Today I’d be sharing with you my journey and also my take on trading courses. 10years ago around 2010, I had a big position on Gold/USD. It broke 1,000 and I recorded a huge gain.

However today, I do not believe in trading anymore. The key reason is I blew a large part of the gains away in a subsequent trading position. Today, I #invest for the long term.

When you have gains, you feel like you’ve figured the markets out already. But there can be bad periods of losses also. If you have $20,000 invested and say made $10,000, cash that $10,000 out. Stick to the $20,000 you originally invested. With a bigger investment, you tend to get more emotional. If you are rolling on profits and not capital, it makes it a lot easier too. For a few years, limit your position size. Forgo compounding returns.

Over-trading is one of the biggest risk. There are copy-trading and commission free trading these days. You need years of experience. Rayner Teo a well know trader shared it took him 4 years to solidify his skills. Trading full time is very stressful and very addictive.

I shorted on DJIA when it was around 12,000. I held the position for more than a year and eventually cut losses. If you keep betting big, a mistake and you’d be back to square one. In the minds of trading, its always about gains. Rarely do traders think what if they lose. Don’t underestimate risk. For trading courses and gurus, I believe they are successful traders themselves. My major reservations are if the skills and systems are transferable to the mentees.