Month 2, Day 31 - 36-month forex trading challenge - back on dry land.

It's 6am and I'm out of bed and at my computer. The life of a currency trader starts early and along with the morning staples of strong coffee and iced water, it's the start of another week.

Today feels a bit different. After two weeks on the cruise around the Mediterranean it's back to earth with a bump. I really enjoyed the time away and the early start with a view of the ocean seemed a little easier.

I'm pretty tired today. Since getting back I've been waking up in the middle of the night disorientated as to where I am and thinking I'm still on the ship. I also have sea legs – while I experienced no sea sickness on the cruise, since being back on dry land I have a perpetual dizzy feeling that I don't seem to be able to shift.

I think my health has suffered while I was away. While I never drink to excess, I drank alcohol on the ship every night for two weeks. I need to cut down now I'm back home and have at least four days each week where I don't touch a drop. It's back to Jiu Jitsu at lunchtime today, which helps keep me focused on my physical health, which is an essential foundation of my mental ability to trade.

Trading is much more than clicking a button on a computer screen to buy or sell a financial instrument. I liken it to being a professional athlete where all has to be in sync to achieve success – this means both physical and mental attributes.

While away I fine-tuned my trading approach further with a centre line on my daily trend line. I'm confident this change will keep me out of suboptimal trades, and as I'm fast learning it's easy to find a winning trade, but much harder to stay out of the losers.

All I need to do is to improve my win ratio, cut my losses short and hold my winners for at least a 2:1 reward-to-risk ratio. If I can do this and do it consistently, with a clear goal, a robust training plan, along with strict risk and money management rules, I have all the ingredients of a winning approach. However, it's always down to the skill of the chef to successfully bake the cake!

I'm conscious that many of the other people on the cruise will be back to work today. Possibly jobs they're not passionate about and may even hate. I feel lucky, as trading is my passion and I get to do this every day. With that said, I do have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that rears its ugly head from time to time, and has done once again this morning.

This nagging thought is that I should go and get a 'proper' job with a regular income. Exchanging time for money is what the majority have been conditioned to do each and every day without question. It's hard breaking away from this, as there is little reinforcement around me for the path I've chosen. A path that doesn't provide a regular wage and where there is no direct link between time and money. This makes trading hard, and this morning more than ever it's important to remind myself of why I do it:

1. Trading is my passion – I eat, sleep and breathe the currency markets.
2. Trading offers huge flexibility – I don't exchange time for money and can work anywhere in the world (even on a cruise ship in the middle of the Mediterranean).
3. I know what I'm doing and with a clear goal, plan and the discipline to carry it out, I can and will be successful. 

There is also a much bigger goal than making money. Trading has improved my discipline and taught me much about myself. The skills I've developed are skills I know could benefit others and one day I'd like to pass on what I've learned, not for financial reward, but for the joy of giving back.

Anyway, let's get back to business with a quick review of the positions I'm currently in. With family commitments it was quite difficult to write the daily blog while I was away, and I'm sure I missed some key updates on the blog and weekly video.

GBPUSD (T27S) >
Cable is at an interesting level, trading just above the 1.2000 level and 10-year low. This level was tested and rejected back in 2017, but prior to then has not been seen since 1985. I am short with price approaching my initial target (T), and the questions spring to mind – who is left to sell and when will the buyers show up?

Price is at the bottom of the daily trend line and there could quite easily be a bounce from this level. This is something I'm aware of, but doesn't constitute a trading signal. I'm not buying just because we're at a 10-year low, as the downward momentum could quite easily continue. However, I'm aware that selling power could be running out and that buyers might be attracted to take long positions, so have tightened my trailing stop aggressively to lock in profit.

Moving my stop loss to 1.2064 also balances what I call evolving reward to risk. With my stop at 1.2161 my reward-to-risk ration to T is c.1:5. Moving my stop just now brings this back to c.1:1. Locking in profit also reduces my risk exposure and frees up capital that I can put to use behind other trades when signals show up.

AUDUSD (T21S) >
This is turning out to be somewhat of a frustrating trade. I've added to this position, lightened up on 1/3 and am now looking for the 50 SMA to hold and further offers to show up.

With hindsight and in line with my new daily trend line rules, I added to this position too early. Still, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and for the moment I remain in this trade.

EURCHF (T26S) >
Another frustrating trade. Although in profit, progress is proving slow. The longer a trade takes to gather momentum the less confident in it I become. Still, at the moment at least, in line with my rules there is nothing to do, but sit and wait.

EURAUD (T1L) >
This is my first long trade of the the 36-month forex trading challenge, which despite some offers overnight, now looks to be heading in the right direction. Again, there's nothing to do, but to give this trade time to take its course.

NZDCAD (T28S) >
At the risk of sounding like a broken record – yet another frustrating trade. Still price is holding the 10 EMA and there is a strong possibility we'll hit T. Only time will tell, and once again it's time to play the waiting game.

So there you have it – a quick round up of the current trades I'm in. There's no news out today, so no need to tighten up on stops. Trading is in part having the discipline to wait for something to happen, which for me is one of the most difficult parts of the whole game. 

Part 2 or week 5 is now available to view on the STG FOREX YouTube channel. For this one I'm in Barcelona and take a tour of FC Barcelona and a run to Las Ramblas.

I've now had my first comment on the channel with some constructive feedback. A big thank you to John Harrison for this. Feedback is everything in life and I've already briefed my video editor to factor this in to future videos.

I hope you find the videos entertaining and informative. Please consider subscribing, liking, commenting and sharing. I'm learning as I'm going and am trying to make the videos shorter and punchier. Week 6's videos (again in two parts) are currently being edited and contain whistle-stop tours of Rome, Cartagena and Gibraltar. 

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Is it really possible to turn £50K into £1M? Over the next 36 months I'm going to find out by trading my personal account with full transparency.
Follow my 36-month challenge to turn £50K into £1M.
Read my blog here: https://stgforextvforexchallenge.blogspot.com
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[Please note, the information presented is general educational material and does not constitute trading advice.
Trading foreign exchange (forex) on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for you or your circumstances.
Before trading forex you should investigate all of the risks, including the possibility that you could lose more than your initial investment.
It’s important to consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. If in doubt seek advice from an independent financial advisor.]