Being a day trader can be a great way to make some money if you know what you’re doing. We asked experienced Forex trader Sam Seiden to help us out with some guidance and he’s provided 10 vital pieces of advice below.

1. Make Learning Your Resolution

Intention comes before action, so take the first step towards trading by resolving to learn stock trading. Avoid taking this step lightly or glossing over it. Take time to think about why you are interested in learning about the stock market as well as what you hope to gain from it. Prepare yourself mentally for the work and study ahead. This will help set the foundation for learning about trading and will help you set goals later on.

2. Research

According to Seiden once you have made the resolution to get involved with the stock market, you now need to figure out how best to do it. Rarely will it be advisable to simply jump into the market and start trading if you don’t have the knowledge and have not made preparations of any kind. If you do this, you are likely to lose your money, get discouraged, and simply quit before even giving yourself the opportunity to succeed.

A better idea would be to research how to learn more about the stock market. You can start with reading how-to books and can use a reputable tool Harmonic Scanner. You should research the potential ways that you can learn more about the market and the learning modalities that appeal most to you.

3. Get into Learning Mode

Once you find some resources, you need to set your mind to the task of learning. Make sure that you learn everything possible about the market. Be obsessed with learning. Set aside specific times of the day for you to learn about the market and dedicate yourself to the process of learning. Be strict about sticking to your plan and hold yourself accountable.

4. Set Goals

It is important for you to take several moments to think about what motivates your entry into the market. Now that you have started to learn, you need to get real clear about your goals. Set specific goals for what your dreams are once you become a trader. Do you want to buy your girlfriend’s dream engagement ring or do you want to buy a big house by the water?

The more specific the goals you set, the better says Seiden. Goals will be of great benefit to you as you start trading and will help keep you inspired. You are always free to adjust the goals based on your progress. However, you need to aim high to ensure that your “big goal” continually motivates you throughout the difficult, but critical preparation/study period.

5. Seek Advice

One of the best ways that you can streamline your learning is to find a mentor. A mentor can be anybody who’s further along in his or her trading career than you. The mentor will provide valuable insight based on his/her own experiences, but can also guide you towards other resources that were beneficial to them. Simply put, a mentor can help shed light on the path ahead and help you avoid common pitfalls thus speeding up your learning curve significantly.

6. Start Trading

Once you have learned the basics, held yourself accountable, and have proper guidance, the next thing to do is get out the nest and start flying on your own. Always start small when it comes to trading – it’s one of the Sam Seiden trading tips. Research the trades that have the least amount of risk and see how you feel about pulling the trigger. You might lose some money or perhaps even make some. Either way, you will have valuable feedback moving forward and you need to learn to grow your knowledge account before growing your back account consistently.

7. Progress Evaluation

Once you start trading, you need to take time to pause and find out what is going right and what is not. Both aspects are equally important.

For instance, if you are doing something right, ensure that you make note of it, so that you continue doing it, focusing more on it, and maintaining an upward trajectory. How can you continue doing the things that are going well, but streamline the process? Refine the technique so that you are able to repeat your successes faster in the future.

Conversely, if you are doing something wrong, think about that just as strongly. How can you get rid of ‘bad’ behaviors moving forward or conduct yourself in a different way in the future? How can you get rid of bad habits so that they do not hold you back?

8. Nurture Good Habits

Millionaires are of different shapes and sizes, but most of their good habits are constant, across the board, irrespective of who they are. Take time to nurture those habits. You can start small, by waking up a bit earlier each day. Ultimately, it is important to refine all the millionaire habits such as good saving habits among others, developing your self-reflection ability, redefining your definition of failure, as well as maintaining a strong commitment to giving back to the community.

When growing as a beginner trader, it is important to practice good habits like cutting your losses fast to lower the risk of a potentially greater disaster, even if it is frustrating to take small losses.

9. Get Rid of Bad Habits

Just as it is important to discover and copy successful people’s good habits, it is equally important to get rid of the bad habits that could be holding you back. You might be held back by the fear of failure or you are not dedicated enough to your learning. Practice honesty with yourself especially about your shortcomings and strive to improve yourself every single day.

10. Persistence

If you want to learn how to be a successful trader, this “how to” list is not necessarily linear. The steps outlined here should be constantly and consistently revisited irrespective of how seasoned or new you are at trading stocks. To find true success in the stock market, it is important to stay diligent. You should keep revisiting your goals, be motivated, keep on top of both bad and good habits and continually redefine your process.

When it comes to stock trading, persistence definitely pays off and so does diligence. If you stay connected to your goals and stick to your trading, through both good and bad ones, you will create an inner fire and passion for the process that makes you a good trader for life. This is the key to long-lasting happiness and success: a deep connection and passion to what you’re doing. Enjoy your journey.