After talking to hundreds of traders over the years, there are really only three things that separate the successful traders from the unsuccessful ones. Like most things that work well in trading, these three things are very simple.

Note that I said simple, not easy. 

So if you are still searching for consistently profitable trading, then it is likely that you need to improve in one of these key areas.

The Right Trading System

I’m not talking about a trading system that makes the most money.

All successful traders have found a trading system or systems that match their unique personality.

That could mean a high win rate (but low R multiple) trend following system, or it could be low win rate (but high R multiple) countertrend system.

…or whatever. There are so many ways to trade successfully.

But the key is to find trading systems that work for you.

How do you do that? Well, it boils down to figuring out the following:

1. Are you more of a fundamental trader, technical trader, or a little of both?
2. If you are a technical trader, are you a breakout, trend or countertrend trader?
3. What is your ideal trading timeframe? Is it day, swing or position trading?
4. What is your overall risk tolerance?

As soon as you can confidently answer at least three of those questions, then the number of trading systems that would match your personality drops significantly. This makes it much easier to find a trading system match.

Action Step

If you haven’t downloaded my free book on how to pick the right trading system for you, then I would highly recommend that you go here and download it before you continue reading this post.

It will give you more details on how to figure out the best trading system for you.

An Upgraded Mindset

Yes, upgraded.

I have not heard of any successful traders, who were successful from day one.

Successful traders are made, not born.

We have to work on our mindsets in order to withstand the unique challenges of trading.

The right trading mindset consists of several different components:

• Perseverance
• Ability to put in regular work
• Being able to withstand drawdowns
• Not getting too excited when a trade goes your way
• Following your trading plan

…to name a few.

You probably need to work on one or more of these traits (like all traders), so here's how to get started…

Action Step

In order to upgrade your mindset, you need to understand your current weaknesses. This might take a little longer than you may think because your weaknesses may be hard to figure out.

As I have worked on my own weaknesses and watched others do the same, one thing is very apparent. A majority of our bad habits, neuroses and insecurities, come from events in our childhoods.

We may think that we have all grown up to be well adjusted adults. But from what I have seen, nothing is further from the truth.

Most of us still have mental weaknesses that trading will expose in a second. 

So try to figure out where your trading mistakes are coming from.

• Is it from bad habits that you picked up as a kid?
• Is it from a traumatic experience that happened in middle school?

Many of these events lurk in our subconscious, locked away from our daily awareness. The easiest way to start exposing these subconscious thoughts is to start a daily journal.

You could write it in Evernote, but studies show that you engage more of your brain when you put pen to paper. Whichever you prefer, just start doing it.

Every day, write down your feelings about events during the day. Also write down your dreams. As you review your journal at the end of the week, you will start to see some patterns emerge.

This will help you understand why you do some of the things that you do.

…or maybe you already know what you are doing wrong, but feel helpless to fix it.

Once you identify the behavior that you want to correct, then seek out people, tools and courses that can help you fix your behavior. Here is a short list of resources I recommend.

• The You Get What You Trade For Course (inside the Naked Forex Forum)
• Inner Talk subliminal recordings
• The Power of Habit book

Talking to a friend about your challenges or seeking help from a professional can also provide another perspective. Keep working at it until you figure it out.

It's not easy, but the rewards are tremendous!

A Community of Like-Minded Individuals

Finally, many successful traders have joined a community that helped them achieve their success. Sometimes, that community was just one other person.

I know a few traders who have figured it out totally on their own.

But most traders have benefited from being in the right group. You can call it the mastermind effect or group flow.

Finding the right trading group or buddy can help you with:

• Education: A good community can help you learn faster because there are more knowledgable people in the group. It's like when elite athletes train with other elite athletes to get better at their sport. You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with, so surround carefully.
• Identifying signals: If you are in a group that trades the same systems, then you can help each other spot trading opportunities. This can prevent you from missing those big trades. A group can also help you stay away from bad trades.
• Moral support: When you aren't trading well, a good community can keep you positive and prevent you from revenge trading.

If you don't find a compatible trading buddy or group on the first try, don't get discouraged. Keep working at it.

Here’s how I would recommend getting started…

Action Step

If you would like to reap the benefits of a trading community, there are a couple of ways that you can go about it. Some people prefer to work with one or two people, while others like the social interaction of a larger group.

There is no right or wrong answer. If you aren't sure what is the best for you, try both and see how you like them.

Find a Trading Buddy

I have personally found a trading buddy to be a HUGE help. This person helps keep you accountable and you can bounce trading ideas off each other.

It can be tough to find the right person however, and you may need to try out several different people before you find a good match. To find a trading buddy, you can go to a conference or talk to other traders in the trading courses you have purchased.

Based on my experience, here are some things that you should look for in a trading buddy:

• In a similar timezone: It can work if you are in very different timezones, but it is much easier to schedule conversations if you are in a similar timezone and have similar work schedules.
• Mutual respect: You must respect each other or your arrangement will fail. You must respect the other person's time and stay accountable. Be the person you want to work with and you will attract similar types of people.
• Similar trading knowledge level: If you know a lot about trading and the other person doesn’t, then you will always be waiting for them to catch up. It works best when you have a similar level of knowledge.
• Different strengths and weaknesses: It helps a lot when your strengths are their weaknesses and vice versa. This allows one person to be the “expert” and coach the other.
• Dedication: Is this person committed to learning how to trade or are they just “trying it out?” You want to make sure that your trading buddy is dedicated to learning how to trade. There are no guarantees of course, but the more dedicated the person is, the better.

Find a Trading Community

I would recommend seeking out private online communities where there is a specific focus and it is moderated by a team that you trust.

That means that you should stay off any of the big Forex forums out there like BabyPips or Forex Factory. There are always a few idiots on those forums that bring the level of the forum down to third grade name calling.

There are many private communities out there, so do some searching and find something that appeals to you.

If you need some help getting started, here are a few resources that might work.

First, I would recommend our free Facebook group. If you want to learn how to test and develop a trading system, then our paid Forex Trading Strategy Development Course can help too.

Another one of the best paid forums out there is the Naked Forex Now Community. The reason I always recommend it is because you get access to so many resources, for one low monthly price.

Walter also does a great job of highlighting other successful strategies from people in the group, not only his own. Everyone in the group is cool and they try to help each other out.

You can also join a Meetup group in your area.

Again, there are many others out there.

So do your research and find the one that you like.

Conclusion

Although these three keys to trading success may seem simple enough to take advantage of, they can be quite hard to get right. But now that you understand their importance, it's time to get to get to work.

Follow the action steps in each of the sections above and you will be on your way to following in the footsteps of successful traders before you. It takes hard work and dedication to succeed at trading.

But so does anything worthwhile in life. 

Keep going…

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The post 3 Things Successful Traders Have in Common appeared first on Trading Heroes.

I received an email from Bryan last week, asking how to go about connecting with trading mentors and other traders online.  Great question!

So I started typing up a response, but as soon as I finished the first two sentences, I realized that the email would be a really (really) long and I was better off creating a blog post.

I've actually been thinking of writing this post for awhile now and I'm glad that Bryan provided the encouragement for me to finally do it.   In this post, you will learn the ins and outs of connecting with people online and how to use the major social networks to form meaningful relationships to help improve your trading and enrich your life.

Why You Should Connect

“No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.”

– John Donne

By nature, trading is a very solitary endeavor and it is difficult to find people in your everyday life who are serious about trading.  Sure, a lot of people go through their “trading phase” on their way through other opportunities such as no-money-down real estate, network marketing and travel clubs.  I call opportunities in which you only care about the money (but do not love), Green Fairies.

Finding serious traders takes some work, but your trading success depends on it.  You might even be able to find a mentor (or two) online.  Lynette Allen was able to find several people who were willing to help her out and ultimately led to her trading full time.

Although succeeding on your own can be done, it is significantly more difficult.  One example of someone who succeeded without a mentor is Adam Jowett from Australia.  He mentions in the interview that it would have helped to have a mentor.

Connecting with other traders not only gives you access to different trading strategies, but it also provides moral support and inspiration, which I believe are more important than any trading system.

No man is an island.

Find some of my favorite FX people to follow on Twitter here.

Overall Principles

Somehow people think that online friendships are different from offline friendships because you have never met the person before.  It is true that they are different types of friendships, but I feel that online friendships can be just as deep, if not deeper than offline friendships.

The main reason is that if you connect online, you are communicating with the other person because you have a common interest.  In person, you may hang out with someone just because you work with them or you are their neighbor, but not necessarily because you share any interests.

Through personal experience and from hearing from others who have a lot of online friends, you can become really good friends with a person just through Twitter, for example.  And most of the time, you will find that the person is almost exactly the same offline as they are online.

So value the connections that you make online just as you would any other offline friendship.  Treat people online the same way that you would treat them in real life.

To put it more bluntly…Don't Be A Douchebag (DBAD).

Twitter

Let me start with Twitter because it can be the hardest to grasp if you have never used it before.  If you don't get it, don't worry…hardly anyone gets it on the first two tries.  It actually took me three tries to finally figure it out.

But once you understand how it works, I feel that it is the most powerful connection platform in the world.  Think of it as online, public text messaging.  These text messages are called Tweets and are limited to 140 characters…short and sweet.

When you follow someone, you see their Tweets in your stream.  You can then share their Tweet with the people who follow you, you can reply to their Tweet or you can just read the Tweet and do nothing.

To get people to follow you, send out Tweets that are useful or funny.  If you don't care about having followers, then just follow others.  But the more people that follow you, the better.  That gives you more opportunities to connect with other traders.

Even if you are not interested in Twitter, read through this section because a lot of the concepts will be referenced in later sections.  That also gives me time to try to convince you to use it. 

Why would you want to use Twitter?  Two primary reasons…

• To get information.  People on Twitter are always sharing content that they find interesting and you can find a lot of stuff that can help your trading.
• To interact.  You can respond to their Tweets and actually have a conversation with them online.

Starting a conversation with someone might be hard or intimidating.  Here are a few ways to break the ice:

• Share their tweets.  If you “retweet” their tweets they usually appreciate it and will say thanks.  Remember, just like in real life, you are not doing it because you want something from them later.  You are doing it because you genuinely think that they shared something cool.  Here is an example when I retweeted something from Raghee Horner:
• Say something funny.  I've found that this is the most effective method for breaking the ice.  99% of people out there have a sense of humor and if you can make them laugh, it is a great way to get a conversation started.   Just be careful not to be too over the top on the first try, unless you understand their sense of humor.  Some people might not get your sense of humor and could be offended.  Here is a wisecrack that led to Casey Stubbs writing a guest post for Trading Heroes.
• Help them out.  Maybe they have a problem that you could help with.  It might not even be trading related.  If you know a lot about wine and they are looking for a good recommendation, by all means let them know what you think.

Don't know where to start?  Follow Trading Heroes on Twitter and see who I follow.  That will give you some ideas.

If you are not sure if you want to follow someone, you can just follow them for a couple of weeks to see if you like their Tweets.  If not, you can just unfollow them…easy.

Get started with Twitter by clicking here

Facebook

You can follow individual people or their page on Facebook.  Either one is good, the same principles apply.

If they are a forex educator and they have a page, Like their page and you will see their updates in your news stream.  Just like with Twitter, share information that you find useful and comment on posts that you like.  Spread the good karma and help others who also comment on that page.

Remember DBAD?  Don't post anything on their page that promotes you or tries to get stuff for free.  Be cool and just make some friends.

We would love to meet you on the Trading Heroes Facebook Page.

Also try joining some groups related to trading.  Here is a lot of spam on some of those groups, but some of them are worthwhile.  Check them out.

If they don't have a page dedicated to trading, then it might be a little tougher to connect with them on Facebook.  Send them a friend request, follow them and see where it goes from there.

Not on Facebook yet? Check it out here

Blogs

Do a Google search and find blogs that are related to trading.  When you are on Twitter, look at the profiles of people and see if they have a blog.  Ask others what their favorite trading blogs are.

When you find these blogs, the best way to get started is to comment on one of their blog posts.  Again, don't just comment for the sake of commenting.  Share an experience, help another commenter or contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.

Blasting the blogger with 100 questions in the beginning or being annoying is a great way to get banned or at least ignored.  Bee cool and once you develop a rapport with the blogger, then you can start to ask questions or get their opinion on things.

You might even want to start your own blog.  I have found that it is a great way for other traders to find you…just like you found me.   

OK, OK, here are a few blogs to get you started.

Google+

G+ is not used by as many people as Facebook, but the people who use it are usually pretty serious users.  This means you will find less cat pictures than on Facebook…at least for now.

Google+ is all about Circles.  You can add people or pages to your Circles and see what these people post.  The primary benefit of Google+ is that it is tightly integrated into Google search and this can help you discover other great trading websites.

Again, just like with Twitter or Facebook…be cool, make friends, comment and reshare the good stuff.  Want to see the traders who are in my circles?  Check them out here.

Get started with Google+ here

How To Easily Manage Your Social Media Accounts

Before we move on to other ways to connect with traders, let me give you a quick tip on managing all of your accounts.   It can be a pain to constantly log into your different social media accounts and that alone can discourage you from making friends with traders online.

I personally use Hootsuite and I love it.  If you have 5 accounts or less, Hootsuite is free forever and it works great.  I also have it on my iPhone and I know when someone mentions me or I get a direct message.  That makes easy to stay on top of a conversation and respond in a reasonable amount of time.

Get Hootsuite for free to manage your social media accounts

Trader Communities

There are some other trader communities out there that you might want to check out.  My only issue with these communities is that you have to filter through a lot of crap to find the good stuff.  But if you are willing to put in some time, you can find some great people.

Here is where I recommend you start:

• Baby Pips
• Forex Factory
• Traddr
• Currensee
• MyFxBook

Just like on the previous platforms, strike up a conversation and see where it goes from there.  The great thing about some of these websites like MyFxBook is that you can actually see what a person is trading and their results.

Meetup

This one is slightly different from the others in that you will actually be meeting people in real life, but it is a website that allows you to find different interest groups online.  It is usually free or low cost to go to these meetups.

Don't see a kick ass trading group in your area yet?  Go start one!  It costs a little bit of money to organize one, but you can ask for donations to subsidize the fees and the connections you form can be invaluable.

Sign up for free at Meetup.com

Conclusion

Now you have no excuse for not being able to find other traders online.  Just get out there and make some friends!  Once you get started, it is a lot of fun.

Have you found a lot of trading friends online?  Or are most of your in-person friends traders?  Leave a comment below and let me know, I'm interested to find out.

The post How To Connect With Trading Mentors And Friends Online Via Twitter, Facebook, Blogs And More appeared first on Trading Heroes.