Commit To One Month http://www.netpicks.com/commit-to-a-month/

The excitement. I remember the days of jumping in with both feet before

having a clue about what could happen. When I was about 6, I was on

the dock at my uncles cottage.

It stretched out quite far into the lake which was needed for the boat launch.

The day was sunny, early in the morning and that usually means the

water is calm.

Without any sediment floating in the water, you could see the bottom of the lake at the end of the dock. It looked pretty shallow like I could touch the bottom quite easily. With a laugh, I

jumped in.

The bottom was further than I thought. I started treading fast and yelling for help but kept splashing

water into my mouth which muffled the cries for help. I heard my uncle

yell from the cottage door as my little arms were getting tired.

I was about to go under when I saw one of the ropes used to secure the

boat dangling in the water. Reaching out for it, I managed to pull myself

closer to the dock and keep my head out of the water. Seconds later, I was

safe.

So many dive into trading thinking that if others are doing it, they should be

able to. It "looks" easy.

Really, you enter a trade and get out with a profit or a loss. Right? Seems simple enough. There are so many things that make up a consistently profitable trader that it would take

literally hours upon hours to go through them all.

There is something that you can do to see if the illusion is something you can

handle.

When you trade a mechanical trading system like the ones offered from

Netpicks, everything is pretty much spelled out for you.

http://netpicks.com

If you can follow rules and gain a rudimentary knowledge of the art of

trading, you should do well. With these types of systems, you don't need

the same type of knowledge as someone who trades something like

order flow or gap fills.

They are great for new and experienced traders who take the time

to back test, forward test and really "own" the system.

The problem is they make it look easy. For the most part, it is. It is not

sticking to the rules that puts most traders into the ditch.

Many will see a few days of winners and the next day, start trading real money. They have yet to have the

rules ingrained so following them is a habit.

For example, a trade sets up right at a resistance level...you put your entry x price points above it. You decrease

risk (adjust your stop) as soon as it is required. You know the trade plan like

you do your own birthday.

Human nature however hates to miss opportunity. You have seen the early success and tell yourself "Hey, I could

have made $1000 this week with a real account!" It is easy to get the account set up, sit at your trade desk the next

day and start trading the system. Don't.

Make a commitment to yourself that you will trade an entire month on a demo account or extremely small position sizing. After the month is

over, if you are not net positive after commissions, roll over or spread costs,

you will do another month.

You have to follow the trading rules EXACTLY as laid out.

One miscue and you start over. Over time, executing according to the

rules will become a reflex.

Do you have what it takes to do that?

Do you have what it takes to stick to one simple rule such as "one month, perfect execution and net positive"?

If you can't and the emotions are driving you to trade live and large

before that, they will also drive you into failure. Think of it as a test to see

if you have some of what the successful have.

Take this seriously! You would not shred any amount of money so why

risk it before you have proven to yourself that you can succeed?

How many people will actually do what I have written? My guess is a

small percentage. Those that do, and I speak from experience with myself and others, will find trading to be much more simple (not easy) and

profitable.

Those that don't? Hope you have success with the next shiny object.