Trading is a way of being – the way you think, the way you feel, the way you make choices, your instincts and actions.
Forget the hype and promises of easy money with Forex trading. Forget about the “secrets that will crack the Forex market”, forget about install-and-profit robots, and forget about getting rich quickly.
Pip Mavens is about gaining the right perspective and making the right choices based on reasoned thinking.
It’s about how to build a sustainable source of income over the long run.
A quick definition…
Pip: The smallest price increment in Forex trading
Maven: A connoisseur
For almost a decade, I’ve been fascinated with the various methods of Forex trading.
I’ve scalped the 5 minute chart, swing-traded the 1 hour chart and trend-traded the daily chart. These are a few of the ‘flavors’ of Forex trading I’ve tested.
Each ‘flavor’ has its unique set of pros and cons, and over the years I’ve arrived at a hybrid method that I’ve personally found to be optimal — trading off the 4-hour and daily charts.
I used to spend a lot of time trading the 1 hour time frame (and lower), but I’ve since come to realize that’s not how I want to be living life.
Living Well vs. Doing Well
In 2010 I read a life-changing article that dramatically changed my perception about whatever time I have left on this planet.
Trading, like life, is what you make of it. In prior years I got so caught up with short term trading that I almost never had the time or energy to live well. The money was nice, but the opportunity cost was incalculable.
“Death is the destination we all share.”
These words by Steve Jobs really hit the nail for me.
You know… I’m pretty sure I won’t be thinking of a Lamborghini Aventador on my deathbed.
The Freedom To Live Life
A lot of people (me included) began their trading journey for the money.
But over the years I’ve come to realize that it provides something of much, much greater value — the time and freedom to pursue whatever it is that I want.
There are many things in life I want to experience, and I’m not going to wait until I get old to really start living.
Tim Ferriss introduced the idea of a 4 hour work week… and I wanted the trading equivalent. I didn’t want to spend more than 1 hour a day looking at charts.
So I devised a way to trade on the longer time frames, and to limit my screen time.
And with all the free time I now have, I enjoy reading in cafes, learning to swim, picking up Thai kickboxing and drawing.
In the winter of 2010 I embarked on my first solo trip to Europe where I spent 2 months traveling across 7 countries. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had… and the tremendous feeling of peace and wonder within, is something I’ll never forget.
These days, I’m spending my time traveling across (mostly) Asia.
None of this would have been possible if I was handcuffed to a day job, or couldn’t leave my trading desk.
I used to say “live to trade”, but I’ve come to find the opposite to be far more rewarding.
Who is Chris Lee?
That’s me. I’m the guy writing all the posts on this site. I live and grew up in Singapore.
I’ve paid well over $20,000 in seminars alone to learn from 4 separate “trading gurus”… but none of them taught me anything that made a significant improvement to my trading bottom line.
And from what I know, 3 of them have disappeared from the face of the earth – their companies have closed down and nobody knows where they are, or what happened to them. Hm!
So it was through years of reading books, visiting online trading forums, a LOT of thinking and reflection, and a couple of helpful people along the way that I managed to claw my way back from blowing up 3 of my trading accounts, to breakeven, to consistent profitability. It was a slow and painful journey.
I began trading in 2005, but it wasn’t until early 2008 that I got my act together and begin to make enough money to replace my full time job as a project manager.
After seeing consistent results that could comfortably pay the bills, I decided to quit my job in December 2008 and haven’t looked back since.
In 2009, I set up the Pip Mavens Inner Circle to share my experiences and show people how I trade.
Since then, I’ve had the good fortune of communicating with people all around the world who share the passion of trading for a living. This has been on many levels a rewarding experience, and I intend to keep at it for as long as it keeps me growing.
Forex trading is what I do for a living. And writing about it, creating videos about it, and teaching it is something I enjoy almost as much. It’s an amazing “job” that never remains static, and never gets boring.
Thank you for visiting my blog, and welcome! I hope you learn a few things here that will directly result in you making more money with your trading.
All the best,
