Everyone wants, and needs, to clearly understand how they will know if their work has been a success. Otherwise, what’s the point? If you don’t carefully layout your financial goals, what motivation do you have to put forth the day-to-day efforts that are required of your role?

Self-Employment is a growing career option for many people. Approximately 6.6% of the work force makes their living in this category or over 8.5 million workers nationwide. As a trader, you join the ranks of the self-employed, which is a terrific way to control your own destiny and take full responsibility for all you do.

An anonymous quote is perfect for those of us in the trading world. It goes, “Stress is when you wake up screaming, and you realize you haven’t fallen asleep yet!” There’s no doubt that stock traders have an extremely stressful job. Adverse events, market fluctuations, and political changes can all influence our trades, and, in turn, our own stress levels.

Tony Loton, author of “Don’t Lose Money in the Stock Markets,” says “If your investment falls by 50% you’ll need a 100% rise just to get you back where you started. So when speculating in the stock markets, protecting the money you do have is just as important as making some more.”

In this world man has two significant possessions: intelligence and emotion. These two possessions govern our day today life. But very often we see that emotion gets the upper hand in our life.

Trading is filled with stress and even a certain amount of woe. There is money at stake. Money is one of those things that you can’t live without. Losing too much of it can seriously impact your life, your livelihood, and even in some cases, your entire financial future.

Becoming a trader requires much skill. More importantly, it requires an sense of self and ability to be your own person that only a few are capable of ever achieving.

As a trader, you know that there are good days and bad days in the market. Sometimes you wake up and you are excited to start the day, trading plan in hand, and ready for the challenges ahead. Other days, you may be in a bad mood, for whatever reason, and feel upset or frustrated. When this happens, Iacocca is right on – turn your energy into something positive.

If you look up the word “average” in the dictionary, here’s what you’ll find: “The usual or ordinary kind or quality.” Certainly, as a successful, aggressive, confident trader, you don’t want to be considered “average,” right? Especially when it comes to your money – you want to be perfect!

Most of us love the familiar. It’s that soothing feeling of security and calm. When you feel comfort without a sense of impending risk, you are in your “comfort zone.” Your trading success depends on your ability to find that balance between “organized chaos” and confidence in what you do.