I visited Pace University for a guest lecture hoping to teach aspiring traders and finance types what is really important to succeed in our game.  There are two takeaways to share.

Trading is not what most people think.  Too many are inundated with misinformation about what it really takes to be a great trader.  The Financial Media Entertainment Complex starring CNBC, Fox Business, and the like propagate misconceptions about trading to the detriment of the trading/investing community.  People like me have to unteach aspiring new traders these misconceptions.

• Your opinion where $AAPL will trade is not that important.
• You don’t have to trade 100k share positions in SPY to make real money.
• And of course, traders don’t wear suits like you see from the talking heads on TV.

So one goal of mine when I visit a university is debunk the myths about trading. I did so during my recent visit to Pace.  How?

I asked students: What is most important to be successful as a trader? The responses were great, with some filled with misinformation learned from the bandits above.

Let’s correct the record on two issues:

1. It is not true that all great traders must have conviction with their trade ideas.
2. It is not true that controlling your emotions is always best as a trader.

In this video, I explain why.

* no relevant positions