Being a good trader ≠ being wealthy

[Pressurizedem]

I know trading can make man reach anywhere he wants to reach, it all depends on how he is able to manage his money efficiently while making investments or putting it into trading. It is vital to note that trading can enrich someone when there is consistency and less loss in the process. But if you always fail while trading, and you are used to losing, there is every tendency that you always lose money and go broke.

Every rich trader today had somewhere they started from, almost all of them got to a point in their trading journey when they almost gave up, but because they have a set up plan for what they were doing, it made them still kept persevering, and that has kept them going today and as made them get the money they wanted. Even if they still lose money, the amount they've gained, cannot be compared to how much they've achieved, and that's is how it is supposed to be.

[LogitechMouse]

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If you do not start with significant capital, it is extremely difficult to achieve the lifestyle that Instagram has taught people to associate with being a successful trader.

And perhaps this is one of the strangest things about trading: the expectations we have created around it.

A 10% monthly return, if someone can actually sustain it over the long term, would be an extraordinary result.

Yet somehow, a trader can make 10% in a month and still be perceived as unsuccessful because they are not suddenly buying Lambo.

Where did this expectation come from?

And more importantly, can we actually change it?

The problem with people online is that, they're advertising trading as some kind of like a "life-changing" opportunity for EVERYBODY, and they advertise it like it's very easy to achieve such things where in reality, it's not as easy as what we think it is and if you're trading for years, you know it already because you've probably experienced it.

There's no need for us to be jealous on what we are seeing online like on Instagram. You have your own journey, and if you don't have a big capital if you're starting, that's pretty fine. You have your own road, and following what you're seeing online might lead you to bad things and high expectations up to a point where those expectations aren't realistic anymore. These unrealistic expectations are coming from those so-called gurus out there who are flaunting their luxury items and saying that it came from trading. I don't know for some, but I've seen "successful" traders online, and majority of them aren't showing their luxury items unlike those who are. Reverse Psychology I guess?

Can we change it? We can't change it, but we can change ourselves from having a mindset where we will have a realistic expectations when we are trading. You know yourself, and just ignore what the others are saying.

[Solokan]

Trading is certainly not easy, and many people become rich through trading However, many also experience significant losses Successful traders are those who have mastered the fundamentals of trading and can control their emotions. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to losses

In my opinion, a good trader can become wealthy as long as you buy at the right time. However, the most difficult part of trading is finding the right time to enter. Most losers are those who are impatient and rush to enter, ultimately getting stuck. Trading certainly involves profit and loss, and those who haven't mastered the science of trading and struggle to control their emotions. In the real world, I often see people becoming wealthy through trading. The key is mastering the science of trading, and profits are guaranteed to outweigh losses

[knowngunman]

Something that I find surprisingly strange, and that I have noticed in quite a few replies to my previous post, is how many people still seem to believe that being a good trader automatically means being wealthy.

Can you share the link to that specific post? I would like to see for myself before giving my verdict.

Honestly, I did not expect to see this mindset so often on a forum like this. This is one of the oldest crypto communities around, and you would expect people here to understand these things better than the average person.

The forum is old but that does not mean every member here is old member or experienced trader. We have so many people joining the forum on a daily basis for different reasons. You can not assume that everyone on the forum is better by default. The long existence of the forum has nothing to do with how people react to or influence their opinions on certain things.

There seems to be this idea that if you are genuinely a good trader, you should naturally have a boat, a villa, luxury trips, and all the other things that social media associates with trading success.

This is not a general belief.

But being a good trader and being wealthy are two completely different things.

This is true. If you're wealthy and know how to trade, you have a chance to increase your wealth since trading rewards are based on your risk. The higher your risk, the higher your reward.

A trader can be highly skilled and still have very little capital.

Yes but with his skills and consistency, he should be able to increase his capital gradually.

People seem to imagine that someone with $20,000 who is a great trader can simply turn it into $20 million.

Unless you're performing a magic.

Where did this expectation come from?

You've said it before. Social media is giving people wrong narrative about trading.

And more importantly, can we actually change it?

Maybe by creating awareness just like this your thread, we can change people perception on trading.

[Out of mind]

The problem about trading myth on social media that you can sit in the comfort of your house and be making hundreds and thousands of dollars everyday is very unrealistic, newbies who believe these lies ends up blowing their accounts in the process of high expectations. Trading is hard and not for everybody, if you understand this simple truth you can avoid being misled by influencers on social media who are paid to influence the public to enter into trading. If a new trader is mentored by experienced traders I'm sure that they won't start trading with more than the amount that they can afford to lose.

People don't know that social media is not real. The real traders that are making figures from trading don't even have time to be making influence on the timeline impressing people and want them to come for signals and pay for private groups. The real traders focus on the chart and tradingview, that's where they have business, if it's not a place to teach people willingly and no lies, you will never see them online looking for validation from people on the social media.

Successful traders never go on social media to proclaim themselves as experts, nor do they ask others for money in exchange for trading signals. An experienced trader values their time highly and does not engage in such activities instead, they focus on market analysis and constantly study market trends. However, much of the content seen on social media comes from creators who discuss trading and the market simply to generate views. Beginners often fail to grasp that a genuine trader would not waste their time distributing signals on social media. Given the significant income a trader can generate through their own trading, they have no incentive to offer advice or signals to others instead, they tend to keep a low profile. Therefore, newcomers to trading need to understand that Telegram groups and social media platforms are not reliable sources for sound trading advice, as these channels are rarely effective.

[maydna]

Being a good trader ≠ being wealthy. The real good traders do not shows their skills in public instead will keep silent and use their time to trade and increase their wealth. They don't care with others perception because they only care with themselves and how they achieve their goals.

The expectation comes from social media where people see popular people sharing their trading activities and keep telling public that they can achieves the same. The truth is not be easy because to be a good trader needs many things which is not many people can do.

[snowpega]

....

The definition of becoming successful is never about buying lambo(or any luxury car) but jets, villas or anything you and I personally think. The real definition of becoming successful varies more with the individual plans and mindset of what they are planning to achieve in their own life. Not everyone has the same wish, so there is a higher probability that the definition of success is different for every person depending on their own plans.

Aside from this, you are not rigidly bound to start your trading career with a big capital. You can also start with small capital. And most importantly, if you are a new user in the trading space, then you should never start with big capital; in such a case, always start using small capital. Also remember one thing: whenever you are jumping into the trading space, only bring that amount into this space that you can bear in the form of a loss. This is my point of view. DYOR!

[TheUltraElite]

A trader might be making profits over the long term and thus has a consistent income over the years but will definitely not become rich overnight.

A good trader is a disciplined trader who knows when to enter and when to exit, does not rush their bets and does not trade with money they cannot afford to lose. Making profits is one part of the entire picture, not the picture itself.

Unlike what majority of the people would think, making profits in trading is not so common and hence we have very few traders who are being consistent.

[Asiska02]

If you do not start with significant capital, it is extremely difficult to achieve the lifestyle that Instagram has taught people to associate with being a successful trader.

Starting with good capital is good in trading because it helps a trader set realistic targets that are easier to meet. A trader with $100k equity will be happy to make 1% as profits and call it a day, meanwhile another trader with $1k equity will not want to take profit at 1% of his equity. This will then become a psychological problem that will lead to losing the $1k due to over trading and not setting feasible targets. This is how I understand equity to affect trading.

Equity helps in trading but don’t just rely on it to be the best way to grow your account easily. Many have big equity and are still unprofitable and while some have little equity and have been able to grow it to bigger amounts. It is more about understanding the market more than just having lots of capital to enter the market with. A trader who is good is always winning irrespective of the equity they have.

Where this big equity helps in trading is when scaling up after you’ve understood the market well and can play your cards better to stay profitable, other than that, you may still lose your large equity if you keep trading on a loss. Equity helps you to get back at the market and try again if you’ve managed your risk well. When risk are not managed well, there will even be no capital to be able to try again after facing a big loss in the market due to high risk taking and the market not going in your favour.

[Solokan]

A trader might be making profits over the long term and thus has a consistent income over the years but will definitely not become rich overnight.

A good trader is a disciplined trader who knows when to enter and when to exit, does not rush their bets and does not trade with money they cannot afford to lose. Making profits is one part of the entire picture, not the picture itself.

Unlike what majority of the people would think, making profits in trading is not so common and hence we have very few traders who are being consistent.

With trading, most people don't get rich overnight because it takes a long time and requires a lot of profit compared to losses The ones who succeed are those who consistently make profits over the long term. While losses are small, for example if you use stop-loss strategies, they certainly have the potential to become rich

Traders who have consistent long-term income are few and far between, and it's natural for some to say that trading doesn't make you rich. Trading isn't easy and requires knowledge, patience, discipline, and more. So, in conclusion, trading can make you rich, right? As long as we understand the science and don't use money we can't afford to lose I've also experienced trading with money I couldn't afford to lose, which felt uncomfortable and ultimately led to losses due to excessive fear

[SOKO-DEKE]

The expectation comes from social media where people see popular people sharing their trading activities and keep telling public that they can achieves the same. The truth is not be easy because to be a good trader needs many things which is not many people can do.

Social media is not a place where people can always get the truth about what others are doing or what they are planning to become. Most of those traders showing their trading activities on social media for people to see are not showing their full trading records. Most of them keep their losses private, or if they do show some of their losses publicly, they hide the rest while showing the public all their profit records.Any trader who believes everything they see on social media will hardly get it right in trading because they will likely make wrong decisions from time to time. This is because they will always compare themselves with people on social media who claim they are easily making money from trading, which may probably be lies.That is how a trader may start trading with the mindset of making it quickly which bad idea.

[Pandu Geddon]

This is because they will always compare themselves with people on social media who claim they are easily making money from trading, which may probably be lies.That is how a trader may start trading with the mindset of making it quickly which bad idea.

Are there still people nowadays who are easily influenced by the words of others on social media, boasting about their success in trading?
I think many people nowadays, whether they are just starting to trade, have begun to understand the risks from the beginning. What is seen on social media can indeed motivate someone to work harder. But of course, there are negative impacts, as you said. 
Never think that you can become rich in a short time from trading. Everyone who trades certainly knows how to work hard to stay profitable rather than incur losses.

[Hatchy]

There seems to be this idea that if you are genuinely a good trader, you should naturally have a boat, a villa, luxury trips, and all the other things that social media associates with trading success.
But being a good trader and being wealthy are two completely different things.

Those are just the kind of lives that social media tries to put in our heads. There is a difference between being a good trader and being wealthy. Some traders who made a fortune from trading were also lucky at certain points in their trading journey, and you cannot expect everyone to have the same results. Every trader is on their own journey.
Even if you started trading with a friend at the same time, you could both have completely different results after four years. You might still be behind in your trading journey while the friend you started with is far ahead. That doesn't necessarily mean you weren't serious or that you weren't profitable. It simply means that every trader's journey is different. We all have to grow and improve at our own pace.

[crwth]

Well, if you are a good trader, you would definitely be making profits. So why wouldn't your title be true?

Imagine if you are a good trader ^{(of course, no one is perfect, and there will also be losing trades)} there would be compounding effects. The famous idea is that if you are a consistent, great trader, you can really profit. You would just take time

It also depends on how you define wealthy. Maybe people are expecting lambos and boats here 

[nara1892]

Yes I agree that being a good trader and being rich are two different things, but being a good trader has the potential to lead you to wealth, everyone starts his career from a beginner, from having no money at all, but thanks to hard work, discipline and patience in the end they can reach the point of success in that field, it's about how strong you survive in the process and how well you absorb knowledge.
On the other hand, everyone has a different way of dealing with everything, especially measuring the success or wealth of others, so it will not always be the same.

[9ja Amaka]

What relates a good trader (regardless of whether the capital is small or big) and wealth is time.

Trading is like every other business. You can start with small profits, and accumulated small profits will give you bigger capital. Bigger capital will give you bigger profits, and the cycle goes on until you become wealthy, but all these happen with time and consistency.

Something that I find surprisingly strange, and that I have noticed in quite a few replies to my previous post, is how many people still seem to believe that being a good trader automatically means being wealthy.

Honestly, I did not expect to see this mindset so often on a forum like this. This is one of the oldest crypto communities around, and you would expect people here to understand these things better than the average person.

Yes, this is one of the oldest forums. Regardless, you don't expect everyone to have the same level of knowledge.

[boyptc]

A trader might be making profits over the long term and thus has a consistent income over the years but will definitely not become rich overnight.

A good trader is a disciplined trader who knows when to enter and when to exit, does not rush their bets and does not trade with money they cannot afford to lose. Making profits is one part of the entire picture, not the picture itself.

Unlike what majority of the people would think, making profits in trading is not so common and hence we have very few traders who are being consistent.

It takes discipline and hard work to make riches and traders who are profitable will have to be consist of several things and not only that they are good only in trading.

There's a need to be good in other factors too to be a wealthy person. Delayed gratification and risk management are a part of it.

Too many to mention but, being a good trader is just a part of it for them to become wealthy. Because a good trader can also be a reckless and irresponsible spender.

[Natalim]

A trader might be making profits over the long term and thus has a consistent income over the years but will definitely not become rich overnight.

A good trader is a disciplined trader who knows when to enter and when to exit, does not rush their bets and does not trade with money they cannot afford to lose. Making profits is one part of the entire picture, not the picture itself.

Unlike what majority of the people would think, making profits in trading is not so common and hence we have very few traders who are being consistent.

Simply put, being a good trader isn't a guarantee that you're having abundant supply of money, that you're filthy rich. Some highly excellent and experienced traders are still struggling on trying to manage their finances well especially that not all the time they trade they end up being profitable, as there are times the market is unfavorable to trade and trading will never profitable that time.

And seriously speaking, trading isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. You can lose a lot more prior to being profitable in your trades.

[Maslate]

Being a good trader ≠ being wealthy. The real good traders do not shows their skills in public instead will keep silent and use their time to trade and increase their wealth. They don't care with others perception because they only care with themselves and how they achieve their goals.

The expectation comes from social media where people see popular people sharing their trading activities and keep telling public that they can achieves the same. The truth is not be easy because to be a good trader needs many things which is not many people can do.

You can be a good trader but still with an empty pocket. That's because trading is hard and risky, you can avoid certain amount of losses but that does not mean that you are profitable enough. Sometimes, its better to just expect that you can make a good trade and avoid or minimize some losses than to aim for getting rich quick because that will not happen in real trading.

Just like gambling, you are more prone for bigger losses than instant profits. That is why being a good trader isn't equal to being wealthy with lots of funds and valuable properties.

[Nheer]

You can be a good trader but still with an empty pocket. That's because trading is hard and risky, you can avoid certain amount of losses but that does not mean that you are profitable enough. Sometimes, its better to just expect that you can make a good trade and avoid or minimize some losses than to aim for getting rich quick because that will not happen in real trading.

Just like gambling, you are more prone for bigger losses than instant profits. That is why being a good trader isn't equal to being wealthy with lots of funds and valuable properties.

At times we need to tell ourselves the truth and go back to reality and not whine up preaching about how it is in the books. Yes trading can be profitable when you know what you are doing and not treading but most importantly you need luck as well.

Trading is not as easy as we see it and in reality it's far more difficult than it is on paper and likewise more difficult than we see on social media about how people make money from it. On social media people don't share their losses only their wins. No one knows how much they lost in the process. Trading requires patience and cannot be achieved without knowledge but even so nothing is guaranteed, it still depends on luck.