The author compares renovating a new home to learning how to trade successfully. Just as some homeowners do subpar renovation work themselves without professional expertise, many aspiring traders try to learn trading on their own without proper support and guidance. This often leads to losing money and eventually giving up, similar to flaws appearing over time in DIY renovations. The author advocates apprenticing under an experienced mentor, as tradespeople do, to properly hone skills and avoid costly mistakes made by self-taught novice traders.

2. My wife and I just moved into a new
home. Well, new for us and old for the
previous owners. You have to make
the house your own which usually
means doing some minor renovations
and some painting.

3. That can become a challenge
especially if the original owners did a
lot of work themselves.
Let me give you a few examples:

4. 1. Hired an electrician to add outlets
and an exhaust fan in the washroom.
Turns out the wiring was a hatchet job
and required more work on the part of
my contractor.

5. 2. Painters are starting to do their job.
This has required removing some
paneling (people still use that???) with
a few surprises behind it. As well, the
original paint job has many flaws.

6. 3. A conduit was used to hold wires
for a tv on the wall.
Turns out that a few screws were not
enough as they used what appeared to
be the most sticky substance known to
man to hold it on. Off came some of
the wall.

7. I've always been a "let a professional
do the work" kind of guy when it
comes to many things like painting and
installations.

8. Some obviously like to go it alone
which is not a bad thing....if they do it
with an attitude of a professional or
with the skill of a pro.
Does this tie into trading or am I just
ranting?

9. In my experience, many people who
enter the world of trading are like the
homeowner who knows just enough
to do a subpar job.

10. Without an eye for detail or the work
ethic that makes up a pro, many
flounder, lose money, and eventually
pack it in.

11. Electricians and many other trades
have an apprenticeship program with
is required for licensing. You work
under the eye of the professional as
you hone your skills and become
proficient in your trade of choice.

12. Some tradespeople make a strong
income and even start their own
companies working on their own
terms.

13. Sounds pretty much the same as those
who enter the world of trading....they
want to make a living being a self-
employed trader.

14. The issue is that many think they can
do it on their own. For some, sure,
they can progress up the ranks but for
the majority of people, failure is the
outcome. To be fair, even under the
eye of a professional trader, it still boils
down to you and your issues with:

15. Following a method
Using proper risk controls
Trade psychology
...but most people don't give
themselves a chance to succeed!

16. Running into losing trades?
They jump systems.

17. Account balance dropping?
They double up on position sizing.

18. Want to make more money?
They over trade.

19. I started in trading with a mentor who
kept me on the straight and narrow. I
had someone who, when I did a
homeowners subpar performance,
kept me on the right path.

20. I was lucky to have that! While I made
rookie mistakes, they were short lived
and it was easy to get back on track.
Many people only have the trading
forums to bounce ideas and issues off
of. I don't think that is good enough.

21. I have never met a trader (not to be
confused with someone who simply
takes a trade) who has not had some
sort of professional support. There are
a handful of companies who do have
your interest in mind when
approaching trading education.

22. Netpicks and their Premier Trader
University make it their mission to aid
those who desire a trading career. All
coaches are active traders and fully
understand the risks and issue
associated with becoming successful
as a trader.

23. The longevity and testimonials of
those who have become successful
speaks to the quality of the support
you can receive on your journey with
Netpicks.

24. Far too many who could make it, drop
off due to issues that perhaps, with
the right support, could have been
overcome. Instead, much like the
previous owner of our house, they
thought they could go it alone.

25. They thought their efforts would
suffice to get the job done
successfully.

26. While the work was good enough for a
time, it wasn't when put under the
microscope.
That microscope for a trader is
consistently profitable over the long
haul.

27. The fact is that many will never be in it
for the long haul.
The fact is that they never really gave
themselves the chance to see what
they are truly made of.
Will you?