Learning to ask
At the time of writing, I have a four year-old daughter. I love watching her learn new things, but I have to be patient. When she gets frustrated, I have to stop myself from jumping in and doing the task for her, because I know she will learn faster if she discovers things by herself.
As we get older, we find it harder and harder to learn. That’s because most people take comfort from holding on to their preconceived ideas. They don’t give themselves the time and space to learn. They don’t like to be out of their comfort zone. They don’t like to ask why. Why is that so? Do our egos get in the way of our progress? Maybe kids are better at learning because they don’t have big egos – they are never afraid to ask questions.
I love learning; I never stop! I’m like a sponge. I love to lap up new ideas, as well as new approaches to old problems. I encourage others to live like this, to keep asking why and how. It’s a rule I live by. If I don’t understand something, no matter how embarrassed I might be, I get over my ego and I ask. I’m not afraid to keep asking until I understand.
The greatest obstacle that threatens to hold us back in life is our reluctance to learn as we get older. Whether it’s learning about new technology, or relearning a damaged thought process, we must continue to learn if we want to progress in life.
Over the years, I’ve discovered that most people love talking about their fields of expertise. If I want to learn about something new, I find someone who has an extensive knowledge on the subject, then I ask them to help me. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone say, “No.” It’s amazing how much you can learn by asking. People want to share their knowledge. If you find someone who won’t share, chances are they don’t really have knowledge to share in that area!
Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about.
My nephew plays rugby for London Irish. He recently wrote to the pro who plays in the same position as him for England. My nephew asked this player if he would sit down with him and answer some questions. Guess what... the pro said “Yes!” My nephew subsequently spent an invaluable hour with this guy getting top tips and advice from someone he looked up to, who is one of the greatest experts in his field. If my nephew hadn’t asked, this unique opportunity would never have happened.
If you want to learn, teach
I consider myself to be a fairly successful person. I didn’t achieve all the goals I reached for, but I made it to some of them. I played for my country, I played at Wembley, I made myself financially independent, and I started a family. I’m happy with my lot. Now I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others who perhaps didn’t have the good fortune I had.
I teach people to trade the markets and share my experiences because I want to help reduce the time and energy it will take people to get to where I am. While I believe everyone has their own individual journey to go on – their unique personal learning curve – it doesn’t hurt to know how to avoid some of the basic pitfalls. I love sharing the knowledge I’ve acquired, both from my experiences as a professional footballer and my years of trading. If I can help people jump a couple of rungs up the ladder on their way to being a successful trader, why wouldn’t I? I believe anyone can be a success and I’ll do whatever I can to help them.
It was actually an accident that I became a teacher. People kept asking me to show them what I did as a trader and I was more than happy to do so. I quickly discovered that I thoroughly enjoyed the process of teaching and this led me to set up a company through which I could teach people. What I didn’t bargain for was how I much I would learn myself through the process of teaching.
Teaching others has taught me so much about what makes people tick. When I was a footballer I didn’t have too much exposure to the general public. Of course I met fans, signed autographs and talked football with them, but I didn’t get to meet and talk in depth to a wide range of people from a variety of backgrounds.
Through teaching people to trade the money markets, I’ve had my eyes opened; it has been a revelation to see that everyone, no matter where they’ve come from or what they’ve done, carries their own personal baggage. Many people I would have assumed – judging from their outward appearance and demeanour – were perfectly happy, I discovered were actually feeling miserable and stuck in the rat race, desperate for a way out.
Hearing other people’s stories made me realise how relatively lucky I was. I may not have had the formal education or the big accolades, but my solid and happy childhood counted for much more than I gave it credit for.
The big gamble
Trading is not gambling, but trading the markets is a gamble. There are no guarantees, which is why I always urge people not to risk money they cannot afford to lose. If you don’t currently have money you can afford to lose, wait until you do.
This is because if you are dependent on trading, it is unlikely to work. You will not be able to make objective decisions in keeping with the rules and structure you have set out. You will put too much pressure on yourself and over trade – that is put trades on when there are no signals telling you to do so.
I passionately believe that anyone can learn to trade the markets. (If a guy who doesn’t even have a GCSE in maths can do it, anyone can!) You certainly don’t need to be a big wig in the city with an Oxford degree in economics to become a successful trader. However, there are some basic traits you need in order to make money as a trader:
1 The discipline to follow a set of rules.
2 The patience to wait for results.
3 Some disposable cash to invest initially.
Be honest with yourself. If you don’t think you currently possess all three, please don’t try trading the markets until you do. If you do have these three things, in my opinion, you have as good a chance as anybody at making a good return. To be even more blunt, while I believe anyone can make money trading the markets, I believe most people – hampered by frustration or fear – will fail.
Trading the markets – and specifically what we will be talking about in this book, spread betting – is not a way to get rich quick. Nor is it an immediate substitute for a salaried job. But, followed correctly, I believe the strategies I have developed for trading the markets can make you an extra monthly income. If you stick with it and learn as you go, and are gradually able to safely risk more sizeable amounts, then that monthly income could become quite substantial.
I’ve watched so many people fail because they won’t learn, because they don’t take advice, because they walk straight into the pitfalls that have been clearly pointed out to them. They end up losing money they didn’t need to lose because they let fear or frustration override their rational thinking.
If you have the patience to learn from someone experienced, if you have the discipline to stick to a plan – to the rules that you, yourself, have set out – then you can make a nice monthly income from the cash you invest.
In summary:
The bad news is that there are no guarantees. Even if you follow all the rules there is always an element of risk when you trade the markets.
The good news is that you do not need any qualifications or special talents to do it. Everyone has the same, fair chance of being successful at trading.
It’s not like there’s only one top prize. This isn’t X Factor or a lottery, with one big prize for the lucky winner; the opportunities and possibilities are more or less unlimited in trading. Trading is more like one long, endless buffet; there is always more space at