Does Intelligence Make the Trader?

Will a higher intelligence make you more successful at trading than the person with the lower intelligence?

Most jobs and occupations have traits and characteristics that lead to one’s success.

Trading is the anomaly. 

It’s arguably the purest way to make money. It requires you to render no service and produce no product.

By simply gathering information and making decisions, trading allows you to profit. Of course, to be successful, you must be able to collect the information and interpret it better than the next person.

And you need to possess core characteristics that will give you an edge.

These characteristics are intrinsic and need to be strengthened and nurtured over time.

The top 10 characteristics you need to have, or that you need to overcome, to become a better trader, are:

1) Discipline – if you lack it, you will struggle.

2) Patience – trading can be methodical and boring. Don’t stray from your strategies.

3) Planning – plan the trade and trade the plan. It’s a cliché but it’s important.

4) Support – trading can be a lonely business. Having the support of loved ones can help you stay the course.

5) Honesty – be truthful about your losses and learn from them. Enjoy your wins yet be humble.

6) Early mornings / late nights – it’s part of the learning process yet reduces over time.

7) Failure – you will fail along the way. It’s a part of life. Trading is no different. Accept it yet don’t let it define you.

8) Exercise / Diet / Meditation – a healthy mind, body and spirit is essential for clarity and longevity.

9) Sacrifice – there will be plenty of this. Trading is a journey not a destination.

10) Success – it will come. Embrace it, enjoy it, repeat it.

As you can see, high intelligence isn’t in the top 10 (it isn’t even in my top 20).