Sometimes I make a good trading call, and get complimented on my trading “skill”.

It’s flattering of course, but the truth is that it isn’t so much about skill, as it is about experience.

If you get punched in the face every time you walk around a street corner, you eventually learn to dodge.

I’ve just walked around more street corners and got punched harder and more often than most people – that’s how I can “skillfully” make my way though the streets of the Forex market without getting beaten up too badly today.

You see, the reason I’m able to make good trading calls now is because I’ve made plenty of painfully bad ones in the past. What people don’t see, are the years of black eyes and swollen lips I had to endure to learn those lessons.

This is one reason why, I believe, most people will not make it as traders. They are either unable or unwilling to put up with the pain long enough to learn the lessons they need to survive in the market.

Pain sucks, that’s for sure. But it’s also the most effective way to learn.

It’s brutal, but it’s the best trading teacher you’ll find.