Hey there! My name is Nate and I write for WOLF Financial. If you enjoy learning about trading, I guarantee you’ll also enjoy my content on 𝕏 @tradernatehere. Thanks for reading!

This service is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal, tax, accounting or investment advice. These are my opinions and observations only. I am not a financial advisor.

Consistency is something we should all strive for. It leads to success.

As a trader, there are many obstacles that sometimes feel like personal attacks. It can feel as if none of your hard work or long nights of planning matter.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Overcoming these impediments is the first step towards consistency and ultimate success as a trader.

This week I have highlighted four of what I have found to be the biggest hurdles traders face and ways you can overcome them.

I think it is important to also note, these challenges apply to more than trading.

Let’s get into it!

Lack of Capital

If you are new to trading it is wise to start with a relatively small amount of capital. There is no need to risk large sums of money while you are still learning the basics.

This is why many new traders face the same problem of a lack of capital, or feeling like there is a lack of cash being traded.

What do I mean by this?

When I first started, I would get frustrated by the limited number of trades I was able to make. I wanted to add more and more cash to the account.

I knew I was learning and the results were showing as much, so it didn’t make sense to risk more capital, but the urge was there.

I would constantly be in a position of running out of cash to trade for the day (because I trade a cash account) followed by what I thought were great trades that I was missing out on.

This frustration started to lead to taking larger trades in an attempt to make big gains quickly to level up the account.

In other words, I was tempted to ignore risk management and my trading plans.

And that is exactly what I did and failed because of it.

I learned a valuable lesson through all of it.

There is no fast track for taking your account from small to big. Skilled trading and discipline is what gets you to the next level.

Fear of Failure

That’s great, but what if you fail?

I have news for you. You are going to fail many times at first.

Maybe you are unlike every other trader I have ever met and you will make huge profits right from the start, never looking back.

My money is on failure. Hate to say it, but that is how everyone learns the trading game.

You learn from your mistakes and if you are really smart, you learn from the mistakes of others.

Do not fear failure, embrace it. Take it all in like a warm cup of coffee in the morning, full of fresh thoughts and realization.

Then learn from every mistake. If you are honest with yourself, this will accelerate your learning curve faster than anything else.

I would guess that the majority of traders that fail to find success are not honest with themselves about their mistakes and they don’t learn from them.

Finding friends with similar interests and brutal honesty might be the best way to combat the fear of failure. This is why you see so many trading communities.

Be honest with yourself, be ready for failed trades, and build off of them.

Burnout

Another reason you see a lot of great communities in the trading world is the fact that trading can be a lonely venture.

After all, it is just you and the price action. Those screens can get pretty cold and stale to look at.

There is also a lot of time commitment inherent with becoming a successful trader. Your days can feel disrupted, especially if you are on a losing streak of any kind.

To avoid burnout there are a number of simple and somewhat obvious things you can do that most of us simply don’t do.

I like to be intentional about getting away from the “trading desk" and stock market information.

Give your brain a break.

It is easy to get completely consumed by trading and there is no doubt it will impact your mood some days. You must find ways to decompress.

If you step away purposefully, dedicate time and thought to other things in life that interest you, I guarantee you will benefit from it in multiple ways.

There is something about stepping away that allows for a bit of a reset. I don’t know, maybe your subconscious uses the time to work some sort of magic.

I do know that many times I come back with a fresh perspective and see mistakes I did not catch previously.

One last note on burnout. My trading profits increased when I decreased the amount of time I spent trading and I have heard the same for others.

Something to consider.

Time Management

Balancing trading with a full-time job, writing a newsletter, writing a book, hosting Spaces, livestreaming trade ideas and chart reviews, and spending time with a family of four is a major undertaking.

At least whenever I mention that I am doing all of this, that is what I’m told.

To be honest, I did not realize everything I had going on. I was just doing what I do when one day I decided to write down my schedule.

Wow! I managed to quadruple my output over the past year without really noticing it, and my trading has improved!

The crazy part is, I now spend more time with family and less time on trading.

This has been a complete win-win for me, and I think it all can be traced back to one decision.

I started looking for ways to optimize my time.

For example, I started with an idea of getting up really early and doing a lot of prep work during the premarket hours.

The intent was to not only get a lot of writing done early in the day but also to have my trading preparation fresh in my mind.

Sounds great right?

It turns out that I don’t do my best writing in the morning. I honestly don’t do much of anything very well in the morning. If you’re a morning person, I envy you.

That means I also was doing a bad job of trading prep. And my trading results were reflecting it.

Another negative effect that took a little while to notice was how tired I got in the evenings. Waking up an hour earlier was making the last 2-3 hours of my day far less efficient.

Ultimately, I decided the best schedule for me was one that put my lowest priorities at the start of the day and my highest towards the end.

And I get up early, but not nearly as early as I initially thought I should.

Now I knock out all of the things I do not enjoy during the part of the day I already enjoy the least.

I get a ton of mental relief from getting ahead as much as possible on the work I have for the day, which then allows me to switch over to my trading with full focus.

I am also always excited to switch gears away from the mundane and over to what I love to do most, trading stocks and options!

This excitement also carries over into preparing for the next day’s trading, which I now do the night before when I am most alert and energized.

Take time to set up a schedule that works for you and your personality. Consider things like whether you are a morning person or night person, when during the day you have the most flexibility, and what your priorities are.

People that know me will tell you I am the last person that would ever want a rigid schedule. However, if you want to be successful on multiple fronts you need to be willing to have some organization around your efforts.

Recap

Consistency really is key to long term, successful trading. I have no doubt about this.

To be consistent, there are a number of challenges you must face head on and I hope the four outlined this week help you on your path to success.

Here they are again:

1. Lack of Capital - be discplined, build through sound risk management, and your account will soon be where you want it.

2. Fear of Failure - the most learning comes through trying and failing, the more you learn through others the faster you will enjoy success.

3. Burnout - be purposeful about taking breaks, your brain and your trading account will thank you.

4. Time Management - set up a schedule that optimizes your time, energy, and efforts with your priorities in mind.

That is all for this week’s newsletter!

If you found this information helpful, consider sharing it with others and have a great week ahead!

-Nate

 @tradernatehere