Do you know what separates professional traders from losing traders?
Here's my answer and it's not what you think...
#1: Think independently
If you want to succeed in trading, you must have the ability to think independently.
Instead of asking “what” or “when”, learn to ask:
Why.
By asking why questions, you’ll come up with a hypothesis to your questions which brings me to...
#2: Willing to get your hands dirty
Just because you came up with a hypothesis, doesn’t mean it’s correct.
That’s why as a professional trader, you must validate your trading ideas.
You must get your hands dirty and do the work like backtesting and forward testing.
#3: Have the right expectations
Most new traders enter trading with the wrong expectations and end up quitting trading altogether.
The truth is…
* You won’t make money every day
* It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme
* Learning curve is steep
#4: Manage risk like a pro
No strategy works all the time, that’s why you manage risk all the time!
You can use stop-loss, options, position-sizing, etc.
A losing trade must be managed so it feels like an ant bite—not a shark bite where you lose a chunk of capital.