How to get anything you want (even in trading)

I got handed a pretty good lesson this year.

At the start of 2019 I took some time to sit down and think about what I wanted to achieve for the year.

I had some big ideas, and I had some small ideas. So I wrote them all down, tried to make the list manageable and I set to work.

The first few months I did really well. I was crossing off tasks left and right, but I was still taking it a bit easy because I knew I had all year.

But slowly but surely, somewhere around the 2nd quarter of 2019 I lost focus.

Now, I wasn’t just sitting around on the couch, eating chips and binge watching Money Heist on Netflix. I was busy doing work, but I’d somehow forgot about my goals and dreams along the way.

Then one morning, I woke up and had an ‘oh sh!t’ moment: the clock for 2019 was ticking, the bulk of the year was gone and soon I’d be eating too much Christmas pudding and nursing a New Year’s Eve hangover.

I thought, “How was I tracking with my goals?”. And what were they? Yup, I couldn’t even remember everything I had on the list.

So that morning, I went back to my goals list and checked my progress. I’d actually achieved a couple of my major goals for the year, which I was proud of, but as I scanned through the list I saw all the stuff I’d missed. And then the feeling of guilt arrived, smacking me in the face like a topless photo of Putin riding a horse through the forest.

I realized I wouldn’t achieve all my goals by the end of the year, and I felt like I’d just wasted an opportunity. If I had just been more focused throughout the year, I could have achieved more. Much more. But…

The year wasn’t over. And I’m not much for admitting defeat.

It felt like I was running a race. I was just coming around the bend to the home straight, and I could see the finish line. So, I decided to take one last sprint for my goals, and switched my focus back to what I’d promised myself at the start of the year. And to be honest, I had a really good crack at it. In the last month or so, I achieved more of my goals than the rest of the year combined.

And the funny thing is, I’m not alone. I’ve heard this happens to lots of people, perhaps it even happened to you?

Now I still didn’t achieve all my goals for 2019, and I’m ok with that because it taught me a valuable lesson:

Very rarely does anything get done without a deadline.

Without any real urgency, it’s easy to cruise along, and take our time. Especially with the knowledge that we’ve got plenty of time. That was my underlying attitude for most of the year, until I realized the deadline was close. Then my attitude changed and I really got it together. And to be honest, it’s amazing how much we can actually achieve when we’re focused.

So this year, I’m doing things a little bit differently. I’m still going to have my yearly goals, however I’m giving them all a deadline. Instead of being due at the end of the year, I’m assigning them to a quarter, and some even a specific month. But every single one of them has a REAL deadline.

I’ve already used this concept throughout the day with great results. When I have a task to do, I set out how much time I’m going to give it, then I set a timer and get it done. I’m amazed at how I seem to really power through when it gets closer to the end of the time allotted. It even becomes a bit of fun, like a game.

It produces results fast. And it may even be the not-so-secret tip to getting anything you want, even in trading.

I think that’s also why the 14-day breakout strategy challenge give traders results so fast. The program has a set time (14 days), and a set schedule every day (less than 35 minutes per day). We even send out daily coaching emails, so traders know exactly what their task is for the day, which video training to watch, which exercises to do. It’s all set out very clearly, day by day.

I’m sure if we left it openended or made it the 214-day breakout strategy challenge (which to be honest sounds really daunting), some traders would never finish the program. Either because the date is so far out (like my 2019 goals) or there’s nothing to motivate them to get it done fast, to take action and stop wasting time.

So next time you have a goal or task, set a date or time and get it done. Take control, set a REAL deadline and stick to it. Like me, you might be amazed at how much we can really do when we’re pushed.

And if you want to discover how to build breakout trading strategies in 14 days (or less), check out the “14-day breakout strategy challenge“. Yes, there’s a deadline on the program, it’s closing soon, so check it out now. Every hour you wait is another hour you’ve missed moving towards your trading goals.

Have a great year,
Andrew