Not all beginning traders need to make $10,000 in the first week of trading. But some do -- some really need to come up with thousands of dollars in a very short period of time. Many of these traders don't have any trading experience, a small trading account, and are hoping to be able to get themselves out of a financial predicament by trading.
The word I am going to use describe this attitude towards trading is Franticism. Of course I had to make up that word, but I think it fits because it incorporates the word "Frantic" and "Ism". These traders are, in other words, frantically attempting to build capital. Here are some signs that you're talking to a Franticist Trader:
1. Double-Trouble. He wants to double his account or better in less than seven days.
2. Mistaking Desire for Success for Deserving Success. He says things like "Trading has to work. It just has to work." Or, "I really want trading to work out," as if wanting it alone was going to be enough to give them huge gains in a short period of time.
3. Avoidable Mistakes. He attempts to make trades without fully learning how his trading platform operates (the charts, the orders) and makes completely avoidable mistakes.
4. Reactive. He trades reactively -- a bad trade happens, he goes right back to the computer because now he "knows which way the market is really going," and doubles up on the trade size.
5. Lottery Mentality. He is unimpressed and uninterested in compounding as opposed to the big score (more on this later).
4. Franticide. Eventually, he commits Franticide, which is the act of blowing up one's account in frantic trading.
It's Sunday here, and perhaps on a traditionally religious day in the States, it's appropriate to ask: Are you a Franticist?
