Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In this page I will put the thoughts that I have used to help me stay in the market. Trading the markets, especially the future’s market, is probably the hardest thing you will ever do. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. You are competing against the world. Everyone else who is playing this game is trying to take your money away from you. The competition is staggering. You will be like David and Goliath. The odds will seem overwhelming, but there is help. Trading involves a staggering amount of money and it can quickly undermine your financial security. Your core beliefs, the hope you have, your self esteem are all tied in some way to your financial security. What I want to attempt to do is give you golden nuggets that you can use to encourage you to keep going. Trading will try your patients and endurance. Your true character will show when the trades don’t go well. I almost have a desire that trading my system will not go easy for you because if your character is not proven, the money this system will give you will quickly evaporate. We have all heard of lives being destroyed when people win the lottery. They were not prepared for the fortune they would have. The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. Take these thoughts as lights that will guide you in dark times. ***** I once read a book about emotions. A couple was sun bathing on a beach that was warmed with a gentle breeze. The seagulls were flying overhead as the waves gentle washes onto the sandy beach. It was a perfect summer day setting by the shore. Their feelings, as they laid on the blanket, were peaceful and tranquil. A feeling of happiness filled their lives at that moment. Some one came up to them and frantically told them that a tidal wave was about to hit this beach and everyone should get out of here as fast as possible. Now for the moment, their apparent circumstance did not change, but with a new belief that a tidal wave was coming, their emotions had change drastically. They were now fearful and scared for their lives. Trading will fill you with fear and greed. One moment you will be excited and confident about your trade. The next moment fear will over come you. The market will go against you and unless you are very discipline with your trading, you will not know what to do. You must control your emotions to be successful with your money. Your first golden nugget: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. What are your beliefs? What do you believe the market can do to you? Can it destroy you? If you lose your money, will it effect your life, make you less successful, or take away your self-esteem. How do you renew your mind? It is a lifetime occupation of replacing the falsehoods that have been put there from your childhood. You need to discover the truth about money as an adult. It is very difficult to determine how many falsehoods you are living with but, the level of your trading success will greatly be influence by the beliefs you have and what you hold to be true. ***** Hope can be a feeling that something desirable is likely to happen. In trading it is the possibility that you will make $10,000 just by making two phone calls to your broker, one to buy and one to sell. It’s so simple. Yet each trade can take your hope from you and cause you to come to despair. Too many loses will make you close your account, not because you are out of money, but because you have become exasperated. How do you keep hope going? When is it foolish dreaming or genuine perseverance? It might be hard to tell the difference but one thing is sure. If you quit you will never make those two $10,000 phone calls. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. How do we get through those times when we are discouraged? You may have heard that you should have faith in God or faith in yourself. Many people apply faith to keep hope alive. There is nothing wrong with this approach. That may be one way for you to develop and strengthen your hope. But there is another side to hope. Suffering is part of the trading game. Every time you take a loss you are suffering. Too much suffering and you will lose hope. But wait! Rejoice in your suffering, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces proven character; and proven character yields hope. And this hope does not disappoint. Your inner strength can come from the very thing that would destroy you. The "suffering" you feel when your stop loss is hit is the very thing that will bring you hope if you see your trading in this light. Proven character is a highly desirable trait and is sought after by all who would achieve their desire. The qualities you have as a person will determine if you can hold on to your hope. ***** I once saw a cartoon where a giraffe was eating leaves off a tree. The tree was higher than the giraffe. He had eaten all the leaves off the lower branches. Now he was stretching his long neck as far as he could up the tree to eat more leaves. It was evident that he would never be able to reach all the leaves on the tree. The tree was too tall. The caption read, “All I want is a little more than I’ll ever get.” This cartoon has a haunting message that portrays one’s attitude towards a necessity of life. We all need money. But he who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. As your account increases so will your desire increase to want more. There is a very thin line that you must not cross. There is a state of mind that makes your trading a force that keeps you from enjoying yourself and all that you do in life. The desire for wealth can enslave you and take away your ability to make choices that enrich your life, not just your account. It is very important to understand this. If you are enslaved by money, your decisions in your trading will be constantly influenced by your master. You will stay in trades too long, wanting more profit. You will trade too many contracts. You will not see the obvious warning signs that a trade is going bad or take the necessary actions in time. Trading can take the enjoyment from your days as you toil under the sun during the few years that you live. You have heard or will come to the realization that life is short. Learn to enjoy what you have, whether it is a little or much. The markets may give you riches and wealth, but it can not empower you to be satisfied with your condition or situation. Keep yourself occupied with the things that bring your heart gladness. Do not allow the markets to become stronger than your inner self.