“A goal without a deadline is just a wish”
1.) Why am I trading? - What problem do you think trading can fix? - What drives you to want to succeed? - What drives you to want to improve? - Why do you want financial freedom? - What do you hope trading will accomplish? 2.) What am I trading? - What instrument or vehicle will you use to achieve these goals?(Stocks, Currency, commodity, indices, Future) - Which pair specifically? 3.) How will I be trading? - How will you approach the markets? (Scalping, intraday, swing?) - How will you apply your strategy? - How will you keep yourself in line? - Will you be disciplined? 4.) What time will I be trading? - What market session will I limit my trading to? - What hours will I commit to being on the charts? - What hours will I refuse to trade no matter what opportunity is presented? 5.) Criteria to execute trades (Confirmation checklist). - What confirmations will you use as your criteria to enter a trade? - How did you come up with this strategy? Is this strategy tested to be successful over time? - How will you commit to ensuring that you only enter trades that meet all of your criteria? 6.) Daily/weekly pip and percentage goals (be realistic)? - What will be your daily goal? Is this goal achievable? - What is your weekly pip goal? Is this goal achievable? - Are these goals based on a function of percentage of the account, or an income goal target? 7.) How much risk to expose on each trade and account - How much of your account will you put at risk in order to achieve those goals? - How much risk per trade can you afford to place based on the size of your account? - How much total risk can you expose your account to at one time, based on the size of your account? - What percentage risk will you adopt to make sure that you don’t blow your account? 8.) How to manage emotions while trading? - What parameters will you place on yourself to avoid allowing greed/fear to take over? - How will you limit your trading in times of emotional distress, and take advantage of the markets in time of emotional fortitude?