Today's Quote: “There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.” Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

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…

How high is the cost to be a master trader? While the actual price is difficult to quantify, we have been at the business of trading long enough to know that it’s higher than most people think. And in most cases, it’s higher than most people are willing to pay. Show me someone who wants to quit his or her job to become a day trader, and I’ll show you someone who probably doesn’t understand what it takes to be a day trader. Those who feel this is a game that can be conquered or mastered in a few short months are deluding themselves. Not only does it take many months to years of relentless effort to obtain market proficiency, but also excellence seems to emerge only after one has learned and experienced every conceivable way to lose. The truth of the matter is that the pains, the agony, the scars of an experienced trader run especially long and deep. If aspiring market mavens do not possess a great deal of fortitude, or if they lack resolve, are devoid of passion, and are unwilling to forsake all, they simply won’t last. Individuals who truly desire market success will have to pay with their blood, their money, and a very big part of their lives. The tuition is high. There is no denying that. But the ultimate reward that goes to those willing to pay the price is immeasurable.

Successful traders enjoy an independence that can’t even be imagined by most. With a notebook computer and a telephone line, they are free to trade, to book profits, from any place in the world. They can earn more money in two hours than most people earn in a month. With the click of a mouse and the stroke of a few keys, successful traders can bring into existence their every material desire and shield themselves from the day-to-day concerns that typically plague the mediocre and the average. By properly responding to the electronic impulses flashing on the computer screen, traders can create the world of their choice, live a lifestyle that supersedes the wildest of all dreams, and rest securely in the fad that no one on planet Earth can take it away. But in order to get there, you must last! To reach the lofty level of which I speak, you must survive, however difficult things get. And that, my friends, is no easy task. So if you are truly willing to pay the price, the best advice I can give you is this. Develop a plan, find a mentor who will teach you, and never surrender! Make up your mind this very day, that you will either rise or perish, and then watch your unshakable resolve work out the details. You can do it. We know this to be true because we did it.