4 Reasons Why professional Forex Traders Should Run Politics in This Country

& why they also make great parents, great leaders, great bosses, and crappy conversationalists.

The more I’ve studied the Forex Markets and, in particular, professional Forex Traders, the more I’ve realized just how personally developed they are. Forex Traders, at least the ones who remain profitable over sustained periods of time have been beaten up enough by the markets to know how much they don’t know. They just take one situation at a time and use all of the knowledge and experience they’ve accumulated over the years to make their most educated decision.

So what in the world does Forex Trading have to do with politics? Well, not much. Unless of course, you take the view that banks and corporations run the politics in this country. But here’s the point, in this short article, I want to share 4 Key Traits that Forex Traders MUST develop that will not only make them profitable but that they could apply to almost any position or role in leadership. My argument is Professional Forex Traders would make absolute DYNAMITE Politicians, great parents, great leaders, great bosses, and crappy conversations for reasons I’ll explain in this article.

So why don’t they do it more often? Why don’t more Forex Traders make an effort to become politicians later in life? I assume they’re used to making good money and politics doesn’t pay well. Maybe they don’t want the drama. Or maybe, it’s because Forex traders don’t practice their conversational skills too much. Sad how the guy or gal who gets into office isn’t necessarily the best fit for office but the one who can speak well and “seems” to know what they’re talking about. At a time such as this, our country suffers because of poor politicians and poor leadership. But you didn’t come here to read a rant on the state of politics in this country, did you? You came to learn how you can become a better Forex Trader right? So what skills have a Pro Forex Trader developed that would make them great politicians?

1. They’re grounded in reality.

I follow a hefty amount of Professional Charters and Traders on Twitter (it’s a great way to get insights from people who are better than you). And as I scrolled the Twittersphere, I saw a quote from veteran trader Peter Brandt. Here’s what he shared,

“In the opinion of a Boomer who has charted 45 years: study a chart long and hard enough, draw enough lines, examine multiple time frames, and you can get a chart to say anything you want. You can find a reason to exit a winner too soon or stay in a loser too long.”

One of the biggest mistakes most traders make is that they have an idea of where the market should go because it confirms their own bias or what they wish would happen. Pro traders don’t make that mistake. They only look at where the market is, do their quick analyst, calculate a Reward to Risk Ratio, enter a trade, and don’t even pretend to know where the market is going.

If they’re wrong, they’re wrong small. If they’re right, they’re right big. Could you imagine if politicians ran countries and counties this way? To look at reality and not as they want things to be?

2. They’re Humble.

Any Professional Forex Trader will agree, you aren’t a real trader until you’ve experienced a heaping of humble pie. Early in my career as a Forex trader, I made some pretty damn good trades and grew an account quickly.

Call it beginners luck, skill, or God’s will, but whatever it was, I wish I wouldn’t have been right so much. It made me feel a bit invincible like I knew what I was doing. The story practically writes itself. I got a bit greedy, placed a few trades with lot sizes far too big… and blew my account within 3-4 trades.

The next thing all pros have experienced is a losing streak where it seems trade after trade, they’re brutally wrong. It’s a blow to your confidence and self-esteem as a trader, it feels humiliating like you can do nothing right. And this will periodically happen to every trader whether a 10-year veteran or a total newbie.

It’s healthy to go through these phases, not because they don’t suck, but because they keep you disciplined and push you to keep refining your craft. They also make you feel like you’re starting over from ground zero which pushes traders to self-educate and become more knowledgeable about the markets.

What if politicians were humble? I know great traders are and I know great traders are too. Politicians should take notes and commit to learning more about the people they serve.

3. They Pivot Quickly.

Sometimes things go according to plan and that’s always nice, but oftentimes they don’t. Then what?

Amateur traders get stuck here. They find a way to blame the markets or their brokers. They find ways to justify and explain away the fact that they simply weren’t good enough on the trade, their targets, or the timing. Pros? They tolerate zero excuses for themselves. EVEN when there seems to be manipulation in the markets.

So what if institutions are manipulating the markets? So what if Colin Powell and the Fed call in an emergency press meeting that makes the markets wildly volatile? If you don’t pay attention and pivot quickly, you could lose a trade that may have been going your way. Pro traders, do their best to prepare for all storms and that includes unforeseen manipulation or news. At the end of the day, they either preserve their money and make their money, or they lose it.

Maybe we should blame the individual politician less than the political machine for this sin. But politics and government agencies tend to move at a snail’s pace. They have no incentive to work quickly or efficiently. They get to problems when it seems all too late. What a political tragedy.

4. They’re Persistent.

Back to our example above, the Pro Trader I quoted above, Peter Brandt, has been trading for 45 years. The other day he mentioned just how often he is wrong and I was shocked. Maybe I still believe that after 45 years you know the markets well enough to be right more often than you’re wrong.

But I guess that’s just not true. He said he’s right close to 30% of the time. My next thought was why would you continue in a profession that you’re wrong 70% of the time in? Why would you constantly want to be humbled and to lose money and feel wrong most of the time? That would suck… I mean the guy has probably lost more money than I’ve ever made.

The reality is that 30% of the time he is right, he remains profitable. He’s wrong small and right big. Plus, I assume he’s just addicted to his craft and loves the discipline of trading. Lemme tell ya, Trading is 100% discipline. Without it, you will fail 100% of the time. SO pay your tuition, lose some trades, win some, don’t lose heart, and remain persistent. If you do, you will become a Pro Forex Trader too.