By Sherrie Nish Editor Apex Investing
When he set out to explain how to trade, Darrell Martin’s intent wasn’t to develop Apex Investing. He was a successful investor who wanted to make a way for his daughter to learn how to trade. He had spent thousands of dollars and countless hours learning how to trade, so he wanted to provide a pathway that could be easily followed. When his buddies heard what he was doing, they suggested he make a website and the beginnings of Apex Investing were born.
You may think that as a trader, you just sit down and make up your own methods, doing your own thing. However, when you can interact in a community of other traders, you all get on the same page, working towards the same goals, and then new ideas come up.
Darrell says he is a better trader because of the community of traders and that his trading has gone through the roof! Be in the Elite room. You will usually find someone there around the clock. You have to be engaged in the room. Be part of the conversation instead of observing from the sidelines.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be afraid to lose money. No one will remember the questions you asked last year, but they will remember the money you made. Especially if you choose to share images of your withdrawals with them, as Darrell has shown Apex members in the past.
Darrell shared an example of when he was a relatively new trader and called Think or Swim with the request to buy a put on Sprint. He knew they could place the trade for him in about three seconds, but he wanted to know how to do it, so he asked them to walk him through it. They were a little annoyed, but he didn’t care what they thought or how annoyed they were. He just wanted to know how to do it, which led to him asking even more questions.
Most of you know Lori in the Elite room. When she was new at Apex, Darrell says she did not know what bid/offer was. She asked him numerous questions and sometimes they were annoying. However, now she is one of the best traders who teaches others how to trade. Another thing about Lori is that she didn’t start out with a very big account, but she was determined to make trading work and to learn how to make it work.
One of Darrell’s biggest goals has been to help people be able to look at a chart, find the big trade and be done trading for the day. (One and done.) This is what the power plays are all about. Some days may not have many opportunities, while other days may have plenty. The goal is to help you take the most out of a chart and have the best trade you possibly can. Of course, not all trades will win. You have to exercise good risk management, but when the good setups are there, go after them. You will gain confidence because the trades will seem to work better for you than they have in the past.
Be sure to engage with other traders. Get involved. Have fun and participate. The traders who make it are the ones who are not afraid to be in the room and ask questions. They want to learn what they did wrong or right. Learn all you can and be able to teach what you know to other traders. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be afraid to lose money.
Information for this article was presented by Darrell Martin in the Open House Webinar: Mastering Yourself in the World Of Trading With Apex CEO Darrell Martin
