Seth –
When I was in the military, I was assigned as the unit trainer (started with 70 soldiers). To give a little more detail, I was a lieutenant in a patriot missile battery. When we would train, it would be three different platoons in one confined area, all training toward one objective (getting our site, missile launchers, and engagement control stations mission ready within one hour of occupying a space. It required a great deal of rehearsal for over 70 people and 20 different vehicles).
This is where I really learned the importance of perfect practice and muscle memory. If it got boring, that was a good thing, and I instructed my soldiers to do it again, again, and again. We eventually got to the point where we would execute our mission in the dark at 3am in the morning wearing our chemical suits without talking to each other. It was very rewarding to see that progression. In the book,” Inside Delta Force”, the author talks about this type of training for delta members – having said that they shoot thousands of rounds per day for weeks on end per body position!…standing, kneeling, turning, running, etc.
As the unit trainer I was also tasked to train new lieutenants that came to our unit and build them into proficient leaders. This was more difficult as individual personalities played a larger role – some excelled and some didn’t. After mentoring the first 10 individuals and seeing how some progressed and some didn’t, I resigned myself to the fact that some are willing to work hard enough and excel and others just are not. Attitude, desire, and hard work were the three things that made the biggest difference.
When I left the army I promised myself that I would follow what I loved to do…so I started to teach myself options (I had traded stocks for a few years prior). My wife often calls me OCD, anal, and someone who doesn’t know how to “shut off” when I start something I like. I usually become obsessive. That is why I contacted you to join your group. I came to the realization that all the hard work I was putting in reading books, blogs, and trading with small capital was only the first few steps and I was not seeing progression any longer in my trading. I needed someone to talk to about options, someone to tell me their perspective, and someone to guide me – and now I have it! But I still know that I am only in the beginning or intermediate stages. I want to build my game up, by mastering one trade setup first (the butterfly strategy!), and then adding a second..at least that is my plan!
I am excited for the webinar Monday! I appreciate all the work you are doing for the preparation. Thank you!
Rob
What a terrific note to receive! It’s amazing how dialed into SMB’s culture Rob is and he has only been part of our program for a short period of time. And Rob is correct– there is no getting around purposeful practice as a key to success in any endeavor in life and particularly in trading. Hard work is indeed one of SMB’s fundamentals to trading success.
Our options training program that we’ll be launching just three days from now contains a great number of homework assignments intended to drill the strategies home to our trainees so that the traders can pick up on all of the nuances of each trade while they build their “muscle memory” on the various adjustments necessary to successfully trade options income strategies.
If you would like to join the launch of our options training program and SMB’s Options Tribe, please register using this link:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/318813102
Have a great weekend and hope to see you on Monday!
Seth Freudberg
Director, SMB Options Training Program
The SMB Options Training Program is a program designed for novice and intermediate level options traders who are seeking an intensive training process to learn how to trade options spreads for monthly income. For more information on this program contact Seth Freudberg: [email protected].
