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I suspect that many who open this page will not read it completely, but it covers some of the philosophy of how I was raised. It has clearly made the difference in where I am today - and where I aim to be tomorrow.

I cannot recall a day when my father carried a negative attitude about anything. Sure, we struggled at home with money and all the usual family issues that many of us grew up with, but Dad was always there as a mentor to our family with his straight-forward attitude. I can honestly say that not a person has ever said a negative word to me about him, and believe me I have met a lot of people in his circles. His strength was in his attitude toward family, life and business - and thank God at least some of it managed to be passed on to me.

Of all the lessons he taught me while I was growing up, perhaps none was more significant than the belief that, "I could accomplish anything I desired - if, I was willing to pay the price!"

Becoming a successful trader begins with believing in yourself and having a winning attitude. Your attitude can either make or break you as a trader, as one of the most important tools you possess as a trader - is your mind.

Everyone wants to be a winner, or at least they think so. Unfortunately, most are not willing to perform the tasks necessary to become a consistent winner. We see this around us every day at work, in our schools, and with our own friends and family.

Winners generally achieve success by being focused on a goal or goals. Being focused allows winners to remain committed to the tasks at hand. Most winners perform a lot of hard work, including a willingness to deal with duties that most people would not want to perform. Most of all, winners perform with an attitude that says, "I am responsible for both my own failures and successes".

So, where does the would-be trader start to become a success? By focusing on the tasks at hand. Most of all, you must treat trading as a business. And, as in any business, money management is critical.

Your money management, next to market trend, is probably the aspect of trading most overlooked by the unseasoned trader and investor. Man, by nature, is an optimistic creature and the amateur trader often acts instinctively. Unfortunately, this instinct or optimism is often the undoing of the smaller trader. We are creatures of habit!

When a person enters a trade, he (or she) does so with the hope that it will be a winner. When the position goes against him, he keeps thinking (or hoping) that "it will come back." He knows he should have a stop in place, but hope keeps telling him to stay just in a little longer.

Eventually, hope turns into frustration, promising God it will never happen again, then desperation, and finally, panic. Then, either you or your broker close the trade - with a significant loss of capital.

I vividly recall my first "big loss" on a stock and how sick I felt hitting the ENTER button on my keyboard. I sat thinking, "once I hit this button $4,600 of my capital will be gone. How could I have allowed this to happen?" I went through all of the stages of a poorly managed trade, and you will too at some point.

Then, often it gets worse.

If the trader hasn't a lesson by this point, he develops the "I have to get my money back" syndrome. He generally rushes into another poorly planned trade, throwing good money after bad. This continues until after all of the capital is gone from his trading account.

When you look into a mirror do you want to see the winner staring back at you?

Winners show several different characteristics. They enter the market knowing they can be wrong and, in fact, often are wrong as often as they are right. They have learned markets don't run on hope - and neither do trades. They understand markets tell them when they are right or wrong. When a trade is losing money and getting worse, the market is telling them to get out.

"A bad trade is like a dead fish - the longer you keep it, the worse it smells."

When a trade is moving positive and making money, the market is saying to let the position ride. This is when the use of a trailing-stop is best used. Winners don't add to, or "average into", losing positions. They dump the trade and go looking for a new opportunity.

Successful investors may add to the winning trades. When ahead, they press their advantage while remembering that at any time the market can turn on them and prove them wrong.

Winning traders keep their minds clear and strive to not get emotional about a trade. Remember you are not married to a stock - rather you are in the dating game!

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How to Develop a Winning Attitude

Man's ability over all other creatures on this Earth comes from his ability to think and reason. All successful people use this talent to improve their lives and control their own destiny. Only you can take the initial step toward the unleashing of the power within your own mind. The power is awesome and at times can be frightening. However, man has abilities of the mind that many people cannot or would not believe.

The book, "Unlimited Power" by Anthony Robbins refers to seven triggering mechanisms which will lead to success in one's life.

1. Passion - All truly successful people such as Lee Iacocca, the CEO who saved Chrysler in 1979-80, have a driving force within them that sets them apart from others. A desire, an energy that gives them the fuel to reach their true potential. This force is a part of them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It never subsides. Their total existence is sustained for the fulfillment of their goals. The passion within this individual to achieve has been so deeply implanted, that their mental power is driven by this force and will not let them do anything other than achieve.

2. Belief - "They can - because they think they can" -Virgil. You will only make $100,000 this year if you first believe you can. If you do not believe you can you are telling yourself you want it, but it is truly not obtainable. The truth of life is that man's limits are self imposed by what the mind is given to believe. If you expand your belief of your own abilities, you will also expand your true realm of accomplishment.

A man of whom all are aware, lived his life with adversity, but he constantly believed he could achieve. Here is a brief outline of the sixteenth President of the United States' life.

• Failed in business at age 31
• Was defeated in a legislative race at age 32
• Failed again in business at age 34
• Overcome death of sweetheart at age 35
• Had a nervous breakdown at age 36
• Lost an election at age 38
• Lost a congressional race at age 43
• Lost a congressional race at age 46
• Lost a congressional race at age 48
• Lost a Senatorial race at age 55
• Failed to become Vice President at age 56
• Lost a Senatorial race at age 58
• Was elected President of the United States at age 60

With all the adversity that faced him, President Abraham Lincoln had no reason to continually try other than the fact that he believed it was his destiny and measure of success to accomplish this task.

3. Strategy - A strategy is your game plan of life. The road map you will use to accomplish your goals, ambitions and desires. Just to believe you can earn $100,000 a year is not enough, you must design a strategy that gives your life direction and navigates you toward success. The key to strategy is to design a proper way to achieve your success without the detours of life, to find the shortest distance between two points.

4. Clarity of Values - Man must first determine which things in life are most valuable to him. He must determine his feeling about such things as God, patriotism, pride, love, freedom, excellence, ownership and tolerance. These are values in society, the moral, ethical and fundamental judgments that we, as individuals, deem important. Without a clear system of values for ourselves, it is impossible to believe in something with a passion that has no value to us. Once we have established our individual value system we are then able to determine how we can achieve success based on our priority of values. What must we five up in one hand to accomplish what we desire on the other. Without a value system we can never move forward for we may be trading without increasing our potential for success.

5. Energy - Without the physical vitality to take action, nothing would ever come of our system to this point. The passion could build, our belief of accomplishment could be overwhelming, we could have the best strategy or map to achieve the ultimate value for our own life, but if not for taking the first step, nothing could ever be accomplished. Great success cannot be separated from physical, spiritual and mental energy that allows us, compels us, to accomplish the most with what we have to work with. Physical energy comes from the strength of the body itself fueled by our intake of nourishment. It is therefore important that we fuel our engine with premium fuel (good eating habits), not low grade regular (junk food). Our spiritual and intellectual energy evolves from our environment and it is therefore important that we assess our own personal environment to maximize the energy that we can obtain.

6. Bonding Power - We have all known people that have exhibited the ability to get along with anyone and everyone. The ability to be a chameleon is truly the ability to connect with and bond with others. The ability to build rapport. Being able to deal with others, "To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others."

7. Mastery of Communication - Is to take charge and run your own mind. To learn to no longer allow our mind to run our lives, but rather take charge of our own mental abilities and cause them to work for our own accomplishment of success. "There is only one Success - to be able to spend your life in your own way."