Everybody wants to win.
Nobody goes fishing, not wanting to catch a fish.
Nobody takes a test looking to fail.
The desire to win has become such a big part of our lives that not a day goes by without us thinking about it.
Winning Is Fun
In the modern context, winning is typically associated with material gain, recognition and influence.
Just look at the world of trading and investing…
When you think of George Soros, what comes to mind?
It would probably have something to do with how he broke the Bank of England and walked away with a cool £1 billion.
Now that’s an awesome win.
Winning is, to be blunt, downright fun.
Winning Is What We Can See
When we look at the World Cup champions, we see a winning team.
We see the quality of their passes, their ability to read the game, and their incredible ball control skills.
What we don’t see however, are the small everyday decisions that got them there.
Most people focus on the winning event — the glitter of fame and fortune.
Few would look beyond the event to understand what caused it.
What We Don’t See
For every large winning event, there are a thousand small decisions that were made along the way.
Before Michael Jordan became Michael Jordan, he was pretty much just like everyone else.
The only difference was that while everyone else was sleeping in, he would get up before dawn and practice.
Instead of going to the pub with his friends at night, he was on the court doing drills.
Instead of sitting on his couch watching TV over weekends, he went for endurance runs.
Two extra hours of practice a day became an extra 14 hours of practice a week… which became 56 extra hours a month and 672 extra hours a year.
This is what we don’t see.
We see only the NBA finals and how he took the winning shot.
It’s a glorious win, no doubt.
But what really got him to win, wasn’t how well he played that night. That’s the misconception.
What got him to win was the process of being on the court, day in, day out, for years.
When he was tired, he practiced. When it was raining, he practiced. When he didn’t feel like it, he practiced.
And that’s what makes Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan.
That was what got him that big win.
It wasn’t that one good shot in the final few seconds of the game.
The Process Isn’t Sexy
But of course, hard work isn’t sexy. Showing up every day isn’t fun.
It’s a small difference waking up an hour earlier each day to work on your craft.
But it’s what makes The difference.
It’s the work ethic that becomes a habit, which solidifies into a lifestyle.
But The Process Gets You To The Event
So you want to win, I get it. Everybody does.
The question is, what are you doing in the process, that nobody else is willing to?
What are you wiling to give up, to get to your winning event?
Chris, your write ups are motivating and good enough to encourage a trader already in a system to make good his system, but for the new babies like me it would have been wonderful if you help to introduce us to a working system through which we might improve ourselves in the game relying on your candid advice.
Hi Tai,
Thanks for the comment!
My experience with effective trading systems (that are available to retail traders) is that they must include some element of discretion. More specifically, the trader needs to know when not to follow the rules of one.
In this context, practically any mechanical system could work, provided that the user understands when to sit on his/her hands instead of trading. That’s the key.
This said, trading systems are like clothes — whether you’ll end up using one in the long run depends on whether it suits your personality and style.
Personally, I don’t like to trade for hours in front of the computer and my trading method reflects that.
This is a topic that I feel isn’t sufficiently addressed in many trading forums and websites, so I’ll be noting it down and writing a post about this in the future. Thank you for the feedback!
awesome topic very inspiring
I really liked this post !
It reminded me about the way things are done !
Great post Chris. I have recently come across your work. Have you had any problems accessing broker platforms whilst on you travels? I was in Bali recently and found my broker platform blocked from that location.
Hi Jeremy,
Thanks for dropping by. I’ve never been blocked in Bali, but I have commonly experienced poor internet speed. These days, I head over to Thailand when I want to live near the beach, where the internet quality is much better.
The say that practice makes perfect. And that’s how it goes also for trading.
Yup! Although one can never get it “perfect” in trading, intentional practice is how you get better over time.
Chris,
All things I have been good at required long periods of doing them over and over. Knowledge is king on any endeavor one strives to master. Much of the material in the course I have been using in the last 3 years but have never assembled the tools this way and the application is the key to control of my trading.
Thank You!!
Harry
You’re most welcome Harry. Appreciate you taking the time to drop a comment.
Thank you for this invigorating write-up i sure got inspired.
Kind Regards Chris
My pleasure Sam. Glad you like this post.
Chris,
You are honestly one of the few good examples left in the trading industry. At the beginning of my journey, I, like most, was introduced via social media hype and those who glorify bypassing the very process you discussed in this post. I’ve been trading for a little over a year and a half and truly feel at home on your blog. It is refreshing to see someone operating out of the upmost integrity in this industry. Your post said it all. The beauty in any journey, especially trading, is the process. There are mistakes to be made, lessons to be learned, and eventually…..the win.
I read Candlesticks Made Easy at the beginning of my journey and have since revisited it now that I have more knowledge and it has truly made an impact on my trading. This blog is honestly a hidden gem as it provides transparency, encouragment, and inspiration for real traders on the road to their “win” of consistency. Great post!
Hi Kamille, I appreciate the kind words. Glad you like the post! 🙂