I have always been interested by quotes. They tend to provide great lessons and a deeper understanding of a particular thing or discipline. For traders, there is always a period where we feel like falling. We make mistakes or we lose many trades by putting ourselves in our own way. In this article, I collected a few quotes about failure. The goal is not to agonize looking at those quotes, but to be inspired and to take action to become the best trader you can be.
Quote #1 by Albert Einstein
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
This quote is the proof that it is normal for traders to make mistakes. Especially in the beginning, traders make a lot of mistakes. I did the same and I lost money at first. However, we must understand that mistakes are part of growth. When we make mistakes, we must realize what we did and avoid the same mistake in the future. But at first, failure is totally acceptable.
Quote #2 by John Wooden
“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
In life, it is acceptable to fail. However, not changing isn't. I also like the quote saying “If you always do what you've always done, you'll always what you've always got.” If you are not getting the results you want, you can start by changing your attitude torward trading or changing your habits.
Quote #3 by Winston Churchill
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
As a trader, there are going to be times where most of your trades don't work out well. You end up with a loss. For you, that may be a failure. The key is, as Churchill says it, to keep going with keeping a positive attitude. If you start to be angry and keep positive thoughts alive, you won't be able to pursue after a disappointment in trading. The truth is, after you've been through hard moment without ever giving up, you start to see success and the results are astonishing.
Quote #4 by Bill Cosby
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
One question that you must ask yourself when you start to trade: “Is being successful at trading really one of the biggest desire I have?”. If the answer is no or if you hesitate, I suggest you stop or greatly reduce your trading activities. If, on the other hand, you have a true wish to succeed as a trader, which would explain why you are on this site, then hold on to your desire and do everything you can to get better. You will see that anything you do is much easier when you have a true desire for accomplishment.
Quote #5 by Tony Robbins
“I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.”
One of the key question I ask myself after a setback is: “Is this going to matter in 2-3 year?”(As a side note, I learned that from Peter Voogd's Game Changers Academy. Check it out! ). The truth is that most disappointments you have today won't matter in a few years from now. Instead of being failures, you hard moment as being what will have made you who you are. In the moment, they should not matter because they won't matter when you'll be among the great traders.
I hope those quotes made you think. If you can remember only one thing, it is to go through your hard moment by keeping a good attitude because, instead of pushing you down, your setbacks are helping you climb on the top.
As always, I'm interested hearing from you. Let me know what you think about those quotes for traders. What lesson do you get from them? What is your favourite to you get inspired or motivated? Leave a comment below!
