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I truly believe that imitation is the highest form of flattery and it is on the shoulders of giants that we should stand and imitate.
In a recent post entitled Preparing to Trade Stocks and Options With Abraham Lincoln, I discussed a few lessons we can all learn from standing on the shoulders of Abraham Lincoln as we prepare to enter the trading battlefield. Today I want to add another set of shoulders to stand on, that of the world’s number one golfer, Tiger Woods.
Although Tiger Woods is very gifted, he would tell you that his success is rooted in a father who began teaching him the game at the age of seven months. Tiger would watch from his highchair in their garage as his father hit golf balls into a net for hours a day. When Tiger could walk, he and his father were at the golf course playing and practicing regularly. Then at the age of four Tiger began practicing under professional teachers. So when Tiger entered regular international competition at the age of nineteen as a member of the U.S. team in Walker Cup play, he had been practicing golf with tremendous intensity for seventeen years. Talented? Yes. But when asked to explain his phenomenal success both father and son always gave the same reason: hard work.
And that same hard work continues today.
All you have to do is look at Tiger Woods’ daily practice schedule to understand why he is so good at what he does. Just recently, when Tiger was on his way to winning another tournament, the announcers of the televised event shared Tiger’s DAILY ROUTINE:
6:00 Weight workout (90 minutes)
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Practice tee (2 hours)
10:00 Putting green
10:30 Play 9 holes
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Practice tee (2 hours)
3:00 Short game work
4:00 Play 9 holes
5:00 Putting green
5:30 Home
Even though he has played since he was two years old and has a very unique gift for the sport of golf, Tiger focuses on a detailed (and deliberate) practice routine each and every day. Deliberate practice makes Tiger a great golfer.
The same rule applies for successful traders. Just ask any successful stock market trader the secret of their success and you will find deliberate adherence to rules based on years of practice both on and off the battlefield as a core reason. Consistently successful traders are not consistently successful because of luck (this is rare, not sustainable), a high I.Q., an Ivey League education, etc. but because of disciplined based trading honed by much trail and error practicing what works best for their own psychological make-up. You may find your niche is short intra-day trading, whereas another trader may find longer term swing trading works best. Just stick to what works best for you!
Want to be a better trader? Set up a practice account with your brokerage and do nothing but trade your edge over and over again. Keep good notes. You will soon find out what works, how often it works, and when it becomes obvious that the trade is not going to work (probably the most important).
Before Tiger ever entered a professional golf tournament he was working on becoming the best golfer he could be. He did not become #1 because of a gift; he became #1 by properly using the gift that had been given him by practicing over and over and over again. Should we not do the same?
“When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win.” Ed Macauley
TRADING IS WAR. PREPARE YOUR WEAPONS.
Related posts:
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