9 Steps to Making Your 2016 Trading Goals Stick

The new year is always a good time to hit the reset button and create new trading goals for the coming year. Most traders set fantastic goals, but few actually achieve them. In fact, after a month or two, most don't even think about their 2016 goals because most have already become impossible to achieve. 

Let's fix that. Here is how we set our 2016 trading goals to guarantee success.

1. Call them goals, not resolutions.

A resolution is an intention to do something. Basically you are saying you will start something. I am going to start exercising is a resolution.

We want to move from intention to action. A goal is more specific because we focus on the process and end result. You do not merely say you will exercise in 2016, you get more specific and say I will lose 20 pounds. The intention is no longer open ended. You have something specific to work toward.

2. Say "I will" or "I am"

Language is important. It sets the tone and puts us in the right frame of mind. If you say "I plan to lose 20 pounds", it's something you do in the future. If you say "I will lose 20 pounds", you are demanding you complete the task. Even better, if you say "I am losing 20 pounds", you are already in the act of accomplishing the goal, there is nothing to start.

3. Create specific actions.

Frame the goal with specific actions, not just the goal itself. For example, after stating that you will lose 20 pounds, be specific in how you will achieve that goal. I will lose 20 pounds by cutting out sugar, running 4 miles 5 times per week, sleeping 8 hours per day and drinking more water. These are specific actions that give you a road map for how to achieve your goal.

4. Focus on mastery

You will not accomplish your goal with a superficial understanding of what it takes to achieve the goal. All top performers gain mastery of what they are trying to achieve. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, you must master nutrition and exercise with a deep understanding of the subject matter.

5. Focus on the Few

Less is better. You can not master many things. Take a few things and learn them inside and out. Once you achieve mastery of one or two things, only then move on to something else.

6. Act on your Goals

We spend a lot of time coming up with fantastic goals and dreaming of achievement. Few act and even fewer continue to act once they start. Take that first step and do not put it off. Once you take that first step, keep taking steps until the goal is met.

7. Change Your Habits

The goal must become a part of your life. You eat, you breathe and you accomplish your goals. Work hard at creating habits that make your goals routine.

8. Persevere

Most people quit after the first set back. Those that achieve their goals push through the inevitable first set back. They don't give up. If you gain two pounds, regroup and get back to doing what you need to do to achieve your goal.

8. Review and Analyze Weekly

Your goals need to be your number 1 priority. Reviewing your goals every week does two things. First, it makes sure they remain a priority and keeps you from slacking. Second, it helps you figure out what is working and what isn't. I have my calendar set every Saturday morning for in depth goal review.

Following these 8 steps puts you in the position to achieve your 2016 goals. In the next blogpost I will layout my 2016 trading goals.

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The Power of One Winning Trade and Getting Your Mind Right

I am the worst trader in the world!  

I know you have said this to yourself before, or at least something close to it.  I have.  When do I say it?  

It's always after a few losing trades.  Yeah I know.  You all think I'm an emotionless robotic trader.  In my member only Trade Report videos, you have never heard me get pissed off or sound frustrated.  I am ALWAYS positive.  

Here is a deep dark secret.  In the quiet moments, even I question myself during drawdowns (periods of losing trades).  It does not matter if it's a small drawdown sandwiched between two successful winning runs.  It's just how we are programmed as human beings.  Losing hurts more than winning feels good.  Every great coach will agree with that.  We obsess over the losses to the point that winning is nothing more than a relief.

Now here is where winning and losing traders diverge.  While we all feel the same emotions, the trader with a negative, losing mindset will change his game and start trading "stupid".  He will chase stocks that already made a move, take bigger risks with bigger position size than his account can handle and start taking small profits just to get that little win.  

The winning trader, while emotionally frustrated, sticks with the game plan and trading methodology.  Ten losing trades are not going to deter her because she knows she is a good trader and is just on the wrong side of the probabilities.  Soon the odds will change and if they do not, she will reassess her game plan and adapt.

2015 Trading Stats

Of course there are times when you are trading incorrectly and you need to review your trades to make sure it's just probability and not poor judgment.  However, even if you have made poor judgments with setups, you will never commit the trading sins you can easily control.

If you stick with your plan and do not let your emotions get the best of you, you will get that first winning trade.  That trade will kick start a new winning run and over time, if trading correctly, your winning runs will far outnumber your losing runs.  

It's all about getting your head right during the toughest times.  If you do that, and I know you will, you will be a successful trader.

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Winning traders have a secret crystal ball: let me show you how to get yours

A winning swing trader must have that uncanny knack for predicting the future.  Yes, the successful ones have a crystal ball that losing traders can not access.  In this post I will share how to access it and more importantly, use it effectively.

Did I have you going?  No, there is no crystal ball.  We play probabilities, manage risk, manage our trades and prepare relentlessly for every realistic possibility with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.  

Identifying as many of the possible outcomes as you can, key in on the probable outcomes and come up with a game plan for each of these outcomes. That is our crystal ball.  

Let's use biotech to illustrate this point.

Biotech has been THE sector to trade since    .  Even when it looked like it might crack, it came back with a vengeance.  It has been the market leader.  However, biotech is like a great boxer that shows signs of weakness before getting his bell rung.  He may have a few fights left in him, but we all know he's close to getting knocked out.

Notice that negative volume is picking up to the downside.  Whereas in October the bounce that followed the pullback had stronger volume than the pullback, the last two major pullbacks have been met by weak, feeble bounces.  The trend is slowing.  Biotech is giving us clues that it no longer wants to lead the market.

Now how do we use our crystal ball?  We identify the probable outcomes based on past experience.

1. the current bounce stalls in "dead cat bounce" fashion . We enter on a confirmation candle or early near resistance.
2. the low volume bounce carries farther than expected to highs.  This bounce will likely fail, as did the previous one.  In this scenario we enter on a close below the old high as a breakout-failure setup.
3. volume unexpectedly picks up on the bounce.  In this case we look for a good long entry.

These are the three most likely scenarios.  While we will come up with good probabilities for each scenario, we do not have a crystal ball.

However, once one of the scenarios occurs, we have a game plan in place that will make it appear that we have some sort of mystical crystal ball.  

At the end of the day, we do no have a crystal ball.  We do have something much better: PROFITS!

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