Today brings a mix of topics as certain ideas are on my mind in response to recent emails from regular readers. So I answer some of these questions which are spelled out below.

1. One reader suggested to me that trading is a "zero sum" game, implying that some will win and roughly even number will lose. It's almost like many expect the market is a random game of chance akin to a Las Vegas betting parlor. But nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion. A minority of pros tend to take money from the majority of the amateurs perhaps. But the biggest edge I have most profited from over the years is in spotting trends and riding them. It's like famed speculator Jesse Livermore was reported to have said: "It was not my buying or selling that made me the most money - rather, it was my sitting." The more you can ride major trends, even big moves over relatively short time frames, the bigger the edge you have against the rest of the crowd.

2. One trader wrote in that he was in a slump, and wondered if he should switch markets or find another indicator. Do you ever find that you also want to blame something outside yourself?  One of my favorites used to be blaming 'the system' - the system is rigged against me: the brokers are the only ones getting rich, the market makers are killing me on these bid/asked spreads, the guys getting in pre-IPO are getting the best prices, etc.  When you blame an external situation, you are giving up control, and instead letting yourself be controlled by outside events.  This converts you from a proactive trader into a reactive trader.  If you are reacting after the fact in the markets, you are in turn letting your emotions start to rule you, instead of planning how you will react to any set of circumstances.  You know how letting emotions control you turns out in the markets -- badly.  The key is believing that you control your own destiny.  If you are not getting the results you expect of yourself, look inside yourself.  Start analyzing your actions and behaviors: are you hanging on to losses too long?  Cutting profits too soon? Not able to pull the trigger and then watching in frustration as a stocks roars on without you?  These and other frustrations should clue you in that you need to fix some element of your trading plan, and you should make decisions and act immediately after evaluating your situation.

3. I receive regular question from traders who take an "all or none" view to their positions far too often. Lee Iacocca said that some decisions are irreversible, and should be studied intensely before making a decision.  But he also said that most decisions are not irreversible.  Most decisions can be easily changed, and thus these decisions should be made quickly based on what you believe to be the correct decision at the time.  If that is still not producing the results you want, then make another decision.  The key element here is Action.  The hardest part of making changes for most people, myself included, is getting started.  Once you can make a change quickly, then monitor it against your goals, you have the ability to powerfully change your financial future.  The worst decision often is not making any decision at all.  Like Thomas Edison who failed in thousands of experiments to finally get to the right answer, you have to treat failure as evidence that you are one step closer to achieving your goal.  If Edison had stopped part of the way through his process, and failed only half as much, he would not have become one of the greatest inventors of  all time.  You have to treat your trades like these smart men did, by never being married to a position, always able to be stopped out if a stock is not acting right, but equally flexible to jump back in (even if the stock price is higher than where you sold it before) to take advantage of new opportunities and newly developing trends.

4. One reader asked how he can get better results from his trading. But it's best to focus on the process first, not the outcome. One of the issues that goals can create is frustration when we are not achieving our goal.  We can focus so much on a goal that we lose sight of the elements of our process we need to complete to reach our goal.  Sometimes you can follow all of your trading rules in a day, and still lose money.  Should that deter you from following that process.  No, especially not over a short time period.  I encourage you to grade yourself at the end of each day not on how much money you made, but rather ask yourself  'Did I follow all my rules?', 'Did I execute the trades that my method said I should execute?'.  If you did execute, give yourself a plus, even it it meant taking your stops that day more than taking your profits. If you are not following your rules, you are setting yourself up for the confusion and chaos that ultimately leads to poor performance. Define your process and if it makes sense and fits your unique trading personality, you should see the results take care of themselves over time.

P.S. I'd love to receive feedback from you. Please leave a comment or discuss the article by clicking on "Make a comment on this article" below.

Price Headley is the founder and chief analyst of BigTrends.com.