The mastermind concept is a path to trading success

When you are in the Trader-Trenches it can be a lonely endeavor.That’s because trading is essentially a solitary effort – but it doesn’t have to be.  How supportive would it be to have someone – a trusted fellow trader, to call at just that moment when you’re about to careen off the metaphorical cliff?  Or, perhaps you have a trading buddy that trades the same asset classes and has called you for help just as they ventured into that fork in the road and were about to go left into the dark abyss of “rule violations” and you calmly guided them back to the right and in the direction of trading with their highest and best interests.  In either instance, whether you made or got the call, how did you feel…supported, relieved, glad to be helped or of help?  Either way, not only were your emotions buoyed by the connection, but both you and the buddy may have experienced a higher level of resolve to keep your commitments and maintain a fierce focus on what matters most in the next trade. This could be considered a “peak experience” where both of you felt a mood expansion akin to exhilaration, elevation, and being deeply moved; in other words you felt a moment of reaching your full potential. He, is a “peak experience” was originally described by Abraham Maslow as “moments of highest happiness and fulfillment” in his book “Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences”. Consider the last time you fully executed your plan and followed each and every rule while keeping all of your commitments to the plan and yourself; despite multiple urges to capitulate and swerve to the left at that fork in the road and into the abyss. Well, you probably felt strong, courageous and exhilarated because you stood your ground and fought the demon that tried to snatch your steering wheel…and you won! That is a peak experience; and it happens quite often in a community of likeminded individuals who have forged a shared commitment to one another and to skillful, boldly precise trade execution.Therein lay one of the gifts that community can bestow on those that dare to fully engage and be engaged by fellow like-minded and like-hearted individuals.      

Having and being a part of a learning community or mastermind group can be a real trading powerhouse.  It fosters a common sense of direction, objectives and aims; and it can be very helpful in supporting personal accountability. Community can also assist its members in forging a greater commitment to trade planning and following through with rules due to the team spirit and emotional bonding that takes place.One way that this can happen is through the personal connections that are encouraged because they evoke a richer, more involved sense of “self.” According to Oxford Dictionaries) “community” is defined as “a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” The ideas of “change and exchange” and “shared by all “impliedin the definition above, are potent precursors to individual and collective learning that are necessary to the evolution of peak performance trading.  It creates cooperation and reliable interdependence which are building blocks of the type of synergy that can propel the growth of the community members. There is a common purpose that stems from articulated values of the trading process; and this leads to greater positive results.Additionally, it becomes a practice field for skill building, another core principle to any performance-oriented endeavor. The community also holds opportunities for specific and valuable contributions from its members that further cement its value and again produces increased performance. When this happens, it also provides sustainability and elevates a shared vision of success for all based upon traders living up to their personal and collective commitments.In part II I’ll share some additional specific components of a successful trading community or mastermind group.

Across the planet some of the most stunning achievements in all types of endeavors have had at their core a mastermind group, a learning community. Team efforts work in trading and not just sports. Trading is a 100% mental game and if you have a caring, strong, effective and committed support community behind you and you behind them, then you become more caring, strong, effective and committed. Your community can learn invaluable tools that will support your growth and development as a collective and individually.