Saturday, October 08, 2016

Fortune favours the prepared mind

Speculators, traders and even investors who do not have any strategies playing the stock market are likely to have a hard time trying to make money. 

If you have been in the market for some time and find that you have not made any money, it’s time for you to think hard why you have not been lucky so far. Is it because luck has been against you or because you have failed to plan well? Many people blame luck when they failed, but when they succeed, they say there are smart and skilful. This is human ego.

There may be some truth that some people are born lucky. If you relied on your luck to succeed, you are likely to fail because luck favours the prepared mind.  

The worst thing that can happen to a novice is for him to make a lot of money immediately he enters the market because of a tip or because of luck. This is called the winner’s curse. Very often the early winnings are the prelude to disastrous losses. Easy money leads you to become greedy and careless. Very soon you will realise that easy money is not easily made. If you bet what you can afford to lose, things may not be so bad, but if you borrow to bet, the result could be disastrous. 

For those who are smart, they will first find out how they can win. How many market players do this? You can’t win without having a competitive edge. 

What is a competitive edge? Experience, knowledge, wisdom, patience and discipline put together will give you the competitive edge. Do you have them?
Do you know how to identify a good company for investment or a good time to enter a trade based on technical analysis. 

Knowing fundamental and technical analysis will definitely give you an edge, simply because the majority of players in the market do not have such knowledge and skill.

The next important thing to know is to know your own traits. It is said that success in the stock market does not depend so much on your intelligence, but rather on your traits. Thomas Edison, one of the smartest men on earth failed miserably in the stock market. He said that he could calculate the movements of the stars, but he was unable to calculate the madness of man. 

Know your own traits; know how much risk you can take; know whether you can cut loss without feeling the pain of losing. Once you know who you are, then think out a strategy to suit yourself. Never do anything without a strategy. 

In my Super Telegram Group, members share information, experience and knowledge to enhance trading or investing skill. If you wish to become a member, use the link below. To join, you have to download Telegram in your smart phone and change your profile picture to your personal photo.