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THE MARKET WHISPERER 35

trading profits. If you don’t place all your hopes on trading profits, you’ll
profit. If you feel pressured to profit, you’ll end up losing.

What’s Needed for Success?

A successful trader needs three basic components:
• Thorough knowledge and follow-up at the beginner stage
• The proper trading environment: that is, a quality computer and a hi-

speed Internet connection
• An account with a professional broker who can provide fast, effective

charts and executions.
We will discuss all three elements throughout the book.
The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Each of the components
below is important to your chain, which is your business. If you want your
business to do well, invest in each of them, from the enrichment stage
(learning) to the daily tools stage (trading system).

How Much Can I Earn?

After completing the training stage, you need to set income targets. A

realistic target for successful day traders is to double their money each
year, which means that a starting capital of $10,000 won’t allow you to
maintain a reasonable lifestyle unless you live in a Vietnamese village. At

the other end of the scale, a trader seeking a reasonable quality of life
will trade with $30,000 and more. As US citizens, the “day trading margin
rules” will require you to deposit no less than $25,000.

If your annual income depends on the amount of money in the trading

account, why not deposit more and profit more? Eventually that might be
the right move, but initially it is not, for two reasons. First, not everyone
has the required capital available, and secondly, there are psychological

limitations until you become proficient. To trade with larger sums means

being psychologically prepared for larger fluctuations in profit and

loss. The mental ability to cope with these fluctuations is acquired only

after years of trading. Do I display emotion over large profits or losses?

Rarely. Any of my days of trading can end in large profits or large losses