The following is extracted from the upcoming second edition of The Business of Trading © Hand Over Fist Publishing 2023
First, I want you to know that you can trade for a living and never return to the daily grind of work for the sake of work. You can be free for the rest of your life. It is possible.
It is possible to create an incredible lifestyle completely supported by trading. Once one person has done something, anyone can do it if they apply themselves. I do it today, and therefore, so can you.
If you have never been self-employed before, it may be a bit frightening. But once you realize what you have been missing, you will wonder why you took so long to get started. It is the start that stops most people from creating their own trading business. But the fear of getting started will quickly subside once you get started with each easy step.
It’s the start that stops most people.
Get the employee mindset out of your mind. You are no longer on a punch clock. You no longer must sign in and out daily on your mobile paycheck account. You no longer need to travel to work each day. Now you can choose your schedule. You no longer need to work all year. There are plenty of traders that work until they hit their target for the year and then stop trading for the rest of the year. Some traders trade only Tuesday through Friday, or some other specified days, based on their current lifestyle.
Perhaps your upbringing taught you that money came by hard physical work, only, or that you should be paid a set hourly fee. I was also; get over it.
Trading pays you for the physical exertion of tapping on your keyboard a few times. If you master this thing, you will be paid very well. More importantly, your pay will have no correlation to time. You will now be paid by your performance.
By no longer trading your time for your money, as a normal hourly employee does, you are being paid by making excellent trades based on the edge you perceive and the tactical trade you make. All this while practicing sound risk management. Your performance must be thought of just like any other professional. It is paramount.
When you think of your performance more than anything else, you will focus on your trade, not your daily P/L %. Professionals know that if they perform well, everything else will fall in line.
Enuf Said.