Charging Forward

Hump day (Wednesday) already…where does the time go?  I’m diving right in today with lesson 6 which is about Mindset & Money.  I found this lesson to be quite an eye opener.  Sid states unequivocally that there is no magic system or strategy, but rather a change of my mindset is what is required.

What does this mean?  Well, in relating to forex, the tried and true rules for a good work ethic do not work.  Learning to be a good trader has nothing to do with rushing, working hard, trying harder and being clever or highly intelligent.  What one needs to develop is patience, discipline and a cool attitude.  This mental reconditioning follows this golden rule:  “We Get Paid to Wait.”  It’s that simple…or is it?  Sid was quick to point out that I’m not special or different than anyone else who has taken this course.  This process will take time for everybody; including me…so, let the patience begin!

Sid then gave a quick recap of what we’ve learned already…wow…that’s amazing!  The lessons are short and sweet, but they pack a punch with lots of useful information and instruction.  The lessons are given in small bites, but that allows me time to let it soak in.

As we progressed on, Sid briefly touched on the subject of money, stating that Oanda is the simplest broker to work with because they use units and not lots or contracts.  This is great because it eliminates the need for useless information overload and simplifies the trading process…sweet!  Finally, we spent about 20 minutes practicing setting up market orders with different pip values.

Lesson 7 is just a tidbit about listening to the weekend recordings.  I’ll let you know more once I actually listen to the recorded sessions.

Lesson 8 starts to get into the meat of things.  How much to trade?  That is, how much per pip should we trade?  Sid’s uses a formula to determine the safe value per pip I should use.  I had to ask for a little help here and I found out that we never really risk as much as 1% in any one trade.  It is not random and it is not gambling, but rather based on a money management strategy and business plan he will cover in more detail later on.

What I took away from this lesson was the importance of having a money management strategy and business plan that is practical and that I must stick to.  If I don’t I will just be another gambler and become a member of the dreaded 95% of people who lose their capital in the first 90 days…not the path I want to follow!

That’s it for now.  I will try to get to a couple more before the end of the day.  Either way, I will keep you posted.

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