Some thoughts I’m having about how to succeed in trading that I trust help and serve your trading journey…

1. Consistency matters more than talent… I kept showing up no matter what, so I develop ‘talent’,  which is really me working for years to get great at this one thing.

2. Feedback from a trader who is ahead of you on this journey is gold, so I shut up and accept all of it with gratitude… There are actually people who care enough to help me correct my faulty trajectory.. appreciate them especially when the feedback is not what you want to hear!

3. Whinging has to be limited to 1 or 2 minutes and then get back to building something that you love… I am a fairly negative person, so I’ve learned to focus on what’s working and what works, rather than all the things that aren’t how I want them.

4. If you can’t measure and analyze your trading performance, you are not a fully functioning trader… So, I got great at performance metrics, and I still search for traders I respect to study their trading and thinking strategies. I do this until I become great at it (never), and I love it. Because I see how many traders have to quit, broke, it seems the obvious thing to do.

5. Study. I still study. I study systems. I study patterns. I study thinking. I study strategies. I study myself. Over and over again. There’s no magic, just learned competence.

6. Think big… I set my sights on ambitious goals, not just in trading, anywhere in my life, and study and take tiny steps to make them reality.

7. Mediocre results come when we focus on ‘getting it right’… I never wanted mediocrity. I want excellence. So, if the majority of traders are worrying about avoiding mistakes, looking good to others, and never being wrong… I trained myself to not worry about that stuff. I changed my emotional soup, my values, my beliefs so that making mistakes meant progress, and that if someone judged me, it said more about them than me, that the only way to learn it is to lean in and push through no matter how painful.

8. Support others; champion others; give to others… So easy to be a selfish, self-involved superwanker. The world doesn’t need more of them, so don’t be that.

9. Be loyal. When someone makes a mistake, stick by them. We have all stuffed up.

We’re only going as far as our efforts. We can’t get great results with bullshit excuses.

We aren’t fooling anyone hiding and delaying our epic.

No one will do it for you. No one will come and rescue you, even if you are homeless on the streets. Nothing happens until you make it happen.

Blaming delays success and hurts someone, even if it’s only yourself.

There’s always a way.

Not a complete list of my focus, but hopefully gives you an insight into what it takes..

What’s one thing you’ve learned has helped you succeed?

Mandi Rafsendjani

Your Performance & Mindset Coach, High Performance Trading