Im new to the forum but not new to trading. This is going to be the same question Im sure that most will ask so I apologize but hope the forum will buzz in and throw out some pointers.

I have traded over the years futures/options and the stock market. I have never really had any great success but also never real bad losses. My day job, knowing what to do being self employed was always my main focus since I knew the harder I worked the more potential income I could pay myself being self employed. But the markets have always been on the back of my mind and every now and then I get back into them. Yes "easy" money I wont lie does creep into the mind and the "what if's" can play mind tricks. But I ultimately realize easy money doesnt exist and its just a fantasy for 99.9% of us. Never would I want something for nothing, everyone deserves to get paid for the work they put into things. But to me "honest" work and honest advice is key, Im tired of not knowing where to go for good solid advice. I have no problem paying for services but with all the info out and about it is really tough not to feel at times that people dont just write stuff either good or bad because they either are being paid or they are trolls.

So a quick thing about me. I want to trade. Not just to make money but to be successful at something I have struggled to learn over the years. Trying hard and failing knowing I gave it 100% is all I can do. Obviously I want to make money trading and I need to find the advice/tools/direction to help me do this. I am the kind of person that goes all in when committed, I started a cherry orchard a few years back and my background is construction. I got my ass kicked last year with some bad advice but met a really good mentor that had guided me and I feel with his advice/guidance I will be a success in the next coming years and beyond.

So after this mini book I have written my question is can anyone help point me in the right direction and show me some quality advice from anyone offering a service. I am partial to the futures market ES etc but have dabbled in day trading stocks as well. I think my personality suits day trading but maybe I am tricking myself because its more of a want than a need. My goal is to be able to make 15k+ a month in income from trading. If this takes 6 months or 6 yrs I still want to try. I am hoping not to lose more money than need be to get to my goal but I do understand life has a learning curve and for me it usually means getting my ass kicked a few times.....but that could be because I go on my own looking for advice and getting bad advice then feeling like I got burned. Don t take that the wrong way I am not blaming a system because I do believe the person fails the system before a system will fail the person. I just mean I sometimes get wrapped up ion the hype that a system offers kinda knowing is BS but truthfully not knowing where to go to get the advice I seek.

So if anyone out and about in the community can understand where I am coming from please respond and let me know your thoughts. If you feel I babbled and didnt really get to my point (which I can do lol) please ask me a question and I will try my best to get specific.

I hope I may have come to a place where I can find some answers that will lead me on a path of trading success.

Thanks guys,

Ray Steel

$15K a month is your goal, but what does that mean in terms of annual % return, and maximum % drawdown you can handle?

For example, if you have a $25K account, and only want 10% max drawdown, I'd say your goal is unrealistic...

I would be working up to my goal as I learn and progress. As my account would build I would be able to afford more drawdown etc. Trading for me now would not be an income. Any profits I could make would stay in the account and build up to help with drawdown. If my goals become or are unrealistic I will change my views. I am adaptable but I also aim high and if I dont succeed I dont go into depression, I just admit I was wrong and regroup.

My work is seasonal meaning I make my money in 7 months of the year. Taking late fall/winter off. This new career path I chose hopefully will allow me to take the time I need to learn and adapt skills I have lacked in the past. But I do need a starting point and as mentioned with all the info available on the net its hard to know whats what and whos truthful. So I enter the community here in hopes of being pointed in the right direction

I'll ask again: Goal for annual % return? Goal for % max drawdown?

After 6 years of watching 75,000 people interact on the forum, I think I am pretty good at spotting certain behaviors.

Those that behave like you, that make a post wanting to be told what to do to be a profitable trader are the ones most likely to fail. These are the same clueless people that search for mentor after mentor, vendor after vendor, system after system, trying to find something all the while never spending time or energy to learn how to be a good trader.

Then there are those that get involved in the community and ask intelligent and very specific questions ONLY AFTER reading a thread for a few weeks, and repeat that behavior in many threads on the forum, learning as they go by NOT asking blanket questions without spending any time understanding the process, but instead actually spending a great deal of time reading and understanding THEN asking specific questions -- these are the people that I've found generally succeed after a few years of very hard work.

Mike