Trading mentors are key to being successful. As with anything you do in life, the beginning part is always the hardest. This is known as the learning curve, the part where you find out what works and what doesn’t work. You discover easier ways of doing it by going through the often difficult process and the more hours you spend doing it, the more experienced you get at it.
It’s all well and good to spend the thousands of hours necessary to master something, but there is an easier way to speed up that process: learning from someone who is already a master at it.
Let’s explore 5 ways a trading mentor can help you become a professional, far sooner than you think.
They take you through the necessary steps
Because the world of trading can appear daunting, considering the amount of information available out there, knowing where to start and what to start can be very confusing. The right mentor knows the steps to take with you and how to guide you on said steps. They will give you the information in a way that’s easier to digest, making the process much easier.
“Like anything in life, having a dutiful teacher can help you achieve relative success in any subject or field,” said Matt Choi, founder of Certus Trading, where he is also a trading mentor. Matt Choi is a successful professional trader with over 16 years of experience trading the markets. “ I had a mentor in George Fontanills, who traded long-term and medium-term but also did day trading. He taught me some very useful skills that would become the foundation of my personal trading style. He was the first person to tell me that I wasn’t cut out for day trading or long-term investment – having that information was vital to my success.”
Providing the best information
As there is a vast amount of information out there, learning everything will not only be a waste of time, but it’s also effectively pointless. Not all information is going to make you money, which is why the best mentors know and know how to tailor it to your unique style. They will only concentrate on providing the best information that will suit your needs. The information which will get you results, which in this case is profit. There is no point in learning an encyclopedia of Elliot Wave patterns, Fibonacci numbers, and Time Cycles if it’s not going to benefit you. Your trading mentor should know and be able to provide you with the vital information that will get you on the right track to developing your own personal trading style.
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing,” said acclaimed trader Warren Buffet. Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and is notorious for his knowledge of the art of trading.
Help you make sense of everything
Your mentor should be able to help you make more sense of all the information you’re receiving through education. You’ll learn things that may be confusing at first, but your mentor will help you see where you’re going wrong and explain it in a clear and concise way. Being confused and being left alone to untangle the confusion will leave you in a bigger mess than when you initially started. Have someone there to guide you through the process and make things easier for you.
Provide more support as you improve
Your mentor should be able to take you higher as you continue to learn. You can’t remain on the same level forever, so they can be there to help you progress to more advanced levels once they see you’ve fulfilled your potential in certain areas. Jumping straight to the top could be detrimental to your learning, so having a mentor will help make sure you advance once they are certain you’re ready to take the next steps.
Ongoing support
A trading mentor isn’t just there to teach you what you need to know only to leave you once you get there. They should be there continuously because the learning doesn’t stop when you have the information. That is actually just the beginning and the real learning starts when you have to start applying that information in the real world. The ongoing support you will receive from a good mentor will not only help you improve your expertise, but it will also help you learn more about yourself and your unique trading style. You’ll learn where you’re going wrong, where you’re doing things right, and how to handle your emotions while trading.
Think of a mentor as a support and someone who will provide you with the guidance necessary to get to where you want to go.
