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Trading for a Living: Is it really possible?

Trading is often perceived as a field that contains obstacles hard to cross, but that is so not the case in the current market and technology. Now, anyone with ambition and patience can trade, and do it for a living, even with little or no money. Trading for a living successfully can help you reach a level of brilliance that most people will never achieve, no matter what career they choose. Just imagine getting rid of your 9 to 5 job and follow your passion for trading, the freedom of being in charge of yourself, to work at a time and place of your choice and to be secure financially. But the reality is that trading for a living is not as easy as it sounds, it requires a very specific skill set and risk tolerance that most people just don’t possess.

Trading for a Living

What is living? The definition of living varies for each individual. For one person, it is $60,000 a year, for another, it is $600,000 a year. The money one person has or the money he stands to make is different for each person. There is a chance that one trader might risk all his savings and make 100% on his money, but another might risk less and make 20% a year.  For some traders, it is a year of losses — it happens to the best.

Also Read: A motivating journey of a Full time trader

How to Trade for a Living: 5 Step formula

Step 1: Learn, Apply, Fail and Repeat. Don’t quit before you understand where you went wrong. “To win the game you must stay in the game

Step 2: Have surplus capital to support yourself and your family during difficult times. You may not be profitable every single day while trading.

Step 3: Have a proper risk management in place, but don’t stop taking minor risks. You cannot beat the market unless you know when and where to risk you capital.

Step 4: Read this guide to learn a step by step formula to succeed in trading.

Step 5: Have a positive mindset and winning attitude. Remember trading is not same as gambling. You may do wonders if you do the things right.

One must be able to hand the losses he might encounter despite the risks he takes. And mostly achieving a profit or making money for a living requires a lot of patience and peace of mind. One needs to accept that profits cannot be made right away and work hard till he reaches the goal.

Most of the people don’t have the patience and discipline to stay focused on the main goal for five, ten, or twenty years, putting in the full effort and giving everything to it, to bring it off, but that’s what is necessary to become the best. Even then, of course, it may all go in vain.

How technology can help?

Changes in technology and increasing volumes on the exchanges have brought down a lot of barriers in trading for a living. To get you started and to fit your toe in trading, sometimes less personal capital for investment is required while in some other cases no personal capital is needed at all. With markets so interconnected around the globe, it’s always open trading time at some place, and most of those markets can be very easily accessed. This means that even people who have full-time jobs or children at home can trade – it is just a matter of finding the right market and opportunity.

Application of computers and algorithms has changed the way Stock market operates. Now, all stock exchanges across the globe are at the tip of your fingers. There are automated trading strategies which can help you get rid of manual monitoring of markets and stock prices. High frequency trading strategies lets you place 100’s of orders within a minute, all governed by computational algorithms.

Also Read: Options Trading Strategies for consistent monthly Income

Why people fail Trading for a Living

There are only 5% successful traders, and most of them quit before they properly start. It requires a lot of emotional tolerance before jumping into this en-devour.

One must know where he stands, the stock market variations and where the trades are every day. A mind which is trained to take risks is essential because the more we take, the more is the chance to achieve a greater profit. This doesn’t necessarily mean with risks there are always profits.

A single mistake made can bring down all the work. It may get the best part of one’s self. The old saying is very true: You can do anything in life, you just can’t do everything.

The nature of trading is a bit twisted and has its own challenges. In comparison, the chances of losing are more than that of winning. But a successful and experienced trader knows well that they will lose small on most of the trades, but the profit they make on the winning trades will cover for more than their losses.

Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management

This is a very popular book from Sir Alexander Elder which would teach you how to trade stocks for living. It is based on the principle of three M’s: Mind, Method, and Money. This book helps you to master all of those three areas.  It is a wonderfully written book which teaches how to go from amateur to professional trader. If you read and follow the principles in this book you will make enough money on your trades to pay for this book many times over. Buy it from the below link, more than 1 million copies sold already.

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