"Comfortably Consistent Earner"

 Today we thank John Cottle for sending us his story this week: 

Hi John,

I have been a Newsletter Member for quite a few years, and thank you all (and a number of others) for your help in educating me regarding successful trading.

Based on your initial education and help I have developed my own trading style, strategies and plan, which is all going along ‘swimmingly’ at the moment and has been for a couple of years.

Over the last 15 years or so, I’ve been through the whole trading ‘gambit’, including large profits and even larger losses, struggling to pick price turning points and associated entry and exit points, top-down and bottom-up analysis including fundamentals, using ever more intricately detailed (“……this is the winner……”!)  indicators and strategies. But with the increasing market volatility, my trading performance deteriorated even further. 

In addressing this, I suspect, often travelled path of new traders, I simplified my strategy to the barest minimum and it seems to have worked such that over the last 9 months or so I have been slowly but inexorably and week by week consistently clawing my way back from net capital losses amounting to more than 50%. 

I have not become your ‘tear away’ market millionaire, just a comfortably consistent earner, currently (and quickly in the current market) clawing back the accumulated losses endured over the last 15 years or so of trying.  Once I ‘pop’ out of the capital loss tunnel into the sunshine of net accumulating profits I’m hoping I’ll be able to ‘soiree into the sunset’, earning a sustaining living as I go!

I put this turnaround all down to Jim and the imparting of his advice, experience and wisdom at the talks and seminars I’ve attended and your  ‘Investing & Online Trading’  Newsletter in ‘covering the field and its action’, and calming my approach to be less frenetic  (trying to catch turning points etc) and to be more business-like.

The drawdowns still happen of course, but previous panicked over reaction is now replaced by ‘patient’ relaxed and considered action on my part. This has resulted in significantly more consistent and sustained net profitability.

I never (really!) look back and reminisce at what might have been with ‘Trades not Taken’ or ‘Exits Enacted’, except in an analytical strategy fine-tuning context, which I carry out on an approximately monthly basis as/when I update the Monthly scan.

John, apologies for my (usual) long-winded-ness, but as I’ve said above, Jim, you and your Share Trading Education.com Newsletter can take responsibility for all of the above, for getting me past my normally ‘analysis to paralysis’ disposition  and ultimately  getting my ‘mind and method’ right for me.

I thank you sincerely for your interest, contribution, and help in developing me into a regular, daily, self-sustaining, un-stressed market trader. You’ve helped me generate an (earning) ‘job for life’! This was my aim, particularly post my recent ( 2 years) retirement from the business world.

I recommend you to others I come across who either need or are interested in getting into and becoming involved in trading the market seriously for a living.

John Cottle, Private Trader,
Victoria, February 2013

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