The world’s top traders may all have different methods for making money
but they all tend to share the same personality traits that make them
great traders. To be a successful trader you must approach the markets
with the right attitude. Here, I have isolated ten key traits that the world’s
top traders have if you are going to achieve longer-term success.
Ten Personality Traits To Make You Successful!
You Are Responsible
You are in charge of your own destiny and responsible for your own
actions. No one else can be blamed. In today’s society this seems to be an
alien trait to many people. There is always someone to blame. The fact is,
if you want to trade successfully, you need to take actions and understand
that you, alone, are responsible - no one else. Traders who lose are quick to blame the friend they got the tip from, the newspaper they read thestory in, or their broker. It’s everyone’s fault but their own. When youplace a trade you need to evaluate it yourself and understand that you areresponsible for its pro t or loss. This leads on to under-standing the environment you are operating in and arehappy to accept the loss or pro t as your own.EducationMany traders take tips from friend’s brokers and news-papers without knowing how and why the marketsreally work; they are of course doomed to fail. You
would not try and drive a car without having lessons and the same applies to trading. You need to study
and learn about trading before you start to trade. This may sound obvious but the bulk of traders don’t bother to learn the basics. You need to spend time reading about all the aspects from psychology to different
approaches and methods. Once you have learned about the environment you are working in you need to derive a method you are comfortable with.
Develop Your Own Method
The method you develop should be one that is compatible with your
personality and what you have learned. The approach you adopt must
be comfortable for you. Randy Mackay, one of the worlds top traders
asserted: “Virtually every successful trader I know ultimately ended up
with a trading style suited to their personality.” This is one of the reasons
many traders who purchase systems off the shelf don’t make money, even
if the system is a good one. While the odds of nding a good system are
small, the odds of getting a system that ts your personality are smaller still. If you can’t stand to give back pro t then a longer term trading system will not suit your personality, even though it may be pro table over time. You have lots of different methods you can trade: Long term,
short term, breakouts, reversals, the list is endless. You need to decide which one you are comfortable with, and which one you fully understandthe logic of, and which one you are con dent will work for you. Confi ence
All successful traders have con dence that they will succeed longer termin their aim to make money. This is a universal characteristic amongstthe top traders and stems from the points we have just covered. Dr Van
Tharpe a psychologist who has studied the world’s top traders and thepersonality traits that make them successful, concluded that winning traders believe “they have won the game before they start” Discipline
Discipline stems from con dence. It is the one trait that every top trader when interviewed refers to and its importance cannot be over estimated.
There are two reasons why discipline is so critical:
1. First, it will help you maintain proper risk control, and allow to execute trades in accordance with your method during a losing streakthat all systems suffer.2. Second, it stops you from secondguessing your system. If you do thisyou will almost always get it wrong.Why? Because you will tend to pick thecomfortable trades, and these are not theones that are likely to make money longerterm. Bill Eckhardt a trader who helped train
the world famous turtle traders once said“what feels good is often the wrong thingto do” and this is very true in trading. It’sdif cult to take trades when your friends,newspapers and your broker tell you otherwise. But successful tradersdon’t believe in running with the herd and feeling comfortable. Theybelieve in making money. Being disciplined and feeling uncomfortableis necessary for longer-term success. You are never immune from badtrading habits. None of us are - we are all emotional beings. The bestthat you can do is suppress your emotions and having discipline, and isessential to keep them in check.Assume The Worst - Money ManagementMany traders only think of the pro ts they can make from a trade, butnever consider the worst eventuality. They are blinded by greed. Thefact is that all the top traders tend to know their downside as soon asthey enter a trade, and decide whether the risk of the trade is worthtaking. Money management is essential for trading success, and by alwaysassuming the worst, you can decide if the risk reward of the trade is rightfor you. As a broker once said to me about trading, “
Always assume the
worst and you wont be disappointed. Things can only get better.”No system makes money all of the time and no top trader does either, soit is important in these losing periods to have strict money management criteria in place to help you preserve your equity as best you can. Money management is, perhaps, more important than your trading method itself. You may have a successful system, but if it loses all your money quickly
and recovers when you have lost your stake, it is of little use. You need to reserve your equity so you can stay in the game longer term. Alwaysdecide if you can take the prospect of the worst eventuality in relation to
your trading capital. Know What Your Edge Is It is a fact that 90% of traders lose money longer term. Your edge is what separates you from them. Any successful trader has something that sets his or her method and personality apart from the majority and enables them to make money when others lose. You need an edge that you can de ne and gives you con dence that you can beat the herd. If you don’t know what your edge is, you don’t have one! Love What You Are Doing Trading is mentally demanding. It’s tough and not all traders are suited to it. To illustrate how tough it can be, I have known several traders commit suicide after taking heavy losses. This is an extreme, but you get the pic-ture of the demands it can put on someone’s personality. As in all walks of life, not everyone is cut out to be a trader. If the market makes you angry, frustrated, or all you can think about is trades you have on and nothing else, then trading is not for you. All the worlds top traders enjoy what they do. They know at the end of the day they will make money, which is the
whole aim of trading in the rst place. They enjoy the challenge and therewards trading can bring, and can handle the stress that is an inevitablepart of trading.
Final Words
Many of the above traits may seem obvious, but the bulk of traders don’tpossess them and that’s why they are doomed to failure. If you want to be successful in trading, you need to be aware of your personality. You
need to know the environment you are working in and decide if trading is right for you. Trading is one of the greatest challenges around and with adequate education and preparation, can yield immense rewards for
those willing to accept the challenge.
