Are Great Traders Born or Made?

*****David Blair, The Crosshairs Trader, is a blogger/trader/educator who does a wonderful job of sharing research on elite performance and how it relates to trading. Below is his latest post for the SMB trading community.***** — Editor’s Note

How you answer this question can help determine your eventual success. For instance, if you see your failures as stepping stones to eventual success then you will be much more likely to overcome the obstacles that are inherent in trading. You will see the failures (= losing trades) as part of the process. If, on the other hand, you blame your failures on a lack of “genes” you will be much more likely to give up since you were obviously not born to be a successful trader. The outcome, in your mind, has already been pre-determined. So, we come to the age old debate of nature versus nurture. Are we born to be a specific somebody or are we born to be anyone we want to be? The following articles should help us explore this very important topic.

A Psychology Perspective of Nature versus Nurture (Simply Psychology)
Nature versus Nurture (Wikipedia)
The Nature versus Nurture Debate (WSJ)
Are Good Traders Born or Made? (Darren Miller via MoneyShow)
Anyone with a solid rules set can be a great trader. [VIDEO] (Linda Raschke via MoneyShow)
Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? (Maria Popova via Brian Pickings)
What is your attitude toward effort? It matters. (Marina Krakovsky via Stanford Education)
Deliberate Practice versus Talent. (Geoff Colvin via CNNMoney)
How about Nature AND Nuture? (Darlene Francis and Daniela Kaufer via The Scientist)