Posts
Hello!
How are you all doing? Firstly, I have to apologize for not updating my blog. Some of you have kindly pestered me for an update so here I am pushing myself to write one.
If you want to know, honestly, I was feeling slightly disappointed in a way. The main reason why this blog was up was because some of my friends have asked me what was forex trading all about and that they are interested in learning how to trade forex. So I churned out a few articles to explain the very basics of forex trading to them AND asked for a response in the form of questions that they have but the very people who have originally pestered me to teach them did not bother to dedicate some time to learn the basics as well as did not bother to send me questions.
Perhaps they have their own reasons, but whatever it is, I'm really not a fan of negative feelings and seek to eliminate such feelings as soon as I can. For those who are into learning, I am looking at perhaps offering some sort of way to be in contact with me for roughly a month so I can somehow guide you through your baby steps. Will let you guys know once I come up with something solid.
Alright, that's enough of complaining ;) Anyway, I really feel like I want to share with you guys a video of a Comment Speech at Stanford by Steve Jobs that I watched recently (if you don't know who Steve Jobs is, click HERE to read about him). You can access the video by clicking HERE. The transcript for his speech is available HERE.
I have listened and watched his speech a couple of times now and I really like it because there were a couple of things that I personally believed in:
1. Things happen for a reason although you may not know why yet
2. Don't shortchange yourself. If you have not found what you love doing, don't settle and keep looking
3. Life is short, we are all gonna die someday. What are the things you would do if you knew you were gonna die soon?
Enjoy his speech and I do hope sharing this will have changed your life in some way, big or small.
-Leo
Oct 30, 2009
Oct 3, 2009
Evaluating Forex Programs
Greetings from Amsterdam!
How is everyone doing with the last assignment? I hope those that has been following my posts would have learned some forex lingo by now. As I am still in the midst of my holiday, this will be a quick post to answer a question from my last posting.
Someone asked me, "Hey Leo, how about this site for trading Forex. http://www.xxxforexxxx.com. I tried the game...just click Buy or Sell according to their so called system".
To begin with, I will repeat that the forex market is a multi trillion dollar industry and it is therefore not surprising to see many related industries i.e. forex signals, forex education, forex mentoring, forex bloggers, forex books, forex robots etc trying to grab a piece of that multi trillion dollar pie. Every single minute, thousands of people get into the forex industry and will surely in one way or another be exposed to the thousands and thousands of companies/individuals trying to capitalize from "newbies" wanting to get rich in the shortest time possible.
Promises of instant success systems, overnight millions and whatever else by the marketing gurus work on people's greed to grab some money off them. Most of the time, many of the people behind these forex related industries ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL FOREX TRADERS THEMSELVES. That said, there are "a few good men" out there but as the Pareto principle states, it's probably 10-20% of the market.
Here are a few pointers that will help you reduce the chances of throwing money down the drain:-
1. Keep your emotions in control
- Many times, the internet marketers work on your emotion. They know you like success without hard work, they know you like to get rich quick, they know you like amazing returns and thousands of other 'key words' so they work up your emotions in their marketing plans. You have to keep your emotions in check while evaluating these programs and tell yourself that you're looking for facts instead of emotional highs.
2. 100% wins and Be an Expert in a Week!
- This is very easy. Any program promising you the above is 99.99% a SCAM! There is no such thing as 100% wins. Even the best traders out there have losses. It is their money management and winning ratio adjustment that keeps them coming out on top. Be very honest with yourself on those promising that you'll be a Forex Trading Superstar in a short period of time. Think about it, could you play the guitar like a rockstar, perform piano in a concert OR take part in the F1 circuit one week, one month or three months after learning it? Being a good and consistent trader takes time and is a continual learning process. Do not be tricked into thinking you could skip the learning journey. Anything that is too good to be true is probably too good to be true! ;)
3. No follow ups
- Your best chance of being successful comes with some form of mentorship, interaction or support. If the program doesn't provide for this, chances are you won't be doing too well with it even if it's a honest one.
4. Forex Robots are BRAINLESS
- Surely you would like the idea of sitting at home and letting robots make money for you while you sleep, eat, drink and be merry. While this is great, it is again too good to be true. The best robots may work for a certain period of time, but no one robot (at least a number of experts and myself have found) will work all the time without human intervention. Ironically, that makes it not so robotic anymore doesn't it? Don't leave your hard earned money to some robot, learn to trade properly and leave your money in your own hands.
5. Look for EVIDENCE of a Successful Track Record
- Check their experience in trading. Read reviews about them. Ask for live statements AND/OR live signals or trial periods. Make sure that these are not simply photoshopped or selective. You will never be 100% sure and that's why trial periods can offer you some time to evaluate.
Lastly, don't hesitate to ask me my opinion. I certainly am not the best trader out there but I have my fair share of experiences in the 'forex related industries'.
Here's to better trading!
-Leo
To begin with, I will repeat that the forex market is a multi trillion dollar industry and it is therefore not surprising to see many related industries i.e. forex signals, forex education, forex mentoring, forex bloggers, forex books, forex robots etc trying to grab a piece of that multi trillion dollar pie. Every single minute, thousands of people get into the forex industry and will surely in one way or another be exposed to the thousands and thousands of companies/individuals trying to capitalize from "newbies" wanting to get rich in the shortest time possible.
Promises of instant success systems, overnight millions and whatever else by the marketing gurus work on people's greed to grab some money off them. Most of the time, many of the people behind these forex related industries ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL FOREX TRADERS THEMSELVES. That said, there are "a few good men" out there but as the Pareto principle states, it's probably 10-20% of the market.
Here are a few pointers that will help you reduce the chances of throwing money down the drain:-
1. Keep your emotions in control
- Many times, the internet marketers work on your emotion. They know you like success without hard work, they know you like to get rich quick, they know you like amazing returns and thousands of other 'key words' so they work up your emotions in their marketing plans. You have to keep your emotions in check while evaluating these programs and tell yourself that you're looking for facts instead of emotional highs.
2. 100% wins and Be an Expert in a Week!
- This is very easy. Any program promising you the above is 99.99% a SCAM! There is no such thing as 100% wins. Even the best traders out there have losses. It is their money management and winning ratio adjustment that keeps them coming out on top. Be very honest with yourself on those promising that you'll be a Forex Trading Superstar in a short period of time. Think about it, could you play the guitar like a rockstar, perform piano in a concert OR take part in the F1 circuit one week, one month or three months after learning it? Being a good and consistent trader takes time and is a continual learning process. Do not be tricked into thinking you could skip the learning journey. Anything that is too good to be true is probably too good to be true! ;)
3. No follow ups
- Your best chance of being successful comes with some form of mentorship, interaction or support. If the program doesn't provide for this, chances are you won't be doing too well with it even if it's a honest one.
4. Forex Robots are BRAINLESS
- Surely you would like the idea of sitting at home and letting robots make money for you while you sleep, eat, drink and be merry. While this is great, it is again too good to be true. The best robots may work for a certain period of time, but no one robot (at least a number of experts and myself have found) will work all the time without human intervention. Ironically, that makes it not so robotic anymore doesn't it? Don't leave your hard earned money to some robot, learn to trade properly and leave your money in your own hands.
5. Look for EVIDENCE of a Successful Track Record
- Check their experience in trading. Read reviews about them. Ask for live statements AND/OR live signals or trial periods. Make sure that these are not simply photoshopped or selective. You will never be 100% sure and that's why trial periods can offer you some time to evaluate.
Lastly, don't hesitate to ask me my opinion. I certainly am not the best trader out there but I have my fair share of experiences in the 'forex related industries'.
Here's to better trading!
-Leo
