1. When you use too much risk, you are the market's puppet. It can manipulate you in any way it wants and take your money in an instant flash.
2. In this business, success means looking at the right information. Playing around with 1-2-3 systems and strategies will get you as far as the unemployment line.
3. Managing your time is as important as any other component in trading. Wasted time better spent on progressive activities usually translates to wasted dollars.
4. Think: When a prop trader on the floor of a major investment bank sits down at his desk, do you think he just turns on his metatrader robot and walks around the city all day?
5. Material on this site and other free websites has been ripped off and rehashed to retail traders for hundreds of dollars at a time. Save your money and start by taking 20 minutes a day to read reputable news sources, googling anything you don't understand.
6. Take the easy ones, and don't do anything stupid in the meantime.
7. Conviction is a derivative of knowledge. If you don't understand why the market is moving in a particular manner, you're missing out. Read the news, absorb information and trade in an informed manner.
8. Stay active. A sore butt and tunnel vision is a surefire way to overtrade.
9. You can do all the technicals you want; all it takes is a couple of news wires to blow everything to pieces.
10. If you are going to buy something to help you get ahead, only look at reputable providers of information in order to make informed decisions.
11. Think of the number of people that have read a book like “The Art of War” over the years. Now think of the number of people that even come close to applying any of the advice written throughout. The only ones that do have working on their craft for a very long time.
12. Worry about your trades, not your bottom line.
13. If the only way for you you to get ahead is by using highly excessive risk, it is time to start doubting your grip of reality.
14. Get a live news feed that follows Reuters. Every single professional trader on the planet has one. If your position gets blown out because of random comments by a government official, it is your own fault for not being prepared.
15. Losses are as natural as waking up everyday. You wouldn't want to wake up to the sound of a 125 decibel rock concert, nor would you want to take a 1,250 pip loss.
16. If you think you fall into “that” pool of quitting your job and trading full time, you probably need another 3 – 5 years of experience.
17. If you can’t stay in trades despite high levels of conviction, chances are your risk needs to be taken down. Most retail day traders could easily afford a 60-80% cutback in position sizing.
18. If it looks too difficult, then you should probably be reading it.
19. A news feed will tell you where price is going to go. A chart will tell you where price has been.