The Year in Review

As I reflect on my trading year 2009, I am reminded of the quote from Charles Dickens’ book, A Tale of Two Cities.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

I spent the last few days reviewing every trade that I placed in 2009 and made some interesting discoveries. The benefits to be gained from reviewing your trades daily, weekly, monthly and annually cannot be overemphasized. It is a tiring exercise, but a necessary one for growth, development and self-improvement. After all, trading is a business and should be treated as such!

2009 was truly an amazing year. It was not my most profitable trading year. However, it was the year that saw me grow leaps and bounds as a trader operating under the most difficult psychological circumstances, navigating through emotional battlefields and overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges. The one thing that remained consistent throughout 2009 was my strict adherence to the solid risk management principles that forms the foundation of my trading plan.

I can assure every trader, experienced or otherwise that the first key to trading success is the development of and adherence to a solid risk management plan. I am now entering my 6th year as a currency trader and 10th year as a trader. With my limited experience I repeat… the development of a solid risk management plan is the key to trading success… the development of a solid risk management plan is the key to trading success… I have seen many profitable and more experienced traders crash and burn, because of a total disregard for risk management. One of the greatest traders of our time... Market Wizard Viv Sperandeo who has made billions through every market condition since 1971 said “ My goal on Wall Street was never to get rich but to stay in business. There’s a big difference. If you’re out of the business, you can never get rich.” The aim of the game is to stay in the game! The only way to achieve that is through sound risk and money management. Live to fight another day! Protect your principal!

In retrospect, I should have taken a break from trading last year. However, I am a better person and a superior trader for having endured. My burning, intense desire to be the best trader combined with my passion for trading allowed me to break through barriers and overcome obstacles. I now enter 2010 with the perfect trading plan, 100% confidence and a deep conviction that I will achieve all my goals this year. To put things in quantitative terms, I have set a personal target of 50 pips per day, 250 pips per week, 1000 pips per month and a total of 12000 pips for 2010! In terms of profits that’s 1% per day, 240% for 2010!

This is my conservative target. I intend to exceed this by a very wide margin. You will be afforded the opportunity to follow my performance daily through the website www.myfxbook.com that details every trade. Further details will follow.

Going forward in 2010, my primary focus remains that of trading breakouts of GBP pairings. I will be trading breakouts of the Tokyo, London and US opening sessions. I am hoping to make this blog more interactive, post live trades and daily analysis. I invite you all to share in this exciting journey as we work to make 2010 the best year of our lives!

In concluding, I wish to recommend to every trader, if you have not already done so, develop a solid risk management plan and adhere to it throughout 2010. I wish for you all a wonderful, prosperous and productive 2010 filled with God’s abundant blessings and many, many pips!