The 5 Secrets of the Learning Journey for Trading & Investing
It can be daunting looking up at the mountainous learning curve of developing a new skill, proficiency, and confidence with something complex. Perhaps driving a car, learning a sport or martial art or musical instrument, developing a professional skill or trade, evolving a relationship, or being a parent. Yet, how many times in life have you stood at the top of such a mountain, looking back down at the pathway of your learning journey, amazed at what you were able to accomplish? Learning trading and investing is no different and here are 5 secrets for undertaking that journey.
1. Avoiding the 5 Misconceptions
First and foremost, avoid falling prey to the 5 most prevalent myths of trading and investing: 5 Common Misconceptions about Trading & Investing. They will keep you off the path or derail you early on.
By the way, you will likely be surrounded by people who buy into these misconceptions and try to talk you off the path. That’s always a part of any learning journey to something worthwhile and meaningful.
Not everyone has the fortitude to take on the journey to a new future, unconsciously choosing instead to live into a default future.
2. Take Inventory of the Learning Journeys You Have Already Achieved in Life.
Make the time to take inventory of the mountainous learning journeys you have already accomplished in life. They are easy to overlook, forget or diminish, and yet they remind us that with every mountain we climb, we become better mountain climbers.
· Driving a Car … Because the majority of people accomplish this learning curve, you probably overlook it and diminish it because it’s also so natural to you now and you have probably forgotten how daunting a learning curve it was when you were just getting started.
· Learning a Sport or a Martial Art or a Musical Instrument … while you might know plenty of other people who have done something similar, this puts you in a minority of people who have accomplished the learning curve you have.
· Developing a Professional Skill or Trade … you can be so good at something with it now coming so naturally, that you overlook, forget or diminish the learning journey that it took.
· Evolving a Relationship or being a Parent … there are so many learning curves in life that it is so easy to overlook, forget or diminish.
3. Start with Your Why and Evolving Your “YQ”
We have all heard that before, “start with the end in mind” and “start with you why”. Get clear about what your goals are for learning trading and investing, your desired end outcome, and your why. It will be this clarity that helps you keep going when you need it. So much so, at OTA we call it “YQ”.
· There is the IQ for Trading and Investing. Your “Intellectual Quotient”. We will help you develop your IQ for trading and investing. It’s about acquiring the knowledge you need … knowing-what you need to know … what are the different asset classes, what are the different elements of the strategy, what are the different steps of the process, and more. But IQ alone is not enough.
· There is the EQ for Trading and Investing. Your “emotional quotient”, or sometimes called our emotional competence or emotional intelligence. We must also develop our EQ for trading and investing which is about knowing how to manage our emotions, or as we call it, the “mental game”.
· There is your YQ for Trading and Investing. Not IQ, not EQ, but YQ. Which is about knowing-why you are wanting to go on the learning journey to confidence in trading and investing. IQ and EQ are not enough. Your YQ is also essential to your journey. A determining factor is how invested students are in their WHY. Many years ago, we formalized our purpose statement for the OTA: “To empower people to define, believe and achieve their WHY”. We embody that in YQ, knowing-why. It’s your inspiration to put in the work, to practice, to stay the course and go the distance. We help students further develop and sustain the clarity of their YQ for trading and investing.
4. Finding a Path of Least Resistance
Ideally, then it’s about finding the path of least resistance, with the lowest barriers and hurdles and greatest degree of support and encouragement. That’s our focus at OTA, to lower the education, technology, and self-confidence barriers by providing experiential education, support, and community to facilitate your student learning journey.
5. Having a “Compass” and Keeping On Keeping On, Putting One Foot in Front of the Other
We call it our evolving “Compass” program that we have a relentless commitment to invest in. A compass helps you always know where you are, where magnetic North is for you (your Why), and what the next step is. Journeys unfold one step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Keeping on keeping on. These are the secrets to the learning journey for trading and investing.
