My trading journey began at a tradeshow I attended six years ago. Multiple businesses graced the stage, each giving their promise of a better life and prosperity with the purchase of their course. I was immune to the influence of most presenters, but one caught my eye, and I bought into the financial dream. The course was on trading stock options, and it was going to be my road to freedom. I diligently dove into the lessons, attending all the live training.

After about six months, there was something about it I wasn’t getting, and I didn’t know what it was. I felt disappointed and my interest waned.

A close friend of mine then introduced me to forex, trading of foreign exchange currencies. Forex renewed my desire to trade in the markets. It was even more appealing because it was simpler to understand than stock options and could be traded in smaller amounts. Smaller funds could also be leveraged up to fifty times when trading in the United States. I caught on quickly and studied the strategies of a few successful forex traders. I rode a rollercoaster of wins and losses, wreaking havoc on my subconscious emotions of fear and greed that I didn’t know existed.

Occasionally, I would get off the ride, find a new guru to follow and strategy to try, make some wins, make more losses, and stop trading to avoid losing any more. Then, I would wait a bit and eventually start the cycle all over again. I knew a subconscious block was getting in my way, but I didn’t know what it was. After all, I had made it my mission to erase the thoughts around lack that I grew up hearing daily from my parents. I read multiple books, bought programs, and spent countless hours glued to videos dedicated to abundance thinking and positivity.

Yet, it seemed that there was something deeper getting in my way.

I realized that my Lone Ranger approach didn’t work, and I would need to find a mentor to make progress as a forex trader. I had purchased a yearly membership from Forex Mentor Pro. The company had in-depth training and weekly analysis from the founding profitable Forex traders. In my discouragement from my losses, I didn’t take advantage of the resources available as much as I should have.

When my membership was up for the year, the owner offered me a lifetime membership at a price I couldn’t pass up, so I made the commitment to stick to the program and signed up. The lifetime membership included one-hour sessions with Marc Walton, founder of Forex Mentor Pro and successful Forex trader, and Rich Friesen, founder of Mind Muscles Academy and veteran broker and floor trader.

Since I knew whatever was blocking my success was affecting me subconsciously, I spoke with Rich first. Rich held degrees and training in Clinical Psychology, Philosophy, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. He helped traders use neuroscience, focusing on the brain to impact behavior. I found Rich fascinating in the abundance of wisdom he held. Even though we could have spoken for hours, he brought an awareness to some of my beliefs that didn’t serve me. He helped me realize that I was putting too much emphasis on achieving or failing as a trader.

When I was profitable, I felt confident that I knew what I was doing, and I was closer to my financial freedom dream and the ability to help my aging parents. When I lost, I felt a sense of loss that was more than financial. It was a loss of my dream. Forex trading was intended to be one of my streams of income, not my primary source. Even though I knew this, my desire to achieve was crushed with my losses, no matter how much I tried to keep my emotions out of it.

Mark Michael Lewis, business and relationship coach, stated, “A person’s relationship with money mirrors their relationship to life itself.” When I looked at the rest of my life, I saw how true Mark’s words were. I could see how overachieving and beating myself up with the losses was reflected in other parts of my life.

Rich offered encouraging words toward the end of our conversation. He reminded me that to be a successful trader, I only need to win forty percent of the time. The key is to focus on better entries and fewer trades. He said to trade like it’s a fun game that’s not tied to a deeply important outcome, a dream. Doing this will help take the pressure off when I trade. I won’t get so entrenched in the seesaw of emotion when I profit or lose.

Rich also emphasized that I would need to have more money in my trading account to see the financial gains I want to see in my account. Trading with a small account will not produce the financial gains I wanted to make a difference in my life. I told him that I wanted to successfully trade with a small account to increase my ability to create profit with a larger account. He agreed that my thought process was ideal in theory, but for each increase in the amount of money invested, there is an increase in emotions that go with it, such as fear and greed. Each increase in amount has its own mindset strategy that goes with it. The more you have to gain, the more you have to lose. Shaping the mind is a continuous process to be profitable.

After our call, Rich was gracious enough to send me the link for his group virtual mentoring sessions and access to his trading mindset course. I’m taking part in the resources available and gradually reshaping the subconscious blocks getting in my way. I have spoken with other traders who have some of the same challenges to overcome, so my story is reflected in the mindset of many. Trading techniques can be learned, fundamentals around different economies can be studied, but the most important aspect to master for successful trading is our own mind.

Lori E.

Lori is focusing on the trader mindset. This is avoided by most traders because it is the hardest and most personal issue to develop. But…it is the right hard issue, expanding your trading master’s mindset.