The 5% rule, persistence and the Financial Markets

This may come as a surprise – but it’s no coincidence that those who achieve great things are few in number. In fact this number is known to be about 5% and the one common trait of these people is that they have persistence – this is without exception. To quote Napoleon Hill “One cannot enjoy extraordinary achievement without passing the persistence test.” That being said one should evaluate one’s likes and dislikes and decide what of those hobbies can earn the person a living because persistence comes easier if doing something one at least finds enjoyable. If it’s the financial markets that one choose to attempt a living at then you’re in good company.

In fact, Frank Henry said it best “Speculation. How to take risks and win. A boy growing up in America without knowing how to speculate — why, that’s like being in a gold mine without a shovel!”. Who was Frank Henry? He was the head of the New York branch of Schweizerbankverein, Zurich’s financial colossus – so yes his opinion on financial matters does hold weight. He said this over 30 years ago – well before the advent of online forex trading. One no longer has to live in a land of With the tech bust of 2000 the persistence of many market participants were put to the test. Many people that were formerly active traders, left the financial markets after this experience. However if they were more like Niederhoffer, rather than letting this isolated event define their future financial condition, they would have seen it as nothing more than a mere setback. In fact Niederhoffer had such a belief in himself that he mortgaged his home to begin trading his own account. Four years later he was again managing money for offshore clients with funds amounting to $300 million dollars.

When Jesse Livermore was asked whether a career in the financial markets was with it’s ups and downs and whether it was worth the worry – his response was simply “Well, now,kid, I’ll tell you,” Livermore said. “Every occupation has its aches and pains. If you keep bees, you get stung. Me, I get worried. It’s either that or stay poor. If I’ve got a choice between worried and poor, I’ll take worried anytime.”

Using Visualization to Improve your Trading

To relate how much of an effect visualization can have on your trading, my experience as Runner in my younger years is an excellent illustration of the tremendous benefits that one can reap. My first interest in running developed as a child from seeing my dad go out on daily runs. It was when I was 11 years old that he first agreed to take me out with him on one of his runs. 3 years later I was one of the top runners for my age in the US – ranking 25th in the country in 5,000 meters and ranking 5th in the country in the half-marathon and my record in the 10mile for the state of Virginia still stands 17 years later. My sophomore year in high school saw me finish the indoor track season undefeated all the way to my becoming the district champion in the 3200m. While many people thought of me as being extraordinarily gifted – I can tell you that this wasn’t the case at all. In actuality I was really of average talent, but the secret to whatever success I had experienced came from my practice of visualization. Leading up to big races – it was my habit to imagine in vivid detail how I would be feeling and I would see myself responding positively. Before stepping to the starting line of any race – it was normal for me to have imagined that race in my minds eye at least 30 times.

This same practice can be applied to trading – the best traders in the world make use of this strategy. Imagine yourself making the trade and then imagine the impulse to make another trade right away. Whether driven by fear or greed is not important – but imagine yourself overcoming that compulsion to make a subsequent trade. Being able to overcome this urge in part has to do with how much margin you’re using – something that must be used very sparingly – at least in the beginning until your account is showing some profits. Employ this psychological tool in your trading and don’t be surprised to see your forex trading improve dramatically in a very short period of time – almost miraculously.