Three Stock Trading Myths

By W. Alan Gay

As a Stock Trader for over 15 years, I have learned a lot about the ins and outs of the business. I started out on my own, rather than with a big brokerage firm with fancy employee training courses. I took seminars and self study classes and learned as I went, many times through sheer trial and error.

While this method may have taken me longer to succeed, I have accumulated a lot more real world knowledge about stock trading than a lot of those brokerage house taught investment advisors who only know what they learned from their boss. For instance, I have learned over the years that there are misunderstandings that constantly recur when talking about stock trading. Here are three of them:

The first misconception I'd like to dispel is that only certain types of people make successful stock traders. True, stock pickers (those guys who pick the big winners by consistently analyzing the market) are more often than not left brained thinkers , which is probably how this myth originated.

But there really is something in stock trading for every type of thinker. If you aren't a left brained analytical type, you just need to find a process that works well for you. I am definitely right brained, and I am being completely honest when I tell you I would hate to sit around and analyze stocks all day. Despite this, I have made a great living trading stocks. Anyone else can too.

Second, is the underlying belief that stock trading is risky, even riskier than owning your own business. True, people have lost their shirts in the stock market, and those are the big splashy stories we all hear that frighten a lot of people away.

But I have learned that it is a matter of setting up the right process to place your stops and limiting your risks to a level that you are comfortable with. If you can do that, stock trading is really a very low risk profession. For example, I have worked out a process that results in a 75% or more success rate with my trades. That is hard to beat, and you would be hard pressed to find another business that can give you that kind of low risk situation.

Finally, how many times have you heard that its a full time job to make consistent big money in the stock market? Absolutely true for some kinds of trading and especially if you don't have good stock pickers to rely on. Then you are stuck doing the grunt and the leg work in a fast changing environment " sure that takes a lot of time.

But, I am living proof that it is absolutely possible to make a great living trading stock for 2-4 hours a day, which will leave you the rest of your day for whatever you wish. The way to achieve this is to have a process in place that is efficient with your time, and low risk enough that you can be profitable on a consistent basis. There are a lot of different courses available and it can be difficult to find the one that will work for you. I suggest you investigate several different choices and, ask lots of questions Use your questions as an additional screening " if you can't find anyone to take them all seriously, move on quick! Life is too short. If you start your research knowing the right system is there for you, you will be on your way to becoming a successful stock trader in no time. - 23223

About the Author:

W. Alan Gay has been a stock trader and trainer for fifteen years. His free report describes Alan's voyage to becoming an accomplished stock trader and gives useful techniques he and his students have used to consistently trade profitably. Click to obtain a free copy of his report and learn more about how you could be trading stocks profitably in as little as two weeks.