Trading: Not a leisurely stroll nor a lifelong odyssey – What's your take?

Building a trading business or establishing oneself as a successful trader is no walk in the park. But it's not a many-years project either.

First

When some try to convince you of rapid success—oversimplifying the process as 'easy'—they're doing you a disservice.

What happens next?

When reality hits and the journey proves a greater challenge than anticipated—you might wrongly blame yourself leading to frustration and self-doubt.

It's not just about losing money; it's about losing faith in yourself, and that's truly unfair.

As a newbie at a professional trading firm you're told:

"You won't make money for 9-12 months. It takes that long to develop an understanding of game planning and proficiency executing your playbook trades."

The expectation is different. Correct?

Second

But they're not saying consistently winning at trading will take you years either. Right?

So if your months have descended into many years without a breakthrough—you're the one doing yourself a disservice—because something is fundamentally wrong with your knowledge, process, or both.

If stuck in a prolonged struggle, it's time to reassess and refine your approach. The best traders all credit external successful factors—so taking ownership of your journey by seeking guidance is how you serve yourself.

But how do you choose the right guidance?

Due to the competitive nature of trading—success *doesn't* leave clues.

Access to skills and knowledge needed to succeed in trading remains exclusive to those fortunate enough to earn a seat on a professional trading firm desk.

So unless you're on the desk of a professional trading firm—your best option is to seek guidance from someone who's been there. Make sense?

But what else?

Consider the following:

Imagine you're someone who is out of shape and maybe could shed some excess weight. You're feeling fatigued all the time, and parts of your body constantly ache—and you know if you don't do something now things will only get worse.

But you've tried gym membership and various diets without success. So it's time to get help. You want to know the best way to get results, and ongoing guidance would really make a difference.

You decide a personal trainer is the way to go—and on visiting the training facility you've got a choice between 2 trainers:

Tom or Sam?

Tom was a promising competitive swimmer as a teen—dedicated to 4 am daily starts in the pool. He nearly made the Olympic squad. Not to give up on competitive sport—he now competes in heavy lifting comps. The size of an ox—he's got muscles on muscles.

By contrast, Sam isn't a competitive sportsperson.

In fact - although he's now fit and in good shape—for years, he was actually one-and-a-half times his current weight and grossly out of shape. The lengths he had to go to and the personal challenges he experienced to make a radical shift are significant.

So who do you pick?

Who will better understand the struggles and obstacles you're facing? Who will better understand what it's like to make a dramatic change?

Who will help you through the mental hurdles because they've been there themselves—relating intimately to all your prior struggles and future challenges as you start the journey to build winning knowledge and habits?

Is it the person who knows no differently than a professional athlete? Or is it the person who has been where you are now—who shares a similar path with the only difference they are further along it than you?

It's an easy question to answer. Right? And so it is with trading.

I know traders who it's as if they were born for it or they went straight out of university into a professional trading environment and learned how to do things the right way from the get-go.

And then there are traders like Sam. They slogged away for 10 years as retail traders before making the move to professional firm trading—unlocking insights and skills that make a significant difference—transforming them into consistent winners.

I bet you're a bit like me

Before I entered the finance industry—I was a struggling retail trader dealing with all the same challenges you've experienced. I know them intimately. I know what it's like to have your account, your self-esteem and your dreams crushed. The challenges cut so deep—it's why I went into the finance industry to resolve them.

If you're looking to make a transformative change and consistently win at trading, consider seeking guidance from someone relatable yet further along the path—someone who can provide you with the crucial industry know-how needed to win.