What A Busy Two Weeks

What a couple of weeks!

I had been planning on launching a live trading room for some time, and this happened in February. It seemed like a natural ‘next step’ in trading and my wish to help others benefit from the trading lifestyle. But boy, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so challenging!

I trade the 5 minute timeframe, as I’m sure you’re well aware if you’re reading this. It takes a lot of discipline, sometimes fast reactions, and very accurate analysis. These are all things that you develop the ability to do with experience and a dedication to learning (rather than making the same mistake over and over again, as per the majority of people learning to trade)

What did the room reveal? Well, the room brought a whole new set of ‘trading psychology’ hurdles I hadn’t been expecting. I felt a sense of duty to the subscribers – a duty to find them trades, and a duty to look after them. This, ironically, caused me to make mistakes, and showed me a whole new level of stress – all things which are counterproductive to trading.

I worked hard on improving the room from the get-go, and spent countless hours trying to refine, and make it work well for the subscribers. But after two weeks, it just wasn’t to be, and there are a myriad of reasons why I decided this:

The first and most important for me, was that I felt like I was learning on the job somewhat, and I wasn’t prepared to do that. I couldn’t in good conscience move forward, knowing that I wasn’t trading professionally, and was not in the state of mind that is oh so important to trading.  I couldn’t shake that sense of responsibility, and it was always on my mind that other people were relying on me to find trades.

The second reason, was that my results had slipped. Over a two week period, this is nothing in trading, but it was a large red flag for me. I received lots of emails from subscribers telling me they were making money, and lots of them for the first time in their trading career, mainly from the trading plans I laid out for them. However, with the room not performing as I expected, I realised that I was in danger of becoming the very thing I detest in trading – someone who makes their money from things like live rooms, rather than trading. I was not willing to allow myself to go down that route. It was because of the room and that sense of ‘responsibility’ I felt, and therefore the only thing I could change was the room itself.

Essentially, my focus was broken. I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing, and that, for me and the way I trade, just doesn't work. 

It is immensely frustrating, but as I outlined to all subscribers, my integrity comes first and I was unwilling to let that slip. On a note in that regard – thank you to everyone who emailed me (over 80% of subscribers) after I announced the closure of the room. The messages were all positive, so I thank you, and I am also very happy to hear that so many of you came out on top!

Tuck tail and run time? Let failure swallow me up?

I’m not that type of person. I closed the room because I was not providing the level of service I expected from myself. That does not mean I have been defeated in my aim to find new ways to help people succeed in trading!

For now, that means moving forward in a different direction. All of those subscribers are currently receiving morning analysis videos as well as detailed trading plans. I will also outline specific market dynamic trades, as and when they occur. And over the coming weeks, I will be working hard to improve this service.

As I truly believe – Know when to walk away from something, but never give up. If a door closes, another one always opens!

As always, I hope you all have a great trading week!