02/15/2014: Olympic Lesson From Shaun White

My wife and I enjoy watching the winter Olympics together.  I really like to watch the snowboarding competitions.  Like the rest of the US, I was cheering on Shaun White, hoping he would be the first snowboarder to bring home gold for 3 consecutive Olympics.

The conditions weren't the best and although he gave it his best, he had a bad run on his last attempt.  Sadly Shaun was unable to bring home the gold.  He didnt' even bring home a medal, placing 4th in the half pipe competition.

"I'm disappointed," White said. "I hate the fact I nailed it in practice, but it happens. It's hard to be consistent."   

But, when asked if he would be competing in the 2018 Olympics he said "I think so".   After 4 years of training for these Olympics, Shaun didn't bring home the gold.  But, he is not giving up.  He will be going right back to training and will be back in 4 years.  I will be there to watch him and hope that next time everything works out for him.  I admire him for his talent and perseverance.  Go Shaun!

So, I took away a big lesson from this.  No matter how well you prepare and practice, there will be times when things just don't go your way.  Maybe you are doing all the right things but conditions aren't just right.  I will apply this lesson to my trading and to life in general.  There will be times when the conditions aren't just right and I will fall.  But like Shaun White, I just need to get back up and head to the top of the hill for another run and keep chasing the gold.

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

02/08/2014: Challenges continue

I am still facing challenges but doing better to have the right attitude.  I have still not had the opportunity to review my goals with Greg.  The week after we had our last session he was in South Africa.  The week after he was in Morocco.  This week he is in Australia on a speaking tour.  I have to understand that he is a busy man.  I will do my best to set-up some time with him next week as I do not believe he is traveling.

Trading: Trading has been a mental struggle.  Why?  Well, not due to major losses, just due to the lack of trading opportunities for the last 2 weeks.  The number of potential trades has been low for the last 2 weeks.  But, I have to realize that I cannot force trades.  The set-ups are either there or they aren't.  The idea is to avoid losses by only taking good set-ups.  An exercise in patience.  I am taking it as a challenge to grow further.

week of 01/16: 9 pending trades placed, only 1 of the 9 triggered for a small loss.

week of 01/23: 8 pending trades placed, only 1 of the 8 triggered 

Mentoring:  With mentoring being one of my goals, I started to mentor others through the icouldbe organization.   I am now mentoring under-privileged kids through Icouldbe.org (www.icouldbe.org) I am currently mentoring 2 students in their academics and planning for the future.  I am doing my best to pass on what I  learn from Greg nd others like Trevor Kearney, a new friend I met in th UK.  Trevor is a very successful man and also mentors children.  

Writing:  One of my other goals was to write my first children's book. With the lack of trade opportunities I have made quite a bit of progress on this book.  The book is to be the first in a series.  It is called Doran's Doorway Adventures.  I will finish this book this year and see what happens..

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

02/02/2014: Goals for 2014

As requested, I have sent my 2014 Goals to Greg.  He asked for: What I want to be, What I want to do and at I want to have.  My goals for 2014 are as follows:

For 2014….

Who Do I Want To Be?

1)     A Positive Person

2)     Healthy and Fit

3)     An inspiration to others

4)   A better all round person than I was on 1/1/2014

What Do I Want To Do?

1)     Maintain a positive outlook and positive self-talk and image

2)     Volunteer/Inspire: mentoring (icouldbe.org) 50+ hours for 2014

3)     Only take good trade set-ups.  Focus on trading plan!

4)     Begin to “brand” and build a significant following for The Making of a Millionaire

a.      Get a good website w/ email capture capability set-up

b.     Blog and post videos regularly

c.      Engage others in online success forums etc.

5)     Attain a good level of Physical Fitness

a.      Lose 40 pounds

b.     Exercise daily

c.      Lift weights 3+ days a week to tone up

6)     Complete 5-6 chapters of Making of a Millionaire

7)     Sell my old home

8)     Complete first children’s book: Dolan’s Doorway Adventures #1

9)     Disney Trip with family for Colin’s graduation (1 ^st week of December)

What Do I Want To Have?

      1)    Peace of mind.  Freedom from money and job worries.

      2)    Pride in my achievements for the year


"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

01/25/2014: Better Week

Just a quick update.  This last week was a better week.  My trading improved and I regained most of my lost profits.  I have a better overall attitude as well.  I am still facing a lot of issues in my job and in my personal life.  But I am looking at these obstacles as a test and I am doing my best to learn to deal with them  and work through them and grow from them.  It's all about attitude.





"Heres to your success"

Bill McManus

01/22/2014: Trading - Impacts of News Releases

I just wanted to make note of the importance of following the information passed on by my coaches.  One thing that I was told in training, was to be aware of news and the significant impact that High Impact news can have on the markets.  Here is an example from this morning.

I was long on the USDCAD pair and took my trade at Point A.  Note the effect on price at Point B when the BOC Monetary Policy Report came out that has a direct impact on the Canadian dollar.  You can see there was a significant spike in price.  This ended up triggered a take profit on this trade for this account.  But, news can also go against you.  It is important to check all high impact news for the day as shown on the Forex Factory website before considering your trades for the day.

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

01/18/2014: A well needed Pep Talk - From the bottom of the pit to back on top!

 

I had my session with Greg today and boy did I need it.  I felt like the world was all coming down on me.  My ex-wife served me with court papers taking me back to court for more money.  My trading which was going so splendidly the first month, took a major turn for the worse.  There are major issues with my job and also my wifes job, with lay-offs pending.  It all seem to come down on me at once and I fell into a major depression and as Greg put it, "I just shut down".

    Well, Greg put things in a whole new perspective.  He discussed the importance of challenges in life and in the journey to becoming a success.  He told me that "challenges are the catalysts of greatness"  he said I should embrace and welcome the challenges as they will just make be better and stronger in the end.  He said that we cannot grow without facing problems.  It is in our moments of challenge when we find out who we and what we are really made of.

     I had originally though that I would not include this in my blog.  But, then I realized this blog is about the entire journey.  The good and the bad.  The triumphs and the pitfalls.  My goal is to help others and others will surely encounter the same thing.  I want everyone to see that they challanges are normal and they will help you in the long run and give you tools to deal with them.  So, I will always include my challenges and outcomes along the way.

   Challenges are what make an "average" person become an "outstanding" person.

 

 

            

     He also talked about what he called the Strong and Shadow Archetypes.  These are personality traits that we have or project in various aspects of our loves.  People either project Strong Archetypes or Shadow Archetypes, of which there are four.  We can however show a strong archetype the majority of the time, but can also fall into the shadow archetypes during challenging or other times.

   

           

     

     We then once again discussed the importance of my morning ritual.  He wants me to focus on physical activity too.  This is one of my major goals for 2014, but he said it is also important to be fit and full of energy which will help me on my journey.

     When we were done with our session I felt so much better.  I realized that these were the first of many challenges and struggles that I have ahead of me.  Greg told me to learn to laugh at the challenges and the people placing them before me.  He said they are actually doing me a favor by making me a better and more successful person in the long run.  So, I now welcome the challenges as I know I will prevail and I will be a better person on the other side of the challenges as I grow from them.

     We discussed goals in general.  Greg asked me to write down my goals for 2014.  

• • What do I want to be
  • What do I want to do
  • What do I want to have

     He also told me to start working on a "Vision Board".  Find pictures of what I want to be,do and have in the future.  I actually have a good start on this already.  I am supposed to send this information to him in a day or two and we will have another session this coming week.

"Heres to your success"

Bill McManus

01/11/2014: Trading - Week 04 Wrap-up

Trading Wrap Up for Week 04

     The following are the results for this past week.  I had a very good week, only having 1 losing trade.  I attribute my improvement to the knowledge passed on to me by Emmanuel during my coaching session last week.  I followed his advice and avoided what would have been several losing trades.  I also practiced patience when looking for nothing but the best trade set-ups.
     So, I end my first my first month of trading with the account I am trading being in profit by a respectable 6.9%  My goal of showing profit on the account for the first month has been achieved.  I hope to improve as time goes on.



Winners: 7
Losers: 1
Non-Triggered: 7
Winning Percentage: 41.7.5%
Profit/Loss Percentage: +2.64%
Total Account Profit/Loss: +6.9%

Here's to your success!

Bill McManus

01/05/2014: Trading - Week 03 Wrap Up

Trading Wrap Up for Week 03

     The following are the results for this past week.  I did have a pretty decent  week.  I did have more losers than winners, but with proper position sizing and risk/reward control, the account ended up in profit for the week.  
     I was happy to have an increase in the account this week, due to the number of losers.  So, overall I am in profit for my first three weeks of trading.  I hope the green trend continues into next week.  I want to end my first month with a respectable profit.





Winners: 5
Losers: 7
Non-Triggered: 0
Winning Percentage: 41.7%
Profit/Loss Percentage: +1.58%
Total Account Profit/Loss: +4.26%

Here's to your success!

Bill McManus