6/24/2009 8:03:09 PM

Here's an article that may help you gain a new perspective on how you approach your trading.

Over the years I've traded with many different trading systems on many different markets and generally lost money with all of them sooner or later. I couldn't work out why I'd do ok to start with and then give back all the gains and more. It was quite a roller coaster ride.

Then I realized something, I realized that I'd been approaching my trading from the perspective that there was a "Holy Grail" out there. That somehow I would find a system that would take care of everything for me. In reality, I was like a child looking for a parent to look after me! It's not easy to admit this but it's what's necessary to finally accept responsibility.

Through this realization came another realization, and that is that there is no Holy Grail "out there", the Holy Grail is here, in ME! It was always in me, not outside of me. It's never outside for any one of us. I'd been trying to fit myself around other people's systems and in the process let go of my responsibility in following what was true for me.

It was only when I understood myself in terms of knowing how my fears and doubts affected the decisions I made and therefore the outcomes I got, that I began to see a turnaround. With this type of self-evaluation came the opening to finding what actually does work for me, and to my surprise, I was able to develop my own trading system.

If you find yourself feeling frustrated with the results you've been getting, the key is to always look at yourself first. How do you feel when you enter a trade? How do you feel when you go to bed at night (with that trade)? How do you feel when a trade is going against you? How do you feel when a trade is going well for you? The answer to all these questions should be, relaxed, clear and calm. That sort of feeling only comes when you feel good about what you're doing and you have a clear plan that you're following.

If someone is trading futures with great success but it doesn't sit well with you, then don't follow them. If it is something that does interest you, then educate yourself, start slowly and understand the risk so that you can get to a point where you feel confident (but not cocky).

The error I often made was to feel inspired by a system and put way too much money into it. As soon as the position was going against me, I'd lose sleep over it and end up feeling shattered. Position sizing is one of the keys to being a successful trader.

I'm now going to say something that may be difficult to accept. Whatever you find along this journey called "life" is always a response to something that came from within you. Whether it be a job, a partner, a car or a trading system, it can look as though it just happened or you happened to be in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time, whatever, it's always a choice you made, either consciously or unconsciously depending on what's happening within you.

When I say "happening within you", I mean what you believe for yourself at a deep level. Generally the way it works is that what you believe (an unconscious thought), leads to a feeling, which then leads to more thoughts, which then leads you to taking certain actions. Finally, those actions produce a result, one that you'll perceive as either good or bad.

Most mainstream personal development programs say that if you want a different result than what you're getting, then you need to focus on taking different "actions". That's only part of it, and while you can do it this way, it's usually the difficult way and usually the results are temporary at best because the underlying beliefs/feelings haven't been taken care of.

This is the principle behind "the rich get richer while the poor get poorer", the rich have learned to "allow" wealth to flow in through their belief that they deserve it (look at Donald Trump for example). The poor on the other hand, believe in things like, "life's hard", "life's a struggle", "I can't get a break", "it's ok for others but not for me", etc, and even if they win the lottery, they still find a way to let it go. Why? It's because abundance doesn't match what's happening within them (at a deep level) and wealth can never remain long to someone that believes they don't deserve it.

Sure you can blame your genes or the government or your parents, or whatever, but all that does is to leave you feeling powerless, and in reality you're anything but powerless. A quote from a book written by Felix Dennis, "How to get rich", on believing in yourself is, "Even the fact of your existence, that you were created by the swiftest sperm of the millions let loose upon the luckiest of eggs that day, is a miracle. What were the odds that it would be you who would result? Yes, you, sitting in your chair reading these words right now. How then, could you not believe in yourself? Nature did. Destiny did. Or, if you wish, your God did."

The key then, is to focus on feeling good as often as you can, even if you find yourself in circumstances that are less than desirable, focus on something that you can appreciate. It can be the smallest thing like the warmth of the sun on your skin or the cool breeze after a warm day, or the pleasure of spending time with your pet. Anything that can give you a break from the self-talk that has lead to these circumstances and from there, see if you can build on the things you appreciate, keep an appreciation journal and write at least 10 things you appreciate. Remember, this doesn't have to be earth shattering stuff, things like fresh air, a healthy body, a good family, a loving partner, you'll be surprised at how much there is to appreciate when you look.

So what I'm saying is that there is no holy grail out there, but for you the Holy Grail is YOU!

In relation to trading services, every service out there is doing what feels right to them, it's your job to read what they say and then trade, based on what feels right to you with your own criteria (like money management rules for example).

I know of several subscribers that enjoy my newsletters but ultimately do their own thing and their performance is often better than mine. Does it mean they don't need my services? Not necessarily, there are synergistic effects that often come when we hear someone else's perspective. The key is they don't rely on the services as the be all and end all. Others that use our auto-trade service can still take responsibility by making sure their capital allocation and position sizing is within their acceptable level of risk. Either way, value can be derived when you accept responsibility for YOU.

A final point is that it's not about never making a loss, even Warren Buffett makes losses, but his system can deal with that and it's not a problem.

So my advice to you is to work on you, YOU ARE THE HOLY GRAIL, Life is there to support you the moment you accept that you have the power to create whatever you desire. And of course, have FUN, if it's not, find something that is!

By the way, if what I've said here makes sense to you and you're not a subscriber yet, you have access to all of our previous articles and recommendations by clicking here (For Advantage Credit Spreads) or clicking here (For The Advantage Report) If you do not recall your username and/or password, please email us at customersupport@stockbarometer.com.