The Path To Stock Market Mastery – What It Takes To Become A Master
What does it take to become successful in the stock market – to be a profitable trader or investor? I love answering this question now because the answer today is a lot more “real” than the answer was 5 years ago. Let me explain.
You see, five years ago any old stock market spruiker could (and did) give you an easy answer. “It’s a bull market!” they would say. “Just jump in and start making money, it’s easy!” Today a new trader has to go through a more rigorous road to stock market mastery, and that’s why I love it. It helps separate the wheat from the chaff.
These steps may not always be pretty, but if you keep them in mind along the path to stock market mastery (or mastering any aspect of your life for that matter), then it can make an often difficult journey just that little bit easier.
1: The Principle Of Favorability - Beginner’s Luck
“Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victors being severely tested” – Paul Cohelo, The Alchemist
When we start something new – whether learning to trade or invest or another venture – we usually find that things initially come easily to us. Maybe we have a run of wins. Maybe we find just the right mentor to guide us through these first steps or get a hot tip that works out. Maybe a group of friends or associates who make things easier for us to get into it.
And we think to ourselves: “Hey, this trading and investing gig isn’t so hard! It won’t be too long before I’m trading for a living, and making a few million on the side!”
It’s the principle of favorability. Beginner’s Luck appears almost everywhere we start a new venture. It is a principle of life to entice us to begin – it lures and cajoles us into starting our path, and gives us fresh enthusiasm to do it with.
But as many of you will know – eventually Beginner’s Luck runs out. And what do we do then? Do we give up? Do we try to beat a path through the darkness? The second part may hold the answer.
2: Trials On Our Path – “The Dip”
“We fail to realize that mastery is not about perfection. It’s about a process, a journey. The master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is the one who is willing to try, and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.” - George Leonard
Eventually our faith will be tested. Things can and often do get difficult on our journey to mastery. And this is when we need to ask ourselves: “Is the effort worth the reward?”
Ideally – if we are smart, we will ask this question even before we start. But at the very least we need to know now. It is a phase called “The Dip” by author Seth Godin – the dip implying that it is a temporary thing, and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
So if we decide the effort is and will be worth the reward, then we must keep going. We must realise that each trial we overcome is only a new lesson, designed to help us on the path to mastery. In fact, each trial now becomes a blessing, because it is teaching us how to be great, how to be better and better.
And if we can make it to the other side of the Dip – there is one final place we can go on our road to mastery.
3: Teach To Learn – The Final Path Of The Master
“There is nothing like writing to force you to think and get your thoughts straight” - Warren Buffett
First you learn, then you earn, then you return. It’s the circle of learning, mentoring, receiving and giving back. And it is amazing at what teaching others can do for your own learning. People will ask you questions you never even thought of. They will test your knowledge. They will demand more of you than you ever could of yourself.
When you teach, you are not only teaching, you are learning. And this is one of the final parts to being or becoming a master.
Read more on Stock Market Mastery: Four Things You Absolutely Must Have Before You Trade Or Invest and Ed Seykota’s Magic Trading System.
What Do You Think? Leave Your Comments Below!
What do you think? Do you think it is worth the effort to become a great trader or investor? How will you make it through the Dip? Are you going through a Dip right now? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
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November 11, 2011
Tags: beginner's luck, master the stock market, stock market mastery, the dip Posted in: Articles On Building Wealth
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