We live in a comparative society. On a daily basis, we are inundated with examples of people who possess superior skills or abilities than us. Tiger Woods is a better golfer than me (barely). Kobe Bryant is a better basketball player. And, more close to home, Warren Buffett is a better investor. On the surface it seems these masters were simply the lucky beneficiaries of superior talent from the womb; born with a predisposition for world-class performance that only the few are able to enjoy. Perhaps they were the fortunate recipients of a super gene that made them destined for achieving extraordinary feats. Or so we reason.

By attributing others success to some talent fairy who randomly dispenses skill to the few, we largely absolve ourselves of any responsibility over our success or lack thereof. After all, if the talent fairy passed me over what control do I have over becoming a successful trader? In Geoff Colvin’s entertaining read Talent is Overrated, we learn that world-class performers become such largely as a result of thousands of hours of deliberate practice. This revelation holds promise for those seeking to rise above the sea of mediocrity and join the ranks of the elite. It empowers the individual as they discover how much control they truly have over their own success. It also serves as a rude awakening to those who think stellar performance (in trading or otherwise) is achievable without considerable effort. Colvin quotes Professor John A. Sloboda as saying, “There is absolutely no evidence of a ‘fast track’ for high achievers.”

Readers familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers won’t find this revelation all that surprising as Gladwell stated as much when introducing the “10,000-Hour Rule”. If you want to golf like Tiger or play basketball like Kobe you have to work like they do. The same could be said of the trading arena. With the advent of blogs, Twitter, and our humble abode here at Tackle Trading, individuals now have more access than ever to professional traders. The masses have been granted the ability to look over the professional’s shoulder, to take a peek into their mindset. While such an opportunity can aid in speeding up the learning curve, it can also easily lead to unfair comparisons – the novice comparing their performance or intelligence to that of the elite. Some even allow such an exercise to lead to discouragement as they reason they lack sufficient talent to ever achieve trading success. To combat such an outcome, or even the initial unfair comparison, remember the iceberg illusion as explained by Matthew Syed in Bounce.

“When we witness extraordinary feats of memory (or of sporting or artistic prowess), we are witnessing the end product of a process measured in years. What is invisible to us – the submerged evidence, as it were – is the countless hours of practice that have gone into the making of the virtuoso performance: the relentless drills, the mastery of technique and form, the solitary concentration that have, literally, altered the anatomical and neurological structures of the master performer.”

When watching an elite trader one must keep in mind they are “witnessing the end product of a process measured in years.” At one point, they too were a novice. Through hard work, deliberate practice, and an insatiable desire to master the craft, they became great traders.

The artistic world also provides an insightful example into this process. In The Talent Code Daniel Coyle shares a revealing statement from Michelangelo. To put the comment in proper context one must keep in mind the incredible creations that flowed from his hands – the Pietà, the Statue of David, and the Creation of Adam. It’s easy for us mere mortals to marvel at such impressive works and conclude they were the result of pure genius, talent from the womb. Interestingly, Michelangelo, the artist himself, disagreed with such a conclusion. He stated, “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery it would not seem so wonderful at all.”

Learning how to trade is similar to acquiring any other skill. Rather than spending time and energy on a search for short-cuts or holy grails, traders should focus on the path traveled by other elite traders and follow in kind.

Financial freedom is a journey

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