You start trading the right way when you care more about the means than the goal. Everyone wants to profit, but profit is the result of sound means: stepping away from social media noise, relying on yourself, choosing a sound source to learn from, and practising properly so you build experience. One broken link in that chain is enough to stop you getting there.
What is your goal in trading — and how will you get there?
Ask yourself why you came to this field. Everyone gives the same answer: to make money. That's a fair goal. The question that changes everything is the next one: by what means? In the episode The Right Start, Mohamad argues that the means matter more than the goal, because an idea doesn't carry itself out.
Every goal has its means, and the means matter more than the goal.
Why is trading like putting up a building?
Ask anyone who builds for a living: everything starts with the foundation — the steel, the stone, everything below ground. If there's a flaw down there, the building stands for a while and then comes down. Trading works the same way. You see people with years in the market who win, then lose, then win, then lose, and never move forward. The ground they stand on is wrong, or partly wrong.
The five means: one chain, not a menu
These aren't options to pick from. They are a chain, and each link rests on the one before it:
- Step away from social media
Most of it is marketing: people after what's in your wallet, or showing off profits to pull you in. More in the social media trap.
- Rely on yourself
As long as you hang on every live stream and analyst, you'll never rely on yourself. Distance is what forces you to think.
- Choose the right source
Self-reliance doesn't mean learning from nothing. You need one sound source to take knowledge from and build on.
- Practise properly
Sound knowledge needs sound practice — on a demo account you treat as if it were your real money.
- Build experience
Experience is most of trading. It only comes from proper practice, and proper practice only comes from sound knowledge.
Read the chain backwards: no experience without practice, no proper practice without sound knowledge, no sound knowledge without self-reliance, and no self-reliance while you're drowning in social media. Link two gets its own piece in Why You Should Trade on Your Own Analysis, and link four in How to Use a Demo Account the Right Way.
How do you recognise the right teacher?
That deserves a conversation of its own, but the first signs are clear:
- Shows off profits and balances to attract you.
- Runs a ready-made trades channel on a monthly fee.
- Talks about himself more than he explains.
- Promises quick results.
- Measured in how they speak, act and treat the market.
- Shows you their reasoning: why in, why out.
- Explains losses the same way as wins.
- Ties every idea to logic you can follow.
Seeing someone's profits does nothing for you. If you're shown an account with a huge balance, did any of it come your way? No. It's a marketing move aimed at your weak spot. And someone who sells ready-made trades is working for the people who subscribe. A professional doesn't work for anyone. That's why Mohamad doesn't hand out trades or manage money — he teaches, and the channels explain analysis rather than telling you what to do.
The loyalty trap: "he's the best in the business"
Plenty of people tell him they studied with so-and-so, the number one in the field. His reply: if he's number one and you're still not profitable, what did you take from him? There is no number one. A beginner thinks the first person they learn from is the best, and later realises they're an ordinary person.
The test isn't the name of your teacher. It's what you take away. You might learn from someone nobody has heard of who has a clean method they understand and apply, and gain more. Loyalty to a person closes your mind, and a closed mind doesn't learn.
Where do you start today?
Start with awareness before information. The free awareness series is built on these same means, one episode at a time. Then choose your source, learn lesson by lesson at the Academy, practise, and don't rush. Experience is built on focus and sound knowledge, not on hours in front of a chart.
Common questions
What is the first step to learning trading?
Step away from the noise of social media, because it stops you thinking for yourself. Then choose one sound source to learn from and build on it.
How do I choose who to learn trading from?
Choose someone who shows you how they think, analyse and reason — not someone who shows off profits and account balances. A person selling ready-made trades works for subscribers; they aren't teaching them.
Why do some traders stay stuck for years?
Because something in their foundation is wrong. They win, lose, and end up where they started — like a building on a crooked base that stands for a while and then cracks.
How long does it take to build trading experience?
It depends more on the quality of your source and your focus than on hours. An hour a day on sound information builds more than a whole day on bad information.
