Today's Quote: “A will finds a way.” Orison Swett Marden

There are several good books out there about trading that should be on every trader’s must read list. If you were forced to choose one and only one, the only possible pick would be “Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader”. We are going to run a series of excerpts from the best selling book for the next series of lessons. Now in the words of the master trader himself, Oliver L. Velez…

THE TRUE MEASURE OF A SUCCESSFUL TRADER…

Tex Cobb, the only boxer ever to lose all 15 rounds of a championship fight, made a statement once that immediately grabbed my attention. He said, “Anyone can be a hero going uphill. The true measure of a man is what happens when nothing works and he still has the guts to go on." This statement adequately captures the essence of what truly makes for a successful trader. Those who have gone on to master the art of trading have undoubtedly learned how to proceed during times when everything seemed to go wrong. All developing traders go through periods when heaven and earth seem to be against them, when the very market itself appears to want nothing else but to thwart them at every step.

But in order to succeed, in order to gain the necessary experience that ultimately leads to the state of mastery, traders have to muster up the courage to proceed in the face of these difficult times. They must learn to keep going, to keep pressing forward. It is not during the times when all is well that we make our biggest strides. Like fine gold, we make progress and rid ourselves of dross and imperfections while enduing the fire of hardships. Our character and trading acumen grow only when we are pressing forward in the face of mounting difficulties. During these hardships, if we manage to pick ourselves up from a fall and willingly face the next round, we do so as a more seasoned market player.

It may not seem as though progress is being made when all is going wrong, and every choice you make shouts of your immaturity, but each time you manage to rise during these times, you will be making a giant leap forward. The very ability to rise itself stands as proof of that. During your developmental years, the true measure of your potential success can be gauged by your ability to face tomorrow when everything in your experience today begs you not to. What we must keep reminding ourselves is that in order to win, we must last. And while lasting alone will not guarantee that we win, we can rest in the assurance that we can't ever win without lasting.