I was reading what Conrad's writing "Trading as a main income".

http://www.conradalvinlim.com/2012/05/trading-as-a-main-income/

Note that the title is 'Trading As A Main Income', not trading to get rich quick or trading for a million bucks.


Now that we understanding what the title is implying let's discuss it as realistic, mature and serious traders who are looking to turn trading into source of income. In a sense, trading for a living.

THE HYPE

Through the years, trading has always been a pipe dream for most who wanted to get filthy rich. With the advancements in technology over the last decade, this pipe dream has been brought closer to home than ever before. Today, it is a very accessible dream to anyone and everyone. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection.


And of course, you need the right kind of market.


This is where the hype starts. We have been over-exposed to all sorts of advertising and promotional rah-rah that make us believe that it is actually possible to make that fortune a reality. We see ads with winners making really fantastic profits from a single trade and we hear of friends who make a living from trading and living the good life. We see the rich and famous on TV that had made fortunes in the market. We read about people making fortunes from the comfort of their homes.


We believe we can be one of them. Worse, we believe it is really that easy.

TEH : I have mentioned MANY of times ... those in KLSE or markets are NOT realistic people. How do you justify that 80-90% of them lost money and STILL losing money? NO COMMON SENSE. People talk about trading and investing like ... those talk-show ... just go to forums, u will know what I mean ... and believe me, chances are SO HIGH that majority of them are just talk-talk ... just as I said, for fun and waste away their time. It is to fill their TIME and boost their egos. Nothing concrete about learning ... about checking their mental states and no one talk about planning. Heck, throw in a few more indicators, everyone can trade! Haha ... explain WHY hundreds or thousands of them paying THOUSANDS of $$$ to attend some trading courses or buying those softwares. NO COMMON SENSE again.

Look, if I want to be blunt ... we need to be REAL ... a REAL person, take the REAL trade and check the market pulse and gain experiences. Heck ... since when trading is reading of books? Reading is encourage and good ... but NOTHING beat common-sense ... as majority in markets do not have much.

Sorry for being blunt and truthful. I do not need to be so-called tactful in my own blog, should I? Imagine this again ... you go to UNI ... 3-5 years, paying SO SO much of money and used so much of time studying, passing exams ... to get a cert. WHAT makes you think that you do not need education in trading markets? THINK deeply about that ... pause a while ... splash some cold water in bathroom ... and promise yourself to QUIT or LEARN.

BEING REALISTIC

There are many stories in the market, especially by those selling the dream, that you can make millions of dollars through trading and investing. There are testimonials from those who have made a year's salary in only two weeks and some who have turned a small account into a million bucks.


I am sure there are truths behind those stories but the one truth that is never told is whether that success story continued and how it ended. Most end in tragedy. Poor financial management, complacency, reckless overtrading and inconsistency usually plague such successes. The reason those successes don't last is because it is not really success ' it is pure luck.


And luck always runs out.


The truth is that it takes money to make money when you don't have luck to make you a million.


TEH : Yes ... I like what he wrote ... REALITY. I am not exposing those hype or those advertisements telling us stories about how he 'has done it'. Haha ... allow me to laugh. The next time you want to pay those thousands of dollars for a trading class, think again. How about pay me a fraction of that and I teach you the school-of-hard-knock way of trading. Yes, I do not invest any of those indicators ... it is there. But, how are we going to know what to use and when to use them ... if you are NOT a REAL trader? I am talking about real trading ... real pain of losing or missing boats!! Only real pains could teach you some lessons(if you want to learn).

Let's get real, shall we?


Real trading is about creating a proper and sustainable income based on being realistic, pragmatic and consistent. I always tell my students to aim to make $50 to $300 a day. That is realistic, pragmatic and it can be a consistent income that pays handsomely by the end of the year.


Almost all my students don't even have a $200,000 capital to begin with. Beginners almost always start out with $5,000 or $10,000. For a 5% gain, you should aim to profit at least $250 from a $5,000 trade or $500 from a $10,000 trade. That's realistic and doable on a regular basis. Sometimes you will get lucky and the market may handout a little more than 5%.


If you are able to take an average of $300 off the table a day, you're looking at a $1,500 weekly wage or $6,000 monthly income. Even at a $100 a day, you're looking at a monthly income of $2,000 which works out to $24,000 annually. Now that is what trading is really about.


If you can't achieve that humble level of success, don't even dream about the big money.


If you can't handle small successes, you won't be able to manage a windfall.

TEH : We do not grow our investment over night. Tell me ... how long do you plan to be in market? How much could you sustain ... losing more than profitting? How long will it takes for the market to punch you and then you will say ... I quit?! I want to emphasize the word CONSISTENT. I do not care if you told me you have made a 'killing' in trading a speculative XYZ as I do know ... in long run, the so-called LUCK factor will not be on our side. It is not 50-50 ... I told my new tratles that day ... 80-90% of them losing money, you all sure want to be in the market? I have a few total newbies in this new cohort-6. Very discouraging ... but that is the truth I am sharing. I do not want the group to talk about those speculative empty-shells stocks. I will get upset ... and place that as one of the main rule it the group. Trade at your own risk ... and be serious in trading.

A WINNER IN A SEA OF LOSERS

It is a well documented fact that in the world of Trading, there is a small percentage of winners and a disparagingly disproportionate percentage of losers. It is also common to hear about many small time traders losing thousands of dollars to a few winners who make hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. The obvious truth is that there are a small number of traders making lots of money from a huge pool of traders losing their capital.


Why the imbalance and why is it so unfair?


In actuality, it is not unfair because those who are successful at it have done all it takes and more to get to that level. They are a dedicated and disciplined bunch of people who have the values that most people dislike; they are Patient, they Work Hard and they Practice their craft. It takes a very special person to have those qualities and to live out those values every day. It demands Discipline, Dedication and Determination which most people don't possess.


Most people would prefer to have easy money without having to work for it, wait for it or practice to get it. They lack the determination to learn how to do it, they are never dedicated to earn it and won't have the discipline to keep it.

TEH : He has written is very well ... taking words out of my mouth. Lee Chong Wei does not becoming champion in a year or two ... he practised hours per day for years ... since young!! The determination ... the dedication ... and the discipline. Yes, the 3-D ... which I will certainly write more about it. Nothing comes easy ... and since I am only 4 years in markets ... I am still very much a novice, whether you want to believe or not. I should know better where I want to be ... and yes, give me another 5 years of DAILY practising ... I might be a good trader, one day. I will still be here writing this blog ... but I m not sure if you(readers) will still be in market or reading my posts? I m getting my cohort-6 moving, by then ... I hope to reach cohort-50 ... will you be still interested or still dreaming of becoming a trader?

Seriously, I do not really 'dream' to be a trader ... I just continue to work hard ... to improve myself, increase my knowledge. I was handicapped as I have zero-knowledge about finance, accounting, economics, businesses ... plus markets ... I learnt them by myself, in daily basis ... for average 4-6 hours ... for 4 years now. How am I doing? Good? Not really ... I m always dissatified with what I m achieving as my benchmark is to better MYSELF ... no one else. It is ME and I. I respected so many who have 'done it'(I m talking about REAL investor-traders again)  ... and yes, I respected Conrad. I read his books ... I asked my tratles to buy his books and more. I could only guide ... but I could NEVER be able to ask them to do what I have done ... it is crazy, to think of it. Haha.

This is typical of life. The few who are rich are those who have worked for it, experienced failures and earned it the hard way. The many who are poor work for the rich to make them richer. The same can be said of the market. Those who learned it and earned it the hard way will always make losers of those who are ignorant and foolish enough to believe that the market is easy money.


The losers are the ones who believe that the market can get them rich quickly. They treat the market as if it is a system to be beaten. They also use the market to gamble their hard earned money away. In short, they don't take the market seriously and don't respect the market as a serious, highly qualified and professional financial business.


If it were that easy, then why would Wall Street Traders need to go through years of university education and more years in mentorship before they become the best in the world? If it were so easy, why do we keep hearing so much about so many people wiping out their accounts in the market instead of hearing more about those who have become enormously successful? The success stories are far and few between but the woeful stories are plenty and common.

TEH : Yes ... taking gambling habits to market .... again, you could read some posts in forums, you could only shake your head. Are they real? One good trade could get you rich? Some bet so huge in XYZ because of some so-called sifu given them tips about buying ... with target 200% by end of the year? Who are you kidding, man?

Being realistic ... if one do not lose money(breakeven) in first few years ... congrats, you must be doing something right. If one has cultivated good trading habits, getting good trading systems ... putting with right mental for trading, it is the ONLY way to be successful in trading ... consistently.

ONE HARDWORKING WINNER AGAINST TEN IGNORANT DREAMERS

In the movie, 'In Pursuit Of Happyness', Will Smith's character, Chris Garder struggled in life as a medical machine salesman looking for and dreaming of that 'next big thing'. Cutting the story short, Gardner becomes a trader on Wall Street after a lot of reality checks, struggles, sacrifices, trials and failures. The sacrifices were not his own alone but that of his family and more famously, his son who kept his faith in his father's pursuit for happiness.


We know today that he is a successful and well known figure on Wall Street.


It didn't happen overnight. He didn't get rich quick. And he certainly didn't attend a three day workshop to learn how to trade.


If there was one element missing from this rags-to-riches story, it would be how Gardner still had to continue to work his ass off as a trader before he made his first million. He had learnt what the pros did and how they did it . And it took a lot of hard work, patience and practice.


I'd like to share with you a simple fact that seems to have been missed by everyone who chases their dream of becoming successful ' have you noticed that there are many movies and books about successful people and how they struggled, failed and struggled some more before eventually finding success ' but there are none about people who became successful overnight or got rich quick?


This is because it is a reality of life ' true, lasting success doesn't come easily and those who have it had to work for it. Nothing comes easy.



TEH : I bought this DVD(original, ok?) ... I do not watch movie much(no time) but I searched for this one. Yes, it is related to hardship and success. I do not really see myself successful but I am currently building the foundations needed to reach my goals. Again, I do not bother much if anyone is going to tell me I am successful or nor successful. It doesnt matter much to me. What matters to me ... is how I feel about what I am doing!! I admit I have struggled pretty much in the initial stage of learning ... but believe me, it is good and invaluable.

Yes, nothing comes easy .... if attending those 3-days or 4-days courses could make you a trader, you are such a naive dreamer!! So, I m making my trading course in alternate Saturdays and more meetings with daily sharing in my group through facebook and blogs. NOTHING comes easy ... so, many of my tratles ... keeping very quiet now. I dont even know if some of them still in markets. That is how difficult I want to make it to be ... travelling all the way to attend my long-winded 3 hours talk!! Haha ... believe me, if there is a good talk in Penang or Spore, if I am available, I will travel there ... pay money for it and attend the talk. I have travelled to market-talks and such whenever I am available. Have you seen me stop writing a post or not checking on markets for a day? I dont waste time ... as I do not have the time!! Time = money to me!!
WHAT I DO AND WHY I DO IT

Real trading is all about making a steady income. I don't boast about being a big time trader. Those who know me will tell you that I don't trade big time. I don't make tens of thousands a day or even in a week. The trades I make have a humble profit objective of $100 to $300 for every $5,000 to $10,000 capital outlay. I frequently do make a higher average than that, often between 3% to 5% and on the occasion, more than 10%. But it all starts with a humble 2% to 3% target.


At that level, you still can make a million starting with a $10,000 account but it will take around eight years if you have the luck of the right market;


A $3,300 capital should return you around $100 on a single trade which works out to around 3%. Thus three trades for a total capital of $9,900 should get you a minimum of $300. If they were inter-day or intra-day trades, you're looking at $300 a day averagely. That works out to around $72,000 a year.


But that's a minimum, meaning to say that anything less literally tells you that you're not trading well. You need more practice or you need to find out what real traders do and how real traders do it.


A $10,000 trading account yielding 3% daily means that on a monthly basis, its actually turning around $6,000! But let's keep it real and say that you're only half as good and there were some losses too ' let's say half ' you'd still be making $3,000 monthly. This is still $36,000 a year ' a really good side-line income for any trader who is starting out.


Now consider that with more practice and experience, you're able to increase your trade sizes and thus increase your profit margin over the next few years ' $36,000 turns into $54,000 the next year. Now you have a capital of $90,000. In the subsequent six years at the same growth rate you raise your account worth to $135,000, then $202,500 and in fifth year, your account grows to $303,750. By the sixth year its grown to $455,625, year seven its up to $683,438 and on the eighth year, you finally break a million at $1,025,156.


Somewhere in those years, you might take a hit and you might get extremely lucky. With proper financial management and discipline, you will keep the losses small and let the luck ride big.


But that is only if you know what real traders do and how they do it.


So why, after reading this, are you still thinking that you can get rich quick through trading?

TEH : I m not dreaming of getting rich, I dont have the amount in my head ... as I remind myself to improve my trading system, be humble to listen to others .. in order to learn from many. I never see myself any better than other traders, but I do know that I need to continue to focus in my trading. At times, I got carried away, at times ... I do blunders and also many mistakes along the way. In my ups-downs, I maintain my focus ... and I am no longer alone, I have a whole group with me. So, I have greater responsibilities of educating and sharing with them ... what I have learnt and my mistakes too. By admitting wrongs, correcting them ... by sharing and reflecting .. that is called maturity. Yes, we do need maturity to be in markets.

I have chatted and known many 'immature' traders/investors ... those young and egoistic ones(in fact, I kicked one person from my stock-watch last month) ... and making sure the group maintain focus in their tradings. Otherwise, it will be just one of those noisy forums where you could easily lose focus.

I will continue to teach .... holding to my full-time job, giving tuitions and teaching some basic tradings. I never claim myself as sifu or good. My tratles knew me in person ... they know better.

One day ... perhaps 5 years later, I might quit my full-time job .... getting out as full-time trader. Perhaps, one day ... I will feel my own success ... as even if I fail, at least I have tried.

It is 12.30 am ... time to rest after 7 hours of class yesterday.

Today, I am 45th. :)

TEH