Source: Steve Burns.
- Passion for trading: Only passion can fuel the work ethic needed to do all the homework that leads to success.
- Goal-oriented traders succeed: If you know why you are trading and the goals you want to accomplish you may just get there.
- Perseverance: If you never quit only time separates you from success.
- Resiliency: The ability to come back from drawdowns may be the secret to trading success.
- Back testing systems: Doing the historical studies before trading a strategy speeds up the learning curve and side steps a lot of learning through real losses.
- Understanding your edge: Trade only when your edge is present is crucial to out performing the traders that lose money.
- Great traders understand that a winning system has to have either bigger wins than losses or a high winning percentage with equal sized wins and losses.
- Keep losing trades as small as possible is essential for profitable trading along with leaving profitable trades open ended to the most upside possible.
- Flexibility allows a trader to take the signals the market is giving while sticking to the conviction of opinions can lead to huge losses.
- Disciplined use of a trading plan is crucial instead of the ups and downs of making decisions based on emotions.