The Importance of a mentor

Dear Traders,

Have you ever thought about having a mentor? Most people underestimate the value of a mentor and this has often been one of the reasons for failing in Forex. A mentor should offer you valuable insight that only experience offers - be that in successes, failures or both. The following points are aimed at motivating you to find a mentor whose knowledge can give you peace-of-mind in your trading activities.

Mentors can reduce failures

There are 2 paths leading to wisdom in your business in life. Either you make your own mistakes and learn from those or you learn from other people's mistakes. A person who has already walked the path of both success and failure, can safely guide you through the Forex battlefield. If you try to decide to figure out everything on your own, then you will encounter more problems. Most of us simply don't have enough time and money to make too many mistakes.

Choose a brutally honest mentor

To be a successful for you, he/she must always speak the truth. You won't always be hearing what you want to hear, but rather what you need to hear. This might not be easy for some strong egos, but ultimately you will learn to respect the honesty and dedication your mentor provides you with. I have experienced receiving and providing honest comments during my endeavour to help other traders - sometimes it's hard work, but it's always appreciated in the end.

Mentors build confidence

Anytime you start on a path towards something new, you will experience a lot of uncertainty within yourself along the way. That's a natural process. The Forex trading experience is no exception.

Most people can overcome that uncertainty by themselves. Others simply can't. For the latter, a mentor is a great support. They will help you build confidence. Sometimes simple words of encouragement will be enough, or perhaps an email with a different perspective will do the trick.

The mentors experience is your education

As noted earlier, the best teacher is always one who has experience in your industry. With a mentor, you are often learning from someone who has already arrived at where you want to be. Remember, you can't buy experience, it can only be earned and shared. As the old adage goes, "a mentor is someone whose hindsight can become your foresight."

But, be aware of bad mentors

Of course you need to be very careful about selecting a mentor. Like any profession, the Forex trading industry contains its share of fraudsters. Luckily, it's easy to spot a bad one if you follow these guidelines. Thankfully it's easy to spot a bad mentor or a fraudster.

Too bossy

If you feel like a naughty pupil whenever you talk to your mentor- he/she is probably not a very good one. A mentor should collaborate and encourage, not dictate.

Manipulative

There's numerous Forex marketers selling online mentor programs, usually as a downloading PDF. I call these options snake oil. There is no way a simple PDF can teach you the proper facts about trading, psychology, money management and/or risk management - all of which you need to understand if you want to successfully trade.

Incompetent and secretive

I always state the importance of pre fact analysis. Traders prefer clear and concise analysis, to understand possible outcomes. We are more interested in knowing what may happen then what has already happened. If you ever see that your mentor is not eager to confirm provided results by videos, screenshots or statements - be aware. Remember, even formal statements can be counterfeited, but not live trading videos showing pre fact and post fact results.

How do I find the right mentor?

Regulated Forex brokers like Admiral Markets have formal and informal mentoring programs that pair up novice traders with seasoned veterans. The cost-free webinars and Price action trading school that I provide through Admiral Markets, are great examples of this.

Ideally, a mentorship will develop into a longer-term relationship based on trust and collaboration. The key to making a mentoring relationship successful, is to make sure that it's mutually beneficial.

Check out the video below for a quick review of mentoring phases and goals.

We like sharing our love of trading and technical analysis, so why not check out our dedicated webinars for more education, tips and tricks. If you have any questions or you want to add your own thoughts about the importance of mentoring, feel free to comment below.

Cheers and safe trading,

Nenad