Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
Read Walking with God by John Eldridge
I know this is not the place to discuss such things but I did not want to send a PM when I thought others reading your heartfelt post may be searching for similar answers to your statement.
Thank you Thank you Thank you for your post.
If you always do what you have always done you will always get what you have always gotten.
Celebrate because you executed your edge. Not because you won.
I've been trading for 4 years. I like it. I am mostly profitable now. Not like I want but better than losing most of the time. I know I have a lot to learn and that comes with time and possibly a mentor. I don't have one but wouldn't mind one IF 1) I knew where to find one and 2) We had similar values. 3) That person was MUCH further down the road than I am with an excellent reputation.
I am mentoring a couple of people and I like it. It forces me to think and to prepare. It has also created the realization that I could use one as well.
As time has gone by, I've begun to miss the challenge of building something. I've always swore I would never have employees again. But never say never. I have time on my hands, you can only play so much golf....well none for me but you know what I mean. My other projects are not time intensive and only require brief spurts of activity throughout the year.
So I've been thinking about building something.....what I've had no idea. I'm a fan of Tim Ferris, The Four Hour Work Week. But that required a muse and I've never had one so that was out.....but now that may have changed. I'm in talks to join a small start up based in the Bay Area....well 4 years old and profitable but they want to go national and international. The pay is minimal but the challenge is huge and I think I'm ready for that again....there is the potential for a massive payoff in the future and that certainly is enticing.
To really seal the deal (potentially) they are involved in the health field and I'm pretty interested in that right now. So the potential exists for it to satisfy the 4HWW requirement for a muse.
I'm a John Eldridge fan.....but of the earlier works.....Wild at Heart radically changed my life......more so than any other book I've ever read....it was the beginning of an awaking for me.......I gave over 200 copies away to friends and clients......and I like The Sacred Romance but Walking with God seemed to be a rehash....perhaps I missed something there......worthwhile to be sure but it didn't create a paradigm shift in me like Wild At Heart did.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Leonardo da Vinci
Most people chose unhappiness over uncertainty, Tim Ferris
The startup sounds like a good fit for you, you seem excited about it which is very important.
As for the trading part, I think about this often because of posts I read on futures.io (formerly BMT) where others are struggling and seeking out a mentor to guide them.
I guess the thing is for me, I just can't follow someone elses lead any more. Thru futures.io (formerly BMT) I've had the opportunity to get to know a lot of really fantastic traders. And unfortunately, several really big names in the industry who are largely perceived to be good traders, but who I wouldn't go near after learning more about them.
Even if you focus on just the fantastic ones, first none of them are interested in hand holding a rookie. The occasional email exchange to talk about the markets is fine, but actual coaching - they don't want any part of it. And I can completely understand. I took on a few "students" for a while a couple years back, and I felt like I spent hundreds of hours trying to help them while they spent basically no effort trying to help themselves.
I imagine that pattern holds largely true on a bigger sample. Perhaps you've seen this yourself.
I do agree that being a mentor to someone (I dislike that word) can definitely sharpen your own trading, and that's always a great thing. But for me personally, I do not want and cannot/will not follow someone else. I don't really ask advice from anyone anymore. Instead, my ongoing education (and believe me, I learn more every day) is more about my own interpretation of what others are doing and incorporating the bits and pieces (usually, small small pieces) that I like from someone else into my own strategies.
I know everyone is different, and I know so many look to simply be taught or told exactly what to do, or look for someone with more experience to answer difficult questions. And all of that is totally fine, but be extremely careful. In my own experience, the amount you can take away from any single person is probably very small in terms of what is truly compatible with your own method, your own personality, your own strengths and weaknesses, etc.
I'm so not interested in learning about someone elses trading method. Like you, I bring on small pieces if I think I can integrate into to something I already do or may have wanted to try. Instead, a mentor to me is just someone that may be able to help you navigate the areas you may not know about, someone that can occasionally hold up the mirror in a trusted manner and show you where you have deviated from plans and goals you've stated are important to you. I have a couple of trader friends that do this on an informal basis for me and its helpful.
I envision it being a skype call once or twice a month with perhaps an email exchange or two per month......nothing formal but someone older (in the markets) than me with experiences I may not have had yet. Its always good to lean on experience if you can instead of having to go through it all yourself.....idealistic perhaps but nevertheless, I had one in my mortgage business, it was valuable to say the least.
Lastly, it really must be a good fit for it to work and for that reason alone, it will probably be difficult at best to make this happen.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, Leonardo da Vinci
Most people chose unhappiness over uncertainty, Tim Ferris
The fact is I can even see him trading for twelve hours each day sitting in front of his screen.
He stays right in the opposite building.
He states his charges upfront which are $500 in which he will teach you for 2- 3 days and then you have to be in touch with him for three to four months everyday on the phone. I asked if I could get my laptop and trade alongside him, but he said he would find that distracting and I totally can understand.
He allowed me to watch his live trading and I could see some fantastic discipline e.g. he did not chase the market even though he had a target marked out on the screen and missed the entry while talking to me me (I felt bad, but watched the discipline part)
He was trading 15 or so managed accounts.
He has been trading for 10 years - he left a cushy job in 2003 as a manager. He freely admits that he has blown up multiple times.
He uses hardly any indicators (one to be precise if you leave out two moving averages).
He does come across as a seasoned trader however in 2008 I found him marketing MLM products and selling insurance - perhaps that might have been the blowout period and he was 'working' again. The fact is I cannot know anything for sure hence am oscillating between trust and distrust.
However the following things raised red flags:
He says I can open a managed account with him minimum sum $2000. He expects the amount to run up to $3000 within a month. However what made me cry inside was he said he will run up each clients $2000 to $80,000 at the end of the year. He showed me a commodity account which was opened a few days ago and was up 150%. He did say he was using a miniscule stop and the risk was well defined and I think can trust him on that.
He says after 10 years his hard work is sprouting and hence he can state such figures.
I walked over to his house in the spur of a moment and hence found myself talking to him sitting next to him while he was trading and I was impressed.
I think having a mentor would make it more like a job with a boss and that is where the value really lies.
What do you think?
P.S.: In a mentor the first thing is TRUST. I find the mentor - trading student relationship to be a complex one so if @PandaWarrior permits this discussion can continue.
Great conversation here. About mentor, I think it's not a trading system that is important but a mindset of successful trader, consistent, disciplined, and importantly evolving as no system works too long. The best mentor can give is a belief you you can make it and roadmap how to make it. Ability to look into successful trader's mind and routines. But it woth nothing if you can't trust him. And how can you trust if mostly none of them show any trading track record to prove it?
I believe a good mentor can help you travel the road with fewer accidents, and may help you go further than on your own. The sports analogy that "Tiger Woods still has a coach" is a valid one. Another example is that most of the traders in Market Wizards talk about having had a mentor. Unfortunately, it is a reality that in our business is very hard to find a very good mentor.
I have found the very best mentors to be on the threads here on futures.io (formerly BMT). There are many members that share their wisdom. There are specially a few ones that when you read their comments, it makes you "think" and evaluate the actions that you are currently taking on your trading. Which is what good mentors do.
Brian, best to you on all your endeavors, and maybe it applies here: "When the Student is ready, the Teacher will appear"
