Friday 14 March 2014

Forex Trading is Easy, People Make It Difficult

I have been trading Forex since 2008 and it never ceases to amaze me how (some) people make it difficult, others try to scam you, and many people are looking for the holy grail.   Others just need some discipline.  Ultimately people make trading Forex more complicated than it is...
 
When I first got into trading I was business coaching a client in Vancouver BC Canada.  I had been an established management consultant for about 15 years and worked with small business to Fortune 100 companies around the world.   While streamlining my client's business we got talking and he mentioned currency trading.   

"Forex Trading is Easy...
People Make It Difficult"
Forex Taurus
 Mr. Gregor (พี่มาก)
 
I had no clue at the time what Forex was and what currency trading was all about.  A friend of mine got into trading stocks and I had always wanted to find out more about it.   My client happened to offer a 1 day seminar, for $1000, and since he was happy with my consulting services offered to let me join for free.

I remember that day clearly.  All eager and excited to learn something new.   Within about 1 hour into that seminar I realized it's not that difficult.  The mystery of bar graphs, candle sticks, swings, placing trades, entry orders, stop losses, take profits, trend lines, moving averages, etc. were revealed to me and opened a new door.  A new opportunity.


At the end of the day I returned home and my girlfriend at the time was eagerly awaiting me.  She wanted to know all about the seminar and what I had learned.  So I broke down the system that I was taught and when I saw a signal I took a trade.  On a demo account of course with play money, but with real live data.  What did I have to lose?  Nothing.  A few minutes go by as I tell her more about my new hobby and my take profit hit.   My first successful trade, 10 Pips, $100 profit, in just a few minutes.  Needless to say that was a life changer.  So were the years that followed.

I spent weeks practicing with play money using a demo account and made 10% return on investment time and time again. PER DAY.   It was almost too easy.  I knew there had to be more to it.  I ended up learning everything I could about Forex, I joined discussion boards, online communities, tried different brokers.  Time and time again I was profitable.   I remember my teacher from the seminar saying that his students often learn more about Forex then him.  He was right.  I had gained so much knowledge that my teacher, who I had kept in touch with, became the student and asked me for my help.

"The Secret to Forex is
that there is no Secret!"

Forex Taurus
 Mr. Gregor (พี่มาก)
 
Then came that first day of trading with real money.   Just a couple thousand in my account, a signing bonus from the broker, and given my track record I figured I'd make $200 per day but was happy to take it easy and make only $100 per day, for now.

What I had trained and studied for did not prepare me for the real world.   My first trade was good, my second was great, and then boom my third trade was a big fat loss.   I couldn't believe it. What happened?   That day was a life lesson.   There is more to trading Forex than the eye meets.  Demo and Real Accounts behave differently.  There are many scams and bad brokers out there.  Boy did I find out the hard way.  But most of all I experienced what I had read about, Trading Psychology.   My ego was crushed and my confidence was shaky.  I started making mistakes.  Doubling up to make up losses.  Changing my trading strategy, my system, on the fly with my real account without testing it in my demo account.  I started losing money, again and again, until I finally went back to the basics and made consistent  profit.  I made everything I lost back and profited $2000 per month. For several months.   On the side.  At the time it was play money for me.  Making about $20,000 per month on average with my consulting, so a few thousand dollars didn't really excite me.   What did excite me was the fact that I could scale my lot sizes, add money to my trading account and trade with more money, thereby making more money.  Of course that isn't as easy as it sounds either.  Trading Psychology, market conditions, and all sorts of problems like to make life interesting when you trade with a lot of money.

What can I say, over the last few years I learned not only how to make successful trades, how to scale into trading from small to large investments, but also how to keep my trading psychology in check all while enjoying a care free lifestyle.

It's not easy as it looks.  Remember the professionals always make it look easy.  Some people say wow, you live the life.  You just trade for a few hours here and there as you feel like it and then do whatever you want all day.   Easy?  Nope.  You have to keep busy, keep your mind going, keep fit, know when to trade, when not.  Sit on your fingers and stay out of the market when it's bad.

 
"Money isn't everything,
but it sure helps a lot!"

Forex Taurus
 Mr. Gregor (พี่มาก)


Lets just say that I have learned my life lessons and am happy to say that I live in Thailand  as of June 2013 where I like the weather, happy go lucky smiley people, and low cost of living.

As a Forex Trader I can pick up anytime and travel.  Go home to Europe.  Visit my adopted second home of Canada, although to be honest, it's too cold there and I have little interest these days.  I stay away from other traders and focus on my trading.  No sense in sharing my trades and over analyzing.  Nobody needs a back seat driver.
 
Occasionally I take on students but I am super selective as I don't have time to waste.  Not that I need the money but to keep busy and for the joy of teaching those that want to learn.  Spending 20+ years in the management consulting field I have always taught, held seminars, and educated others.  At schools, universities, corporations, seminars, etc.  As many as 300 people in a room.   You know it's true what they say, as a teacher or coach you learn more than the student.  I love that.  I learn even now. The market is like life, the only constant is change.   Life changes. The market changes.  You change.  The game changes.


Panya, Phuket Thailand, August 17, 2013"I have learnt a lot from you today.  About Forex and life in general.  I'm inspired.   The $1000 I spent on your one-year-course, I would have paid just for the 2 hours you spent with me."

Panya, Bangkok Thailand, September 2, 2013"I have been trading and your strategy has proven to work very well.  I have been trading my live accounts when time permits and have made money. You might not believe me but i made $11,000 on Aug. 27th by trading 1-5 lots per order and here's the proof (a snap shot from my iPhone). My capital was about $6,000."

Forex Trading Audit

My program is simple, first I evaluate where you are at with my Forex Trading Audit, an intensive 1 hour session that puts you in the hot seat to see where you are at, where you  want to go, and come up with a road map to take you there.  

Never traded?  No Problem, I will give you a crash course and based on your goals will provide you with a roadmap to start trading.

Trading Already?  Successful people know the value of having a coach and in the case of professional athletes, having several.  Lets take your trading to the next level.


If you are serious about taking your trading to the next level then sign up, but only if you meet the following criteria:
  • You are not looking to get rich quick
  • You know that trading comes with a risk
  • You realize that not everyone is cut out to be a trader
  • You tell me why I should take you on as a student
  • You can afford the Forex Trading Audit.  $159. Donated to a local charity in Phuket.
  • You have read my blog.
  • You have no questions, no hesitations.  In other words you are ready to rock!
Only sign up if you are serious.  I used to get far too many annoying emails that ended up in the trash.  You know, the "How much money can I make?"  "Can you guarantee I will make x amount of $? " "How do I know you're not a scam?"   "How much money have you made?"   "I'm not convinced...."  "Can I pay you later?"  "I want to learn more about your program"  "Let me see your trading account" "Lets go for coffee" type of emails that really go no where.    For that reason I have removed the Contact Form feature.  The only question you should have is "have you received my payment..." and you won't have to ask that because Paypal handles receipt of payment and provides me your contact information.

Forex Coaching Programs
You found this page and read it for a reason.  You want to learn to trade or improve your trading with expert guidance.   Due to my busy lifestyle I take on only 1 student every 6 months.  Quite frankly I don't need the money and coach as a hobby.    All coaching programs are custom tailored and entail weekly sessions, over the internet or in person if you are in Phuket Thailand.   Courses start at only $999USD.

Coaching Programs (1hr per week)
 


Forex Taurus
Mr. Gregor (พี่มาก)