For some of my readers, you already know what I’m going to tell you today. But I’ve learned recently, in talking to many developing traders, that a lot of people aren’t fully aware of the trading course and what it offers. I want to take a few moments today to share some thoughts with you, and to tell you about the newest module we published.
History of the course
I started the course in 2013, as a companion to my just-published book. I saw the course as a way to extend the material of the book, to help people who learned from listening or seeing rather than reading, and, frankly, as a way to combat some of the crappy courses I saw people charging thousands of dollars for.
I created a course that is fully the equal of nearly all of the paid courses out there. It covers technical/directional trading in almost academic rigor: moving from probability to market dynamics to practical/applied technical analysis. All of this is crystallized in the useful heuristic of a few chart patterns, and then we work on how to apply it: risk management, creating your trading plan, and developing the psychological skills you need to do it.
Late last year, I began a project of completely re-vamping and re-doing the course, drawing from my conversations with and the experiences of thousands of traders who worked through the course. I’ve learned a lot… and the new version is even better!
I’ve written an entire new book to support the course. (Though you don’t need the book to do the course). There are hundreds of chart exercises, and many in-depth exercises that will ask a lot of you. (One of the coolest things is the analysis of the full history of the DJIA!) This is not just a course where you watch a few videos and go on with your life—if you work the course properly, it can change your life.
What can go wrong
I don’t say that lightly; I have a lot of feedback from traders who said that the material in the course took them from struggling to consistency. Making a chance in someone’s trading like that literally can change their lives.
But I also have spoken with many traders who didn’t get what they could out of the course. Why? What went wrong?
Well, first, we tend to assume something is worth what we pay for it… and… the course is free. (You can hear someone saying “dot, dot, dot” here…) I talked to one person (an ex-floor trader) who first saw the course years ago and ignored it because it was free. Once he got into it, he’s raving about all the things it’s cleared up and all the answers it’s given him, and he asks why I don’t charge $10,000 for it.
One of the other things that can go wrong is the course asks a lot of you. I cannot make you a trader. There is nothing I can say to you, teach you, or give you that will make you into a trader. Sorry, but that’s the reality. If you are going to become a successful trader, it will depend on the work you do.
And that work is hard. That work is sometimes tedious. (Sometimes, it’s very rewarding and fun.) It takes a lot of focused work over a long time, and, especially in a world of 13 second engagement with Facebook videos, we may be losing the skill of focused attention.
What you can do
If you’ve taken the some of the course but sort of fell off the wagon, go, right now, and start again. If you went completely through the old version of the course, the new version is worth your time too. There are some brand new modules and content that was not in the course before:
- An in-depth look at the history of modern technical analysis: main players, what they did, and how it all fits together. (Module 6, unit 4)
- A deep look at the patterns of classical charting, using the original source material. (Module 6, unit 5). Everyone on social media brings out “head and shoulders” patterns all the time, but you’ll have a solid perspective on these patterns that most people are missing.
- Trade management and specific exit techniques.
- Work on cognitive biases and perceptual errors.
- A new module and material on risk (will come in Module 8)
- Completely revised psychology and discipline work, including units on routine and process, and how to develop the mental skills of profitable trading. (Module 9, not yet released).
I’m not going to lie—I’m excited about this course. It has been a labor of love (and oh… the labor it has been!) for several years, and I think the recent additions are significant improvements. If you haven’t seen it, I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.
Just to be crystal clear: the course is, and always will be, completely free. Registration is required, but I’ll never share your email address or contact information. Also, I do have some subscription services that do a pretty good job of connecting the course to current market conditions… pointing out some actionable trade ideas… filtering markets for best patterns and trades. I’ll share those with you too, and, for some of you, these services may bring tremendous value. But there’s no obligation or need to buy anything—the course is totally, and completely, free.
Start today… this course can change your trading… and it can change your life.
