|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some trading days are tough and the "why" reasons above will not sustain you. You need more compelling reasons. For example, what if you were determined to find and master a satisfying intellectual challenge? Or do you want to solve one of life's most intriguing puzzles, how to take advantage of stock movements? Do you want to build a base of knowledge and skill to help you compete on a level playing field against committed, determined, experienced, disciplined people who are all trying to take advantage of endless opportunities for profit? Without an overarching, compelling, almost noble reason to trade, you cannot summon the intensity and the commitment to master the learning process. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let us illustrate with the story of Wilma Rudolph. Do you remember her? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She was born in 1940 with polio. She had pneumonia and scarlet fever before she was four years old. She was so crippled she could not attend public school. She was told she would never walk normally. It was a giant challenge just to stay alive. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
But in 1960, at age 20, in Rome, Italy, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three Olympic gold medals. She was the fastest woman alive! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How did she do it? Wilma had an overriding motivation. She had a dream. It was no ordinary dream, for no ordinary dream would have sustained her to bear years of painful heat treatments, to endure years of wearing numbing leg braces, or to suffer insults as a crippled black girl in the 1950s south. Her dream was the ultimate in motivationshe dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal. That dream was larger than all of the hurt in her life. That dream kept her going when any reasonable person would have quit. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Few of us will ever find a motivation to match Wilma's, but your own powerful motivating purpose is still essential to success in trading, and in the rest of your life. So, be honest with yourself. Take a few minutes and ask yourself: What is my motivation to trade? What will keep me going when the going gets rough? What will keep me determined in the face of adversity? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If your dream can meet the challenges in those questions, you have made an important discovery about yourself. You now know why you want to trade. You can articulate your reasons for trading. That is the first step toward true trading success. Write your reasons for trading on a piece of paper as a constant reminder to yourself, and refer to it often to keep your motivation alive. |
|
|
|
|
|