Learning to Surf the Waves

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Everyone is capable of learning to trade the Stockmarket, but not everyone will do so for a whole variety of reasons.

They may find it uninteresting and hence just not be prepared to spend the time and effort to learn the intricacies of investment and trading. This is fine. We are all different, and have our likes and dislikes. But every human being has talents and abilities and is capable of learning a very diverse range of skills.

For example, all babies go through a series of stages in their development where they learn to walk and talk. We are encouraged by our parents and we learn to achieve these simple skills with their love and support, even when we fall down. They are the most fundamental skills that we all acquire as we begin our lives, but as we enter preschool, primary and secondary schools it is not long before it becomes evident that each individual has unique abilities that differentiates them from others in their peer group.

Some have superb motor skills and talents that enable them to become top musicians, and sportspeople. Others have artistic or intellectual abilities that enable them to recognise, visualise and create patterns that will be the source of their incomes throughout their lives. Not everyone has the drive and motivation to become a Jack Nicklaus or Greg Norman, or more recently Tiger Woods, but they may become capable golfers that can hold their own with their peers.

I have used sport as an analogy to achieve sucess in the stockmarket and I have chosen surfing, because it is a popular sport in Australia and many counties around the world, and it is all about learning to ride the waves. The stockmarket has its own very special "waves" which are called cycles as the price of shares/stocks rise and fall over time.

There are many thousands of children who learn to surf and ride the waves on surfboards around the world. In this process they have a lot of fun, as they first learn to gain their balance on the board and to ride forward with the wave to the shore. Falling off the board into the water may occcur many times before they master it, but they do master it and go on to learn more skills.

As time goes by they become more attuned to the nature of waves and learn how to read them, to avoid the "dumpers", and to pick the ones that give the best ride. As their skills develop, and bodies strengthen, they learn how to master other challenges thrown up by the sea and the weather patterns that produce rips and poor conditions for surfing. This enables them to look at the weather, and the swells, and know where they have to go to get the best surfing conditions along the coast they begin to know like the back of their hand. There is still a large pool of people who reach this level of expertise, but as they grow older their interests and motivations begin to lead them into new directions that include education and work to provide the incomes needed for thier chosen lifestyle. A small number go on to achieve professional status in the surfing world. Because of the application and persistence they develop their skills to extremely high levels so that they can ride the giant waves that most of us would be afraid to attempt. They learn to recognise the patterns of the swells and the smaller wave patterns that appear on the surface from the wind, and use these perceptual skills to know how to get on the wave and when to exit the wave. They have overcome their fears.

The same thing applies with Share Trading. The prices of the stocks and shares rise and fall in cycles in a similar fashion, and as you gain experience you can learn to read the patterns you see in the price movements. It is the same as learning to surf, but on a mental plane rather than a physical one. You can now be aided by a range of tools, including computers and software that have more recently become the supplements to the traditional sources of books and educational courses, to assist you to recognise these price movement patterns and make your own decisions on whether to buy, sell, or hold your shares.

Anyone who is prepared to devote some time and effort can master the basics and can then progressively build on these skills as they gain experience in investing and trading. If they do this in conjunction with whatever line of work they undertake they can build an investment portfolio that will provide them with another source of income to their "job". Some will do this quickly and reach the situation of "financial freedom", where they can choose to work or not. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for the rest of their lives. They are then in the position that most people only dream about, where they can travel the world, spend their time doing what really interests them, without feeling constrained by a "nine to five job".

Some set out consciously to achieve this. They set very specific goals, and time frames for which to achieve them, and do so very quickly. If you have the desire and motivation to change your life, you can. BUT ONLY IF YOU TAKE THE NECESSARY ACTION.

If you choose not to take this path because it does not interest you, or you are afraid (fear again) of the risk of loss of money that is also fine, because it is not for everyone. You cannot become a successful trader if you cannot cope with making losses. That is the nature of sharetrading. You WILL make losses, the challenge is to control the risk and manage the investments you make so that the losses are smaller than the gains.

Overcoming, or mastering, your FEARS is absolutely fundamental as part of your development in life. It is the same for the surfer who goes out to surf the giant waves for the personal challenge as much as winning in competitions. This is also the SECRET to successful investing and share and option trading.

Some people may call it gambling, but the Casino or Bookmaker, who takes the bets is not gambling, because they control the risk. If they do this correctly they will always win on the percentages. This is the objective of every successful trader. Money Managment and Risk Management are the critical skills necessary for your success in Share/Stock Trading. But it is possible to develop them as you gain experience, and move from being an Investor for the LONG TERM to a Trader in the SHORT TERM.

This has been the path of some of the wealthiest people in the world today. W.D. Gann made a reputation as as sharetrader in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, and more recent names with whom most people are familiar are Warren Buffett, who built Berkshire Hathaway, and George Soros, who has used trading techniques in the Foreign Exchange market. While it is possible to amass huge fortunes, not everyone will. This will have more to do with them and their personal mindset, because it is the mindset of each and everyone of us that shapes our destiny. If you want to change your circumstances, then begin by changing your mindset, and follow your passions with enthusiasm.

People who achieve this are considered remarkable people, but they have all learned "the Secret" that allows them to shape their lives and live a lifestyle that others only dream about. It is my goal to share what I have learned and am now applying in my life to change it to the image I have for the future.

I AM TAKING ACTION. I only wish I was thirty years younger, but it is never too late to change, PROVIDED YOU WANT TO CHANGE. Old dogs can learn new tricks.