Winning traders approach the markets with an optimal mindset. They trade "in the zone," but it's surprising how stress can impact your ability to enter this ideal state of mind. You can carefully delineate a complete trading plan, for example, in which every aspect is spelled out clearly, from when to enter and when to exit, and you may have a wealth of experience executing such plans, but when yo ..read more

It's the day after a holiday. Are you going to trade today? Some traders believe that stock prices tend to rise the day after a holiday. Perhaps you have anticipated a rise in prices, and are holding a few positions in the hopes that you can sell into the strength brought on by the holiday. Nevertheless, the day before the holiday there's going to be less trading, just by the mere fact that the tr ..read more

Note: I believe the article below was written by Adrienne Tograhie, a good friend and great trading coach. The Manic/Volatile trader has learned to create emotional volatility by developing a great imagination. By looping positive and negative stories with more detail, he is very effective in becoming dramatic. With enhanced feelings, he has justified to himself about being right. This keeps him s ..read more

When confronted with a choice, how do you decide? Are the choices you make in life in general different from the choices you make in trading? It has been my experience that decisions in life that involve a perception of a possible loss, being wrong, or making a mistake, will very often take the same approach as the decisions you make in trading. Stuck Gary was a "want to be" trader for over twenty ..read more

To position yourself for success in investing (and life in general), it's useful to identify the one key area that's holding you back. These factors can range from needing to free up more money to invest each month, to cutting back on frivolous spending, or even a lack of education on how to best manage your investments. You'd be shocked at how many people are unable to pinpoint obvious blemishes ..read more

In a number of places and at various times, I've mentioned that trading in the past was a lot easier than it is today. When it comes to making money over the long-term, the "instant results" generation is at a huge disadvantage. Most of the focus today (thanks to the business media) is on checking your financial scoreboard frequently. As a result, many modern market watchers are more like gamblers ..read more

I will never stop learning. This is my mantra and I will continue to practice it each and every day. Why? Because you never know where your next big opportunity may lie. Constantly learning will benefit you in many areas of your life. You'll uncover new investment opportunities, such as dividend stocks that are attractive for new money. Or, you can acquire new skills that open the door to bigger p ..read more

Have you ever been a part of a conversation when someone decides to anoint a particular individual with the "rich" label? There's not really anything wrong with it, except for when the next part of the conversation moves on to discrediting how he/she was able to get in their particular position. Yes, sometimes people born into wealth squander their head start and "blow" their family's fortune. How ..read more

Losses apply to all traders, regardless of their chosen markets. The story below could apply to Forex, futures, bonds, or stocks. Ray Activ has just taken a big risk and lost. He has been watching a stock for the past month and it's been going down. But today an earnings report was released. Yesterday, Ray had a strong hunch that actual earnings were going to beat analysts' estimates. In preparati ..read more

If you're like most people, your moods change throughout the day. There are times when you are extremely energetic and optimistic. You feel as if you can do anything. You're in an optimal state of mind for trading. A "state of mind" consists of a set of moods, feelings, thoughts, and memories. In an optimistic state of mind, you feel powerful and ready for action; you feel enthusiastic and energiz ..read more