“I was able to sell a portion of my stock. Then I decided to hold the rest. That could prove to be a terrible, terrible, terrible decision. This could be the worst financial decision of my life…could be.

But after lots and lots and lots of discussion and lots of number crunching and lots of thinking about it, I decided to hold on. ….” (Source: Tim.blog | H/T: Mind Café)

That’s Tim Ferris, New York Times bestseller and a successful investor who remains in close proximity to the big shots in the Silicon Valley, including the finest investors and consultants.

The world is staring at one of the biggest recessions in recent times. So, it isn’t just the regular stock investors who are anxious. The institutional and successful investors are holding their breath as well. 

The tug of whether to…

• Hold or exit the market
• Trust this company or not
• Follow others or walk alone
• Leave or sink with the ship
• Buy the dip or remain risk-free

…is confusing stock investors worldwide.

If you’re among them, don’t be too hard on yourself. 

Work to minimize your risks. But, at the same time, depending on your financial standing, be okay with little risks that won’t destroy your portfolio and make you poor.

Get rid of anxiety and trust the tried and tested rule of stock investment: Hold.

Of course, portfolio diversification is another tried-tested rule.

There are many things stock investors can do to combat this economic contraction and keep their portfolio safe.

So, avoid over-stressing yourself. Just like we have overcome every downturn, we will do even this one.

As a stock investor, stick to your long-term game. Focus on getting better at this game. In fact, use this period to amplify your skills. There are many share trading courses out there. Find and enroll in the best online stock trading courses that adequately suit your needs.

Yes, there are challenges ahead and many investors might struggle in different ways. But, at the same time, there are also many opportunities to grow yourself and boost your portfolio. Tap on these opportunities.

A stock trader or investor?

Here are 7 stock market memes that will make you laugh hard and teach you a few lessons that your stock market training couldn’t:

1. What so many new stock traders want to do…

The idea of being a day trader is quite exciting. But it’s also far from easy. 

Day trading is much more than just “buy low, sell high”. 

Usually, the new traders, day-trading with no thorough planning and strategy, end up with big losses.

2. *Surprise* Not everybody is a stock trader or investor

Stock trading is difficult. It’s not an easy money scheme – an appeal and narrative that attracts thousands of new players every day.

Trading requires a ridiculous amount of work on a daily basis.

If you want to make a million in a month, you’re in the wrong field.

3. It’s risky… very risky

Unless you have enough wealth that you can afford to lose – or if you have extensive market knowledge – you’re better off staying from the market. 

Even if you have gone through the best online trading training and have the right consultants by your side, there’s always the risk of losing money.

4. Stock trading is an addiction for many

Yes, Hollywood may paint the picture a bit exaggeratingly. But, in reality, many stock traders are hooked to the game. And this isn’t all about money.

When you understand the stock market closely and all its dynamics, behind the veil of risks and losses, trading is quite fun.

You can be one of them. You just have to love the process and not chase money.

5. Don’t be one of them

Being a successful stock trader isn’t about the money you made in your last trade. It’s about the kind of portfolio you have managed to build over the months and years. 

So, just because you’re making profits from your trades, don’t change your social media bio to “stock trader”.

6. Are you missing similar opportunities right now?

Many stock traders invest in companies based on those companies’ current performance.

That’s a good strategy when you’re a trader. For the investors though, factoring the prospect of the company and its anticipated future growth is very important.

Investors missed the chance to invest in Amazon stocks in the late 1990s. Don’t miss the opportunities this time.

Look around and find the Amazon of 2019 and 2020.

7. Portfolio diversification is essential 

It’s boring advice. Moreover, the market hasn’t seen major crashes in recent times that undermine this rule’s relevance. This is why so many new stock investors take this advice rather lightly. 

But strategically, to eliminate risks, build a sustainable portfolio and survive crashes, diversifying your portfolio is essential. 

Share more stock market memes on Twitter with Bharat Jhunjhunwala at @BharatJ82. 

Yes, you buy and sell stocks… And your social media bio does say you’re a stock trader. But then, are you really?

There’s a big difference between being a stock trader and being a serious stock trader. The former, almost imminently, is expected to end with big losses, while the latter works with a thorough plan that enables her/him to build a high-worth portfolio.

So, what kind of stock trader are you – serious one or just a casual one?

Here are three signs you’re NOT a serious stock trader:

1.You don’t dedicate an amount of time to it every day

A large population of stock traders is in the game part-time. That isn’t wrong or a problem in itself. The problem is when, in the name of ‘part-time’, they don’t commit sufficient amount of time in trading regularly. If you’re one of them, you aren’t exactly a serious trader. To be a profitable trader, it’s essential that you take out a significant amount of time every day to commit to trading – to buy/sell, analyze the market trends, talk to industry people, and consume relevant content.

2.You don’t have a well-defined goal 

This is a big mistake of the new players. They start trading with short-term, money-centric intent. They just want to trade to make money. This overall vagueness derails their trades and pace. You must know exactly what you want to achieve; how much money you want to make; where you see your portfolio in the next 6 and 20 months from now. When you know “how much”, you will automatically get to plan how you’re going to achieve that. 

3.You aren’t actively learning and growing 

You’re never perfect. There’s always a room to improve yourself, as well as your plans and strategies. If you aren’t actively investing in learning and growing yourself, you’re creating a recipe for losses and unsustainability. As a serious stock trader, you must enroll self in a good share market trading course. You must learn from online trading courses and expert articles about technical analysis. You must learn from the market movements, as well as from your own losses and mistakes.

These are three signs that you aren’t exactly a serious stock trader. If you see these signs, it’s important that you fix them in order to make better trades and build for yourself a high-worth portfolio. 

There’s a lot more to become a full-time (profitable) stock trader than just reading a few articles and completing a trading course. Of course, you need the right technical skill. However, often overlooked, you need the right mindset to take all the mental pressure that the game entails.

So, if you plan or aspire to become a full-time stock trader, here are three essentials you’re going to need:

1.Appetite for losses

No matter how “great” and “perfect” your trading strategy is, you’re still going to lose money. It’s inevitable. Somewhere, sometime, you will eventually fail to match the market’s pace, eventually losing money.

Moreover, when you’re trying to build a high-value portfolio, you’re going to have to take (calculative) risks, which would further increase the chances of loss.

So, you must have the right appetite for such losses – both financially and mentally.

2.Patience to observe the market

Stock trading isn’t just about pacing in the room, making calls and buying-selling in frantic. It isn’t as chaotic as the mainstream perceives it. More often than not you’ll have to sit back, relax and watch the market movement intently. You would need to stop and analyze the trends.

Often, you will find it extremely boring.

All these require you to have enough patience and NOT make immature decisions.

This is important to make the right moves, not give in to market FUD and prevent self from trading emotionally.

3.In-depth technical knowledge

Stock trading is more than just buying low and selling high. The biggest challenge would be for you to actually spot such opportunities and then (try to) time the trade so to maximize the return.

If you don’t have in-depth knowledge of technical analysis, you’re going to find it difficult to survive as a full-time stock trader.

So, if you’re really weak in this department, enroll in online trading courses that focus on the technical aspect of trading. Learn and grow.

Conclusion 

Of course, you need much, much more to be a successful, full-time trader, including a well-defined trading plan, a network of reliable traders for support, and expert assistance among others. But the above mentioned three are essentials that often get discredited or overshadowed.

If you’re starting in the game, always know what it takes to win at it. Have the three essentials and you would be off to a good start. 

There are no hard rules for this "how". Generally put, the answer varies depending on individuals: what kind of learners they are, what trading goals they have, and where they are right now. Some could get better at trading by just looking at videos, others might need stock market courses and personalized help from experts. 

So, in that context, the simplest way to become a better trader is to get self-aware and then map your journey ahead accordingly.

How Good Are You As a Trader?

Before you try to get "better", you must know how "good" (or bad) you are in the first place. So, audit yourself as a trader. Understand your proficiency level, what kind of mistakes you make, what kind of trading plan and strategies you have. 

This is the foremost step in the process. By the end, you will have a fair idea of where you are, where you have to go and how you can get there. 

Consume The Right Content

One of the best things about being a trader today is that there is limitless content available online, for free, teaching you how to become (a successful) one. So, right in the comfort of your bed, you can read resourceful articles and watch tutorial videos to learn about better trading tactics and strategies. 

Find a handful of good websites and channels that has the kind of content you’re looking for and that you can rely on. And then follow them religiously on a daily basis.

Enroll In Stock Trading Courses 

Even when you’re a self-learner, this is essential. In particular for the beginners. 

Stock market courses can play a big difference-maker for you, helping you learn the basic, as well as the advanced concepts rather easily and quickly. 

It's difficult to learn about technical analysis through articles. For effective learning, you need practical guidance so that you not only understand the different indicators but also know how to use them in your own trades. And this is where the right stock trading courses come into play. 

So, do your research and find a good stock trading course that ideally suits your needs and goals.

Adopt A Leaner's Mindset

To become a better trader, you must keep yourself open to new ideas and concepts. You must always be eager to learn new things. This is essential. 

In short, you need to have a learner's mindset, irrespective of whether you’re a beginner or have been in the game for years. 

Recommended Read: A Simple Step To Achieve Breakthrough in Stock Trading 

These are basic measures on how you can become a better trader. Of course, it's not easy. However, the rewards lined ahead make all the hard work very much worth it.

Stock market trading isn't so easy. Period. However, this doesn't mean you can't climb that ladder quickly to go from a beginner to a pro. In fact, if you're consistent in your efforts, you can outdo all those “pros” in terms of returns not-so-difficultly.

Here are 3 things that you should do in 2019 to become a pro stock market trader:

Stop Treating it As a Hobby or Time-Pass

If you're looking to build a solid and sustainable portfolio, treating stock market trading as a hobby or time pass will only distance you from that goal. This is a serious business. And your approach should be serious as well.

It isn't "I'll read the charts if I get the time". Investing time in learning, understanding, and trading regularly needs serious efforts and enough time every day.

Signup For Stock Market Courses For Beginners

This is possibly one of the best decisions you can take in 2019. Even if you're a good self-learner, you're going to face some challenges. It could be anything—from limited reliable and valuable resources available online to maintaining a discipline that is usually required to learn something like this.

Signing up for the right stock market courses for beginners can avail you a plethora of valuable sources, and can introduce you to newer concepts, new strategies, and better market understanding. Besides, when it matters your hard-earned money, it's always a good idea to have an expert and professional by your side for additional assistance.

Read The News Every Day

This one has no substitute. If you want to stay ahead in the game with the best trading strategy, you must always be aware of how the market is currently performing, how the trends read, how political and social factors will affect the stock market and so forth.

For this, reading relevant news articles becomes imperative. So, every day in 2019, take out at least half-hour from your day to commit to read the market news from reliable sources daily.

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These are 3 things that you should do in 2019 to become a pro at stock market trading.