Entertainment/Distraction vs. Legitimate Education/Training in the Trading Industry:
There’s no doubt that the world of “trading education” can be an extremely difficult landscape to traverse.
On one side, we have consumers who are typically looking for the fastest, easiest ways to accomplish their goals/dreams. And on the other side, we have product/service providers who understand these desires and want to provide consumers what they want.
But what most hopeful traders “want” isn’t the same as what they “need” in order to achieve long-lasting, sustainable market success. What they want is excitement, fast money, and material wealth. But what they need is legitimate education and training first.
In other words, what many trading-related products/services offer in terms of “solutions” are merely distractions that don’t truly help (things like guru alert services, newsletters, and chat rooms). They sound great in theory, but are largely ineffective in reality.
Now I’m not saying that every single one of these types of services is bad – some can actually be quite good depending on how they operate. But for the most part, they tend to breed dependency over self-sufficiency (which is extremely dangerous, in my opinion).
What it really boils down to is that you won’t achieve the long-term rewards that you want from the market without hard work, dedication, and skill-building. Expecting spoon-fed, automatic profits just by subscribing to some service won’t work out very well.
You can’t shortcut the process of building proper habits/skills by blindly mirroring alerts – there’s no cheating cause-and-effect.
Legitimate Trading Educators, Coaches, and Mentors Get Drowned Out By the Noise:
What’s most unfortunate about how well get-rich-quick advertisements work is that the most honest, transparent, and ethical educators tend to get drowned out by flashy, self-proclaimed gurus. It’s difficult to compete with promises of fast and easy riches.
This is why many of the worst/most shady trading services can actually be some of the most popular. They grow in popularity because they’re great at enticing a lot of people with gimmicks and hype. But they’re often lacking in terms of actual substance.
FAKE TRADING GURUS:
- Focus on Lavish Dreams & Lifestyle
- Feed You Get-Rich-Quick Promises
- Brag About Their Own Profits/Success
Sometimes – even when the substance is there – individuals still struggle and fail because they were initially pumped with false expectations. They subscribe with the idea of achieving fast, easy success and give up when they realize it takes time and hard work.
There are only a small percentage of trading educators/mentors who refuse to focus on anything but the proper process. They hardly do any marketing – if at all. And while they might have smaller followings, they have loyal students focused on the right things.
REAL TRADING GURUS:
- Believe in Process Over Profits
- Focus on Training & Habit/Skill-Building
- Take Proper Expectations & Mindset Seriously
This article isn’t meant as a black-and-white guide for pinpointing all the “good” and “bad” trading services out there. But hopefully it helps you spot some of the major red flags to watch out for and understand what’s most important for your own success.
The polished videos featuring stacks of cash and Lamborghinis are there to grab your attention and get you to buy something. Stop thinking long-term trading success will magically manifest without working hard and developing new habits and skills.
Real Education Comes Through Practice, Training, and Habit/Skill-Building:
To wrap things up, it’s extremely important to understand your own human nature (desire for fast, easy money) and realize that many trading-related course, program, platform, and service-providers are going to attempt to use those desires to their advantage.
#1 Training Program For Developing Traders → TRADE WITH PROFILE – THE PROFILE TRADING DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY
If you made the decision to pay for a trading service in order to avoid the actual education and training required to become skilled and self-sufficient – then good luck. But I don’t know any traders who have achieved long-term, sustainable success that way.
Blindly copying/mirroring trade alerts from some guru with a seemingly phenomenal track record sounds great in theory, but it just doesn’t work in real life. All it does is undermine your legitimate growth and development as a trader. Don’t get blinded by distractions.
What you see on social media is mostly entertainment – the content is there to exploit your emotions for clicks, views, likes, and shares. It’s not really there to transform you into a consistently profitable trader – it’s there to steal your attention (and money).
Overall – if you truly want to become a great trader – then it’s best to avoid these “fatal conveniences” (alert services, get-rich-quick programs, etc.) and concentrate on building the habits and skills necessary to produce the long-term result you desire.
It’s easy to want the money and lifestyle that trading can potentially produce, but it’s not easy to build the skills required to achieve it.
Learn More in the Trading Success Framework Course
Written by Matt Thomas (@MattThomasTP)
Related Pages:
- Day Trading vs. Gambling – Is Day Trading Gambling?
- Trading is a Skill – Knowledge Will Only Get You So Far
- How to Get Started Trading With the Right Expectations
- Why is Day Trading So Hard – The Realities of Day Trading
- What is Trade With Profile – Best Trader Training Program?
Many of the advertisements from fake gurus show lavish lifestyles and flashy cars, giving one the impression that it is easy and is a get-rich-quick way of earning a living. But in reality it isn’t.
And yes, human nature is such that we want things that are easy to get and want to achieve results without putting in too much effort. But to achieve real success, one does need to put in work and effort, and most importantly, get training from a real guru and leader in the industry.
Thank you for sharing this great reminder and avoid the fake guys with their flashy advertisements.
The tricky part about this is that most real trading gurus/educators/mentors who preach about the actual time, hard work, and dedication involved in becoming a successful trader – the vast majority of people just aren’t interested in. The masses prefer the fast, easy way that the fake gurus are preaching – so that’s the road they typically go down if they choose to even pursue trading at all. Instead of studying, practicing, training, and building skills and experience over the course of months/years – the masses would rather be entertained with flashy videos that are “fun” and “exciting” and be spoon-fed hot picks through chat rooms, newsletters, and alert services. The end result is that those who are completely honest about the realities of trading get drowned out by the misleading advertisers/marketers. To a certain degree, I understand why some gurus add a little flash to their advertisements in order to compete within the trading education space. I don’t necessarily like it, but I get why they have to do it. Some just take it too far, though. It’s one thing to have some flashy advertisements, but the worst is when there’s no actual substance in what they’re offering. I’m OK with a little flash if there’s solid training to go along with it, but unfortunately, that’s not typically the case. It’s usually just flash followed by low-quality training.