As I mentioned in today’s members email; I was a volunteer in yesterdays Lanzarote Iron Man. As a member of the “doping control team” I got to meet and chaperone the winner, Belgian, Bert Jammear.

Unfortunately as Bert crossed the finish line and passed into my care, he collapsed ! Not surprising considering he had just won (for the second consecutive year)  the most gruelling triathlon in the world.

The race is a gruelling 3.6km swim, followed by a 180 km cycle race and finally a 42 km marathon. All of this takes place in 75 degrees sunshine. Bert won in just under 9 hours. He was carried to the medical area, put on a drip and promptly fell asleep. I had to stay within a metre of him until he gave his sample.

After an hour or so he came round sufficiently well enough to talk to the press. As he had won the race last year their initial questions were along the lines of that “why had this years race been so hard when he had done it before.”

He explained that some of the other competitors were running so well and getting closer to him that he had pushed himself too hard. In the last 5km (3.5 miles) he kept closing his eyes to close out the pain and the crowd and somehow managed to keep going. He said he had never had to dig so deep and used reserves of strength that he didn’t know he had.  I can confirm how little strength he had left, he couldn’t lift a bottle of water !

I coach kids soccer and need to get a copy of the interview for my players. I am a 100% believer that the people who succeed in life are not necessarily that much better than their nearest competitors,
but that ITS THEIR MENTAL STRENGTH that turns then into winners.

The mental strength required to succeed in forex is huge.

You need to have rules to succeed in forex but the hardest part is to stick to them.

I struggle every single day to control my emotions whilst trading forex.

You need to;

  • Avoid the temptation to dive into a trade that has already started
  • Avoid the desire to dive straight back into a trade that has gone against you (revenge trading)
  • Avoid doing too many trades (over trading)
  • Avoid breaking your own rules
  • Know when to walk away
  • etc, etc etc

One of my members has just e mailed me to say that he lost $10k last month. This is not picking on him, I have done the same stupid things. But there is no way that any of us should be losing this kind of money, especially not in such a short space of time.

The truth is that if things start to go wrong, STOP. You do not have to trade. Recognise that forex is addictive and devise ways to deal with it. A good rule to follow alongside money management is the “2 losses and quit for the day rule.”

If you are only trading 2/3% of your bank per trade (see the money management post) and you lose 2 trades per day and then stop, you can’t possibly lose more than a few grand in a week. If you get to wednesday and you have lots 6 trades in a row then common sense says stop. Go back to the drawing board and tweak or change your system on a demo account.

Forex is one of the most challenging undertakings you can make. We are constantly bombarded with information that everyone else is making a fortune.

  • Forex is addictive.
  • Forex is very stressful.
  • Forex is not easy. It is easy to lose a great deal of money.
  • Your wife/family/friends don’t understand it, so you either don’t tell them what you are doing or have to put up with them telling you that you are mad.
  • Tip, surround yourself with positive people. Avoid negativity in all its forms.

To win at forex you need to find a system that works for you* You must demo trade this system until you feel confident enough to trade live. When you take those 1st tentative steps with a live account, go micro account. There are micro accounts now where you can trade cents per pip.

Remember, as I have repeatedly stated before, you can get rich at forex, SLOWLY. Stop trying to get rich quick. It doesn’t work. 95% will lose if you try to rush it. Start small. Only put a few $1000 maximum with a broker to start. I never cease to be amazed by how many people say they are going to start with a $10.000 account. Why ? There is no need. If you screw up you risk losing the lot.

* If you are struggling to find systems that work, the best forex product i ever bought is being relaunched in june. It has dozens of working systems to choose from. I have spent $7500+ on forex products. This one cost $50 !! and it is “simply the best” I will advise you by email the week before it is relaunched. I have been writing articles for the owner and he has said i can offer it to my follower a little earlier than the rest. Make sure you have filled in the email box top left to receive updates. Good luck with your trading, marc

Want more of this? See these posts:

  • Forex Money Management
  • Risk Reward in Forex
  • Forex Advice
  • Free Forex Analysis for the week ahead 8th November 2009
  • LMT Forex Formula Example