Strategy
What is a strategy, and why must a trader have one? In recent articles, we discussed this matter, but as a brief reminder, planning a strategy for trading is the most essential part of being a trader. It’s the only way to prove you truly know what you are doing. A strategy involves setting goals and aligning every action to achieve them. It’s about adjusting your mindset and attitudes to the predictable patterns that appear in the market. A strategy means having a plan and maintaining discipline to execute it. It provides stability, reduces confusion, and makes difficult tasks easier. Ideally, it aligns with your personality, temperament, and the requirements of your goals.
When discussing the specific actions and reactions needed to implement a particular strategy, there are numerous instructions we must take seriously and commit to following. However, when setting goals, which come before the strategy, only two factors matter: learning and earning. But, what should our goals be for learning and earning? This is the subject of our current article.
Goal
Learning
Regarding learning, the most critical thing to remember until the last day of your trading career is that you must be ready to unlearn old habits and correct bad practices at any time, regardless of your level of expertise. For retail traders, this often involves mimicking what professionals do and understanding the reasoning behind their actions. For professional traders, it’s about maintaining a flexible mindset that adapts to market changes (depending on the timeframe they trade). A strategy that works today may not work perfectly tomorrow but could be effective again later.
The second aspect of learning is persistence. Learning is a journey, not a race. Gradually build the ability to follow procedures and courses precisely, and success will be your reward. Experience cannot be found in books—it requires months and years of effort, often in the face of discouragement, to acquire it bit by bit. Proceed slowly, safely, cautiously, and conservatively to accumulate wealth and knowledge. But, to stay in the game, we first need a shift in our mentality about success in the market. While financial achievement is satisfying, if trading is to be a lifelong pursuit, we should view it not as labor but as joy. If you can’t find enough enjoyment in what you do in the market—from losses to wins—it’s impossible to last until the end of the journey. Only perseverance brings understanding and ultimate success. Be cautious of any tendency to become faint-hearted, seek shortcuts, or succumb to greed. It’s not what you make that counts, but what you keep.
Earning
The other part of setting goals is earning. That’s the point of every trade: to gain profit. However, this expectation must be reasonable and scientific. Trading goals should be based on average points, not dollars. The dollars will follow quickly enough if you consistently gain more points than you lose. In this sense, success is achieving stable profits, and getting rich is the result of that process.
A trader should aim for a consistent return on capital—20% to 45% or more per annum is not an unreasonable goal. Avoid the desire to be known as a big risk-taker, which only inflates your ego. Suppress any anxiety to make a lot of money. Overexpectation leads to impatience, overtrading, and, ultimately, failure.
True satisfaction lies not in the amount of money but in the skill and efficiency of your operations. As Richard Wyckoff said, “An expert is a man who can spot the top or the bottom of the swing in the majority of instances.” Persistent losses are evidence of poor judgment, bad technique, or both.
However, focusing solely on average points is not enough for setting goals. Staying in the game requires more. You must have motivation for earning points. Even if your core value is making more money, ask yourself: What would you do with more money? What are you seeking? Or, conversely, what pain do you want to avoid? Use these answers as a mascot or icon, something visible to remind you. That’s the source of your actions for being a consistent trader. Think about a vision. Use the gap between your vision and current reality to generate energy for change.
As the final goal of earning, your overall focus should be on investing, not just speculating. No matter your age, the number of years a person can operate successfully is limited, so allocate money into investment channels. Trade and make money so you can invest in safe and profitable funds that grow in value rapidly.
Conclusion
In the end, trading is more than just making money—it’s about mastering yourself and the market. A strong strategy gives you direction, while goals for learning and earning keep you grounded and motivated. Embrace the process with patience and persistence, and let your vision of success fuel every step. By building habits of discipline, staying open to change, and focusing on long-term growth, you will not only survive the market but thrive in it. Trade with purpose, invest with wisdom, and let your journey be one of joy and achievement.