How to make successful trades

I wish I knew.

What I do know: There are many strategies, formulas, indicators, and many other factors that can help you make more successful trades.

The #1 rule for any stock trader or investor is: Do your Due Diligence (DD).

The Ultimate Success Formula, as described by Anthony Robbins, is:

1. Know your outcome.
2. Take massive action.
3. Notice what is working and what is not.
4. Change your actions as required to achieve your outcome.

I had never heard of this formula or Tony Robbins until I had been
browsing some business blogs.

Tony Robbins’ formula is the same formula I have been using to make
trades, but for me it never had a name.

My thoughts on applying the Ultimate Success Formula to stock trading:

1. Know your outcome: Before you buy a stock, decide when you are going to sell the stock. Set a minimum amount you will lose if the stock declines and set a stop-loss at that price. Set a minimum amount you are looking to gain. When I hit my minimum, I raise my stop-loss to that price. Use trailing stops to keep raising and locking in your profits.

2. Take massive action: For me, this is doing your Due Diligence. Before you decide to buy you need to do massive research on the company, the stock history, news, and any other information you can find. The more you know about the company, the better judgements you can make when you trade it. “Knowledge is power.”

3. Notice what is working and what is not: Analyze your past trades and your portfolio’s growth. Which stocks worked for your portfolio and which did not? Are there any similarities or characteristics that set your winning trades apart from your losing trades? I keep a notepad around and mark different ideas, goals, or what I’m thinking when I make trades. Not only does it help me determine what trading strategies are working and what is not, it also helps with the fourth part of the fomula, changing my actions as required to achieve my outcome.

4. Change your actions as required to achieve your outcome: The chaotic nature of the stock market dictates when and how you need to change your trading strategies. It seems like some traders only use a single formula, technical analysis indicator, or chart pattern to make trades. Their unwillingness to adapt means they may miss out on more profits, or they may be making more losing trades. When the market changes, I change my strategy.