Before sharing my story I want to start off with some thoughts on the topic of success itself, especially within the context of forex trading. Success is not and cannot ever be just a one off major win or even a short streak of profitable trades, no matter what the actual size of the profit is. Rather success in forex trading should be seen more in terms of consistent profits as well as in terms of the sense of satisfaction and even happiness that a trader derives from the trading process.
Let us be honest, quick get rich schemes promising minimum or even non-existent risks through a process that is easy, hassle free and effortless simply do not exist and we should all be aware that anyone giving us such promises is plainly trying to deceive and scam us.
In my view and according to my experience there is no gain without pain and if you want something done, the best method is to do it yourself. Both these notions are completely true in the case of forex trading as well.
I must admit that my first steps in the world of forex trading were disappointing to say the least. I was frustrated easily and acted very impatiently, loosing my calm and resolve and ending up with consistent failures. Just as I was ready to give up on the whole thing and succumb to peer pressure to try my luck with binary options instead I had an “epiphany”. It wasn’t a chat in a forum or an encounter with a more seasoned, experienced trader but actually a random conversation on a park bench with a wise, senior citizen who knew nothing about the wonderful world of forex or online trading. Mr. G. who had lived near my grandparents’ house all his life recognized me and asked me how I was, commenting that I wasn’t looking too well. I appreciated his interest and starting firing away about how I was in a financial tight corner and how I had my hopes high that forex could help but kept failing instead. I could see it in his eyes that we had not the faintest idea what I was going on about, but when I was finished he calmly turned around and told me that success is almost entirely dependent on one’s mindset and that each failure could very well be a valuable lesson, an important and constructive learning experience.
His words were turning in my head for several days before I actually realized how right he was. My first and foremost mistake was my mindset and the fact that I was so stressed and perplexed at even the thought of a loss and so disappointed after each failure that I myself was short-circuiting all my efforts.
Once I managed to take away the stress, the fear of a loss and actively began to analyze each trade and each outcome with a view to understanding what had actually happened each time, what went wrong and what went right, what could have be done differently and what was executed flawlessly and draw useful conclusions and knowledge from this analytical process, my results and performance started to gradually but steadily improve.
With a new mindset I felt more liberated and confident to tackle the volatile forex markets and more encouraged and inspired to put in the hard work and commitment required to meet success. Because, if someone claims that trading forex successfully is a simple and easy job, well.they are simply lying out of their lying liar hole!!! To even stand a chance to succeed you need to be able to rely on your own power, your own knowledge and your own understanding, perception and judgment. In short, you need to be able to be in control of all your trading decisions and to be able to do so, you need to work hard, to dedicate the time and put in the effort required to understand how the currency markets work, to learn about fundamental and technical analysis and how to best utilize the tools at your disposal such as economic and technical indicators, time frames and Fibonacci sequences.
Once that is attained, success is also largely determined by making the right choice of broker to open an account with and trade through. My advice on this, and has worked best in my case, is avoiding those who try to lure you with fancy promises and above all those who stand to profit themselves from your losses. The plethora of available brokers and the increasing level of regulation in today’s forex industry mean that finding such a broker to trade through is not a difficult task, although it does require some careful research.
In a nutshell, yes making profits and earning a decent supplementary income through consistent albeit often modest profitable trades is completely attainable, but it is not easy, nor fast or effortless. It requires persistence, resilience and above all the right, positive and constructive mindset, as well as patience, calm and commitment.
If you believe in it enough, want it enough and pursue it enough it may well happen. Not magically, not without hard labor, not instantly but surely and lucratively enough.
Best of luck and above all remember to enjoy the process along the way, because it is a sure confidence booster as well!
Lois Norman
