I feel very blessed that in my position as the founder and architect of Market Analyst I get to travel the world speaking to traders at all levels.  From those who are taking their first tentative steps in their trading life, to the hardened trader that has experienced trading in all market conditions, and is doing very well from their endeavours.  In all my conversations with traders over the last 15 years, I have found one critical element that separates the winners from the losers, and that is their attitude to their education and their willingness to invest in it.

The traders who have done well over the long term have always been those that have sought out quality education and continued to learn.  The ones that have not been able to make trading work are those who are unwilling to invest into their own life.  Even if an educator is teaching very basic material, I have always been able to glean something that has been beneficial to me.
 
Let me just say at this point that Market Analyst is not an education company.  While we prefer our clients to be educated (as then they will stay in the market for life and always have a need for our products), we only provide the tool box for traders to implement their own plans.  We do not profit from any education promoted on this site.
 
Here are a number of the excuses that wanna-be traders have told me over the years to justify why they won’t invest in their education:

1. If the education was so good, why do they sell it? Wouldn’t they just keep it for themselves?

This is one of the most common statements I hear, and I believe that it comes from very narrow minded thinking.  The fact is that in most cases the educators ARE using the systems they themselves teach, and do so profitably.  It is not unusual for education companies these days to display independently audited results on their websites for those who want more than a few handouts showing the results of a back testing system.   However, there are some people gifted with the ability and passion to study the markets and devise new technical ways to trade.  At times these people, though analytically brilliant, are terrible traders.  The first person to introduce me to the Markets, Technical Analysis and Gann, was a man who had devised an incredible set of rules for entering and exiting the market on real time charts.  The only problem was that he did not have the discipline to follow his own rules, and the results for him were terrible.  He was an analyst, not a trader.
The other part to this is that trading is quite an inwardly focusing endeavour.  A trader is usually only interested in making more money for themselves, usually at the expense of the person on the other side of the trade.  In today’s jaded and sceptical society, most people are looking for the hidden agenda when someone stands up and offers a course on how to trade.  The motivation of most of these educators comes in the realisation that there is something “magical” that happens when you start to teach.  In the act of giving away knowledge, you gain a better insight.  The questions that a student asks can help refine your own beliefs and justifications.  Of course, it may also be that they just love to teach!
 

2. It’s just a scam

Unfortunately there are too many cases where this is true.  It is the greed in people that make them so willing to accept that a miraculous course will teach them everything they need to know to be able to make millions each year.  I have seen educators who charge very little for some of the most powerful trading techniques available, and also those that charge way too much for a really basic technical method of trading.   Be very careful if someone is charging a lot of money for a course.  Do your own research (Google is your friend), make sure that you are getting value for money, and watch out for the cunning salesman who talks about all the money you can make with little effort on your behalf.  Like most professions, becoming a successful trader requires blood, sweat and tears (well sweat, capital and tears).
 
We've all been burnt when we have been blinded by greed (or is that just me????).  The thing is that there is no shortcut to success.  It always astounds me when I hear traders whose goals are to earn a Brain Surgeon’s wage from trading, but they are unwilling to invest $1,000 on a course or even dedicate a year to study how to trade.   I'm sure you have heard the story of the guy that became a millionaire overnight when he bought a penny-stock that skyrocketed.  In my opinion, they are the "Lottery Winners" of trading.  In most cases they just got lucky, or they knew something that you and I didn't.  You will grow old very quickly waiting for those trades, much better to get on with the business of making a couple of percent here and there on good analytical trades.
 

3. I'll just buy a book.

I'm an avid reader and I think that books have an important part to play in anyone’s education in any topic, but I see that books enhance education from courses, they do not replace it.  In building a business from the ground up, I have read many books on different topics to help me learn what to do, but nothing has ever been as effective or life-changing as attending a seminar or face-to-face mentoring.  What I find happens is that taking the time away from your day-to-day activities to dedicate to your education is like pouring an accelerant on a fire. It really helps take your understanding to a new level, and gives you the ability to apply new knowledge with confidence.
 
In any field of work there is always training and re-training that is required.  This is why professionals usually make good traders, they know that education is not a destination but rather a life-long journey.  They will always reassess their methods and look to see if there are new and better ways to excel at their job.  Some of the most successful traders I have met are always learning.  They are always open to finding new techniques to experiment with (note: They don’t just jump from one idea to another with their whole trading capital, they will usually keep most of their capital in systems that are tried and true, but divert a small amount to try new ideas).  
 
So, all of that to say that “YES, a trader does need education if they want to be successful”.  You must invest into what can become a profitable way to make a comfortable living if you are willing to learn, persevere and discipline your self.  Next time I'll write a list of what to look out for when selecting a trading educating company.
 
Prosperous Trading. 

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