New FTMO Traders joining us this September

A new month is here and as always, we welcome our new FTMO Traders who are joining our forces. Read their stories which might help you in your own trading journey!

Trader Mihai shares very valuable advice for new traders

Do you have a trading plan in place, and do you follow it strictly?

I do have a trading plan set, I try to stick to it strictly. At this moment I'm trying to optimize my SL in order to become as greedy as possible with a low risk.

How did Maximum loss limits affect your trading style?

It didn't affect me at all, I had some rules in terms of how much could I lose every day, If I would have been near it or losing two consecutive trades I would have stopped for that day.

How would you rate your experience with FTMO?

Very well, clap clap!

How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?

I've eliminated the factor of luck by trading with multiple edges.

Knowing what's going to happen, finding the story behind what the buyers and sellers are doing and depending on the context to remain in the market or not.

What inspires you to pursue trading?

Freedom & self-independence.

What is the number one advice you would give to a new trader?

Develop an edge ( know how to trade a certain setup, know when it fails, know the good signs of why you should keep the trade).

Trade only that edge in the market. Repeat the process.

Use live/demo/paper trading & simulator to move faster.

Develop a growth mindset by reading and listening to a podcast every day.

Write in your daily journey your trades and what you've learned in terms of discipline and self-growth.

Uninstall subconscious patterns that you've learned from your parents/teachers/environment (fear of failure, fear of success, thinking small, money is the root of the evil, working hard for money and so on).

If you have negative thoughts, in order to have a positive mindset, first of, change the thoughts and then you'll have a positive mindset.

Thoughts are created by the environment, watch the environment you are, how you act, what is your relation to money and trading?

Find what mental conflicts you have (trading is a casino, trading is gambling) and so on - here I'd advise reading Douglas's Book.

Develop discipline and a trading routine, do it daily for the next 66 days so the mind can settle with the new information and the new habits that you're building.

The hardest thing for me in this journey it was the fact that I didn't accept to lose.

I couldn't bear the loses, but If I can't accept to lose why should I win? I've watched myself sabotaging multiple times because I was giving up mentally that I'm unable to get to the profit target when I was on a negative P&L because I tried to do it as fast as I could, accepting every setup instead of analyzing it and reading the full story and the context behind each confirmation rule.

In order to overcome this, I had to change the way I was thinking, to think bigger, to accept more from life and to stop playing it safe.

I had to work every day with my thoughts and with my mind in order to break this zone of mediocrity.

After working on this, I didn't have any fear of losing money, I had control of what I was thinking and I was able to spot better trading setups in the market in order to get back to the profit target.

Trader Sheena reflects on her journey

How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?

I made a plan of keeping a daily goal and sticking to 1-3 instruments. I took my time and used 20 days to finish the trading Challenge.

How does passing the Challenge and Verification changed your life?

Passing the Challenge does not only add more income but it will help me build my personal accounts. I plan to take my trading to such a level that I will only have the smallest losses and drawdown as this account has a limit of $5,000 daily.

What do you think is the key for long term success in trading?

Staying consistent and making sure your wins are larger than your losses and making sure your risk to reward is reasonable.

How does your risk management plan look like?

Setting a daily goal of risking 1% of the account to make 10% weekly.

Where have you learnt about FTMO?

I researched forex prop. firms on google and came across FTMO and it has been a true blessing.

One piece of advice for people starting the Challenge now.

Definitely do not give up on your first try if you do not pass the Challenge. FTMO is truly worth the many numbers of tries because you could get 10x more of your investment back in the first withdrawal if you take this seriously. Do not try to complete the Challenge within a day or 2, and take your time and finish it.

What helped trader Shamir getting funded?

 

Describe your best trade.

My best trade during this Challenge would have to be a two-week swing on SPX500 that has now created a new record high in the market.

This was a simple market structure set up that went to the moon. Entry at the Higher Low and take profit set at the new record high.

What inspires you to pursue trading?

My family, my wife and my one-year-old baby boy. The ability to own your time. The personal development that it requires. I'm inspired by the growth, the journey and the dedication it takes to become a successful trader. Last but not least I'm inspired by my mentors and the successful traders that I personally know.

What was the most difficult during your Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?

I'm not used to trading with a time limit so for me that was probably the most difficult to get over on a mindset level. Knowing I had 30 days to reach my profit target while trying to stay disciplined enough to avoid the daily losses. The type of trader I am, I usually will take 1-3 trades a week or two may be depending on the set up I have.

But this forced me to be a little more active while still staying disciplined and patient as possible. It was a great experience and definitely built my confidence. Once I settled in I realized I didn't have to change my trading style per se, I just needed to overcome the mindset of feeling like I was going to run out of time. And stick to the trading plan.

What do you think is the key for long term success in trading?

Patience + Discipline = Consistency. The “ahaa” moment comes when you realize that mindset is more important than technicals.

Anyone can learn technicals, anyone can learn patterns and how to identify trends. But not just anyone is going to take the trade, and manage the trade properly after. It's really a skill you must develop from the inside out. Understanding what the market is currently doing is one thing but understand yourself as a trader is a key.

Do you have a trading plan in place, and do you follow it strictly?

Market structure, candlesticks and price action. My trading plan is to trade what I see, not what I think. Stay patient, less is always more and don't force anything.

What would you like to say to other traders that are attempting the Challenge?

Do it! It truly challenges you as a trader. It will help you set and follow your own trading goals and objectives. If you want to pass the Challenge you must follow a plan. This Challenge will be just another accomplishment in your trading journey. Don't rush it, 30 days might not seem like a lot of time when you are rushing to make a profit target, but if you just be patient, stay disciplined and let the trades come to you, you will realize that 30 days is more than you need.

How trader Joseph managed his emotions while trading?

What do you think is the key for long term success in trading?

The key to long term success in trading is to be disciplined, only disciplined traders last longer in the market, most times greed is what makes most retail traders fail in the forex market.

How did you manage your emotions when you were in a losing trade?

I managed my emotions very well because I worked on myself in that aspect before taking the tests, too emotional attachment during trades affects one's trades too, so I was very disciplined with my strategy and I trusted the strategy so much, even when I made losses, I encouraged myself to do more analysis to find out where it all went wrong and had to re-strategise

Do you plan to take another FTMO Challenge to manage even bigger capital?

Yes, my goal is to manager bigger capitals, but due to some financial constraint, I started with the least Challenge I could afford.

Describe your best trade.

Honestly, during the trading days, I've had so many best trades as well as worse trades, but the best trades I made me happy, I felt like heavy was in my house at that moment.

How did Maximum loss limits affect your trading style?

It honestly did affect my trading style as I was very aware of the drawdown, and I don't want to fail the Challenge at the first trial, so I had to stick to the lot sizes that suited that Challenge, I also had to switch to the trading style that suits the policy.

One piece of advice for people starting the Challenge now.

Well a simple piece of advice to those starting the Challenge is to be first disciplined if anyone wants to last in the forex market, such a person has to be disciplined, secondly, trust your strategy, even if sometimes it may not work out for you, just trust it more.

Trader Alexis from the United States

How does your risk management plan look like?

Before I enter a trade, I calculate how many pips I'm willing to lose and the amount of money. Same thing with my take profit. I would have a risk of 1% and would not want to lose more than 4% if I had a bad trading day.

What was the hardest obstacle on your trading journey?

The hardest obstacle was overcoming my losses. In the first month, I had a big loss and I was getting used to trading with a bigger balance and I ended up with a good comeback. In my Verification, I had a 4% loss so I was forced to close so I won't break the rules and ended up taking the same trade again because the trade was still valid and made my account back.

How does passing the Challenge and Verification changed your life?

This is life-changing because now I have more focus on trading and willing to put in even more time on learning the beauty of trading.

How would you rate your experience with FTMO?

FTMO is great and I would highly recommend it to good traders that don't have access to large funds.

Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?

It had affected my first challenge because trading with a bigger balance was something new and I wasn't used to seeing profits and negatives that big in a short amount of time. I started getting the hang of it and then a turn around happened.

What would you like to say to other traders that are attempting the Challenge?

Be confident and stick with your setup. Trust in yourself because that is what makes traders successful, it's all in psychology.