What nobody told you about trading is that there is a very subtle mental and emotional trap that lures people into trading and then into doing things that they wouldn't do anywhere else in their lives. Along with the trap, there are several critical aspects of successful trading that simply aren't shared with new traders - you're left to figure them out on your own, and lose your money in the process. This combination is very powerful and makes very smart and astute people susceptible to a variety of mistakes that create losses, confusion, frustration and heartache.

The # 1 mistake you're led to make is under-estimating what it truly takes to be successful in trading. Not intentionally, mind you.

It's not as easy as you were initially led to believe and there was no one at the door giving you the whole scoop. No one handing out complete guides, no required reading. No one holding your hand and letting you know all of the pitfalls and traps, all of the many (40 at my last count) ways there are to lose money in trading. No one showing you all the truly "must-know" things to be successful.

Once you get in and start placing trades, it takes no time at all and you're getting hammered with all the emotions that are part of the game.

There's a lot to learn and trying to learn all by yourself while you're caught up in the emotional storm makes for circumstances where the odds of you making costly mistakes is high and your chances of success are pretty slim.

Long term trading is about protecting yourself and your capital, and having a blueprint to follow to build a profitable long term trading business of your own.

You need a guide to show you step-by-step how to keep your emotions in check, avoid the pitfalls and losses, how to go about your trading in a comfortable and smart manner, plus how to structure your trading business so that you can look forward to actually being here a year from now and making money at it, consistently and by plan.

Trying to sift through all the books, articles and advertisements regarding trading, to locate the missing pieces to the puzzle usually takes traders quite a while, sometimes years. Often it takes longer than they have money for – meaning that they have blown out their account before they find them all.

Again, placing trades is easy. Making money trading, on a consistent basis over time however, presents a formidable challenge that most are not properly prepared for. The result is frustration with the inability to reproduce the success already established in other endeavors, self-doubt and regret. This is truly regretable because it doesn't have to be that way.

Understand that you probably entered trading very unaware of all that you were in for. If you'll protect yourself and focus on survival, that's step one. It is also extremely worth your while to invest the time in self development and putting together a long term plan to insure that you'll make it through the learning curve.

Getting help and seeking out good resources to shorten the time frame is strongly suggested, as the learn-as-you-go and self-taught routes are extremely costly. Find a guide to show you the pitfalls and the steps to take to protect yourself so that you can realize the personal and financial benefits you sought when you first entered trading.