What to Expect on Your Journey to Profitable Trading

In this episode, we provide you with a layout of what the journey to consistent profitability actually looks like so that you can set your expectations for what lies ahead!   A trading journey is never the first thing a trader really considers..in fact, it’s the end result you crave. The money, the cars, the freedom - that’s what you REALLY want.  But if you don’t know a realistic route to get to your destination, you’ll never make it there.  A large part of performing is about setting realistic expectations, because when they are sky-high, even if you are doing well and making progress as a beginner, you will inevitably be disappointed in comparison to what you expect. So start by releasing all expectations! That’s not to say you shouldn’t be committed and have goals, you absolutely should. But your only expectations right now should be to learn. Think about this, there is a good chance you are looking at trading as a career change opportunity. Now ask yourself, what job are you currently doing it? How long have you been doing it for? What did you sacrifice to get here? As you answer these questions, you’ll begin to realize that trading is no different than any other job. It takes patience and hard work to make meaningful changes and to become amazing at it.

The Reality of Trading

Forget about the marketing promising overnight riches, it doesn’t work. The reality is that it will take you longer to become consistently profitable than you might think.  However, when you do become profitable, you will be able to make way more money than you ever thought possible. The 3 different paths of a trading career:

1. How it’s sold by marketers: instant overnight success – which has worked for 0 successful traders we know
2. Retail reality: how most new traders exit the industry because of mismanaged expectations
3. The TRADEPRO Path: how the journey should look 

What Might Your Journey Look Like?

We've seen a lot of different reality paths, and they are all unique.  The timing might be slightly different, but almost certain that your path will follow a similar trajectory. It’s all about the work, effort, and commitment you put in – which can supercharge the results and learning curve. But typically, from our experience and that of our profitable community members, here is how reality plays out: Month 1: You will be creating a schedule to go through trading education & content, organizing yourself and preparing to embark on this journey.  This month is all about making the decision to commit and put together an action plan. Months 2 to 6: You will be learning, watching trading videos, applying concepts to charts, and gaining experience through screentime. The expectation for profit at this stage should be $0. Months 6 to 12: During this period,  you will be applying your trading strategy and risk management plan with live capital, and you’ll find out it’s more challenging when real money is on the line.  At this point, if you are breaking even or down some money, it’s a normal part of the learning curve.  You are right on track, even if you are losing capital!  That’s the reality of this stage, which is where most traders begin looking for a magic fix.  The truth is, there is no magic fix, it’s about accepting and embracing the fact you are close and you just need to put in more time. Months 12 to 19: You will finally decide to treat this like a business, and put all your learning and experience together to form a bulletproof trading plan that you will follow with diligence, discipline, and patience. Months 19+: You will start making consistent income, and constantly be learning, adjusting, and improving your process.  This phase will last a lifetime, the only thing that will change from this point forward is that you will gain more experience and comfort, which will ultimately lead to more confidence.  You will make more because your confidence will mean you trust yourself to start trading larger position sizes. So that’s what your next 1.5 years could look like. As we said earlier, it’ll take longer than you expect but it can make you way more than you ever imagined! Resources

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