Sometimes I am asked how much people who operate in the stock market earn with the appropriate preparation, and the answer is difficult to give. I see people who in three weeks begin to trade simulated with amazing naturalness, and others receiving the same knowledge find it hard to click the mouse to place their order in the market because they have doubts or fears. You must not only have a system, a trading plan, technical knowledge, money management, blah, blah, blah… it is more complex than this. This thing about trading, about the Stock Market, is not so much you do so much you earn, or you know so much you earn. There are many traders with hundreds of courses and books read who are unable to trade in real life. Among other reasons for the story of the snake that you will read below.
So that you can understand me better, let me explain please. We can take two people from scratch, give them both the same training, all the same and suddenly one earns 175 Euros on average daily, and the other loses 100 Euros; How is it possible John? What are you telling me?
This is one of the reasons why we refuse to give specific figures, because you are you with your fears and ghosts. For example, risk, accept risk. Each person handles it in a different way. Accepting the risk means accepting the consequences of operations without emotional discomfort or fear. This means that we must learn to think about trading and our relationship with the market in such a way that the possibility of making a mistake, losing, missing an opportunity or leaving money on the table, does not trigger our psychological defense mechanisms and out of the flow of opportunities. For this reason, when I see two people trading, it is curious how, seeing the same signals, they act in a different way, because each one accepts the risk in a different way.
If you can learn to find a frame of mind in which you are not affected by the behavior of the market, the conflicts will cease. The exact meaning of the expressions “make a mistake”, “lose”, “waste an opportunity” or “leave money on the table” is different for each of us. You will understand it perfectly with an example: “The One with the Serpent”:
A trader was afraid of snakes, one day his wife had gone out and decided to go with her daughter to dinner with some friends. What they did not know is that at the house of said friends they had a domestic snake.
When the friend’s son brought the snake to show everyone, the trader panicked and practically jumped to the other end of the room to get as far away from the snake as possible. Her daughter, on the other hand, was totally captivated by the snake and did not want to get away from it.
The father was powerfully surprised by his daughter’s reaction. She hadn’t freaked out as he had thought she would. He had not taught her not to be afraid of her daughter, it was something innate in her. The father assumed that his daughter would be afraid, most traders assume that they will be afraid of making a mistake, of losing, of wasting an opportunity. They believe that simply by having courage they can neutralize that fear. At that moment an internal struggle ensues.
Therefore, each person is a world, and these emotions influence the results. I don’t know exactly how long it will take to overcome these fears, if one accepts the risk as a professional knows how to do it, he will not perceive anything that the market can do as a threat. And if there is no threat, there is nothing to fear: as in the case of the snake. If you are not afraid, you do not need courage or effort because everything seems natural to you, as in the case of the daughter of this trader.
Think about it. It is not comparable that so-and-so starts operating in 4 months, and therefore you must also conclude that it will take more or less the same. Its not that easy. Now, it is possible and feasible for you if you wish, as long as you remain constant, firm and determined. It’s not a matter of luck winning consistently, it’s not a matter of being smarter or smarter, or even skills. For me it is a matter of perseverance and not throwing in the towel. Staying curious and active at the same time, listening to professional traders and learning to manage your own intimate emotions.
When the threat of pain is gone, the corresponding fear disappears, as well as the errors caused by fear. It will be that moment in which you will find yourself with a mind capable of seeing what is available to you, and acting accordingly with what you see. Without threats, without fears, without fears.
I have always said that it is bad to operate very soon without adequate knowledge, but it is also very harmful not to take action and spend years operating in a simulated manner. You have to touch the snake, caress it, see how you feel with it, if you feel threatened or not. This will make the difference. Having a plastic snake next to you is not the same as having a real snake. With this I am not saying that trading is something terrifying, but it will certainly make you feel a set of interesting emotions that you have to know how to handle, accept, so that they do not interfere with decision making. You must dance with them as you would with a huge snake.