Mastering the Trade - Key Lessons from John Carter
Trading isn’t about luck. It’s about discipline, risk management, and repeatable setups. Here’s what every trader should know 🧵
1) Trading is a skill, not a gamble
Success comes from strategies you can repeat, not from guessing market moves.
Control what you can do with your entries, exits, and risk.
2) Mindset is everything
Most traders fail due to emotions, not setups.
Stick to your plan
Journal every trade: why you entered, what went right/wrong, how you felt
Trading isn’t just “buying and selling stocks.”
It’s about knowing yourself, managing risk, controlling emotions, and protecting your capital.
If you’re serious about trading, study your game inside out — not just setups and profits.
A thread 🧵
Trading success isn’t about the best strategy, it’s about mastering yourself:
Discipline. Patience. Consistency.
1. Discipline – follow your plan
Successful traders stick to their rules no matter what the market does. Impulse decisions and emotional trades are the fastest way to lose. Discipline keeps you consistent.
Simple Guide to Position Sizing for Trading Success
By Van K. Tharp
A thread 🧵
1) What is Position Sizing
Position sizing is simply deciding HOW MUCH to trade. It's about protecting your money while still making profits. Think of it as your trading safety net!
2) Why Position Sizing Matters
Prevents big losses that can wipe out your account
Helps you stay in the game during losing streaks
Makes your winning trades count more
Warren Buffett nearly went bankrupt in 1962
His biggest bet was burning $4M a month. Bankruptcy was weeks away
Then a man named Harry Bottle saved his career in 6 days
The untold story of Buffett’s riskiest investment 🧵
1) Young Buffett thought he struck gold
He bet big on Dempster Mill, a struggling windmill manufacturer
Stock price: $18/share
Book value: $72/share
A 75% discount is the perfect Ben Graham-style bargain
By 1961, he owned 70% of the company
2) But the numbers were lying
Dempster made up 21% of Buffett’s fund
Cash: $166K
Debt: $2.3M
$4M of inventory sat rotting in warehouses some of it since 1909
Bankruptcy was weeks away. Buffett was trapped
Trading in the Zone – Mark Douglas
Most traders lose not because of bad strategies… but because of bad mindsets.
Mark Douglas explains why trading psychology is the real edge.
Here’s the full breakdown 🧵
1)The Core Idea
Trading isn’t about predicting the market.
It’s about learning to:
- Think in probabilities
- Control your emotions
- Execute with discipline
Success = consistency, not prediction.
2) Why Traders Fail
Douglas says most traders fall into 3 traps:
- Need to be right → They can’t accept losses.
- Random reinforcement → A few lucky wins create overconfidence.
- Emotional trading → Fear, greed, and hope drive decisions.
Result: they sabotage themselves, even with good strategies.