the book evolves.

If you are serious about your development as a trader, take up this book and apply it to your trading and life. I promise you it will make a huge difference to your outcomes and your thinking.

It is all on you

Nothing in life is free; there is always a price to pay. Some are prepared to do whatever it takes and meanwhile others look for excuses to bail out and quit. This is all on you and not the circumstances.

In a world of blame, it is easy to give up but guess what? Trading is not easy and for many it will be one of the most difficult undertakings you will ever endure. This is not because it is difficult to put a trade on or to have a broad understanding of the market... Over a short period of time these are rather easy to concepts to grasp. Trading is difficult because our ego and survival instincts are pointing in the opposite direction. To overcome this, it takes a massive amount of work and personal development. As we continue with our development, we then test it in the market. 

Enjoy your development and have a look at my course on price action trading.

​Steve Teunis.