190% Portfolio Growth in 9 months

Written by Leremy

Friday, 02 November 2007

You are a successful man when you can make 25% growth in a year with the money you invested. Earlier this week, I accidentally heard from RL and Jensen conversation that RL has made 190% in the past 9 months. I was amazed. I immediately requested RL to write an article about his experience in the stock market, and the secret that lies in his achievement. He was humble and refused to write because the actual capital he invested was small. Still, I believe that whatever he had gone through will be a good guide for the beginners in the stock market. I insisted RL to write us an article about it, and here it is. I hope everyone can share his opinions and thoughts about it in the comment box below. Is making 190% in 9 months an impossible dream? Well, here is the story. This is a true story and it is written with all the sincerity and gratitude. Looking back, I have been in the stock market of about 9 months now. I started getting into stocks around February this year. Having the euphoria that I have what it takes to make money. Well, the drop after the Chinese New Year gave me a shock that things were not as easy as it seems. I started to look for help. Looking around the internet for guidance. Maybe it was fate and luck that brought me to Ben's blog. It was like love at first sight. It is also the place where I get to know two most important people in my journey as a trader. One is Ben, and the other is Max. Let us start with Ben. From his articles, I could tell that Ben is a very experienced person and the right one to seek help. So I emailed him, seeking for advice on what books I should read. I still remember the reply Ben gave me even till today. He said, " you say you are an investor, but do you know what is the difference between an investor and a trader?" It was a simple sentence, but it woke me up and introduced me to the terms that I have never heard before in my life. It was almost the same time that I came across another one of the most important people in on my journey, Max. He was the one that showed me the right path to walk in order to be a trader. He also showed me to one of the best material to build my foundation. The book,"Trading For A Living" by Dr Alexander Elder. With Max's guidance, I was able to learn and absorb more from the book. That was how it began, lets continue the journey... After I was shown the way, the next step is to accumulate the knowledge. I started with the book, "Trading For A Living". It was the most important book that showed me a whole different perspective to what trading and stocks are all about. And I would recommend anyone who is serious about trading, to read the book. And please do read to understand. While slowly accumulating the knowledge, I started to test the different theories and methods of play. And another important milestone came up. It was my trade on Nextnat. It was a huge loss because I lacked of discipline. I knew the most important rule in trading is to "keep the loss as small as possible and let the profit run as far as possible". I was stupid, ignorant, arrogant and worst of all, lack of discipline. This trade was so important because it stabbed me hard, and it taught me the important lesson of having a plan and stick to the plan, with DISCIPLINE. After that, there are still many ups and downs in my trades, but I never gave up and there is always something new to learn from every trade. Slowly, I learn to adapt to the market and I always put learning as my main priority. Because I believe that if I am able to learn and adapt well to the market, money will follow by itself. This is also the reason why I don't follow tips or recommendations. I always pick my own stocks. It is because I always put learning as my top priority. I look at charts everyday to learn about there price and volume movements and relationships. I spend at least an hour a day just to do that. It is hard work and I always believe there is no gain if you are not willing to work hard for it. To sum up, 1) The Chinese New Year dip showed me that money don't drop from the sky, even in stock market. 2) Ben showed me how "naked" I was in knowlege and he gave me a place to find what i needed... (the blog and now, the site). 3) Max showed me the right path and how to walk as a trader. 4) Trading For A Living gave me a solid foundation. 5) Discipline is the determining factor of how well your plan will work. 6) Continuous learning and adapting is the key to keep yourself fit so that you can survive. 7) Learning is topmost priority. Which is also why I don't follow tips and recommendations. Lastly, stock market is an everchanging condition, which is why we need to continue to learn and adapt. Nothing is free and good things don't come without hardwork. Regards & good luck RL