As a beginner in trading, you watch consistent, successful traders on twitter daily. You can't help but want to be in their place. You see their lakhs and crores in profit every day. You desire that for yourself.

"What if I am like that? They make in a day what I make in a year! I could help my parents be comfortable. I could gift my wife amazing things, take her to places she desires to see, give her a better life. I could settle my debt in a week!" All these thoughts race in your mind.

What you don't realize is that it took legitimate and successful traders years to get there. You only see the profits. You don't see the capital behind the profits or the years of hard work, blown accounts behind it. You don't see the years of psychological tempering behind it.

The best way to make a million a year is to start with 10 million dollars. Even then, it's not very easy. When you watch these traders that appear successful, you wish to emulate them. What you don't do is give yourself the time required to get there.

What do most of you do? Pay for a workshop here and there from these traders who appear successful. You hope you can learn their "secrets" and you will finally begin trading and be successful.

You try a workshop and it doesn't work. You try another, it shows some promise, but you don't have the capital required. You then spend money buying data for a lakh or two to test ideas. But you don't know how to test. You sign up for another course to learn how to test ideas.

In this process, you have already spent 2-3 lakhs, but with no results. Then you throw in the towel and start trading with half baked testing using some idea. You follow some traders for their trades and you take their trades hoping to ride on their backs.

A year or two down the line, you have lost more when you lost, gained little when you profited. You have burnt through over 50% of your savings. This frustration transfers to your personal life. You get irritated at your spouse, children or your parents for insignificant things.

Then you think this is toxic, and this isn't working, and you give up. In this process, you have taxed yourself. You also hurt your beloved ones because of your psychological turbulences. You decide that the trading world is not for you and resign yourself to your regular job.

Sure, looking at MTMs is profitable. It might inspire people who look at it, to think they can do it too. If only these seemingly successful twitter traders are transparent. Transparent about what?

Total capital available at disposal to them. Their net worth. Total capital deployed on each trade. Risk in each trade. Risk in % terms. Profit in % terms of capital deployed and their total capital.

If only they talked about these things with each screenshot of profits, it would be inspiring. But how many traders do that? If only they talked about these things with each screenshot of profits, it would be inspiring. But how many traders do that? NO ONE.

When you talk about this, what do most of these traders say? "I post it to show that it is possible. If you feel it's demotivating, you can unfollow me. Why bother following and complaining?" It's true at a certain level. No point in following such traders who don't keep it real.

Fintwit is a fantastic place. You follow the right people, you can learn new concepts, find ideas to test, make the right moves in your career, etc. But follow the wrong people, you and your monkey brain will make sure you slowly part away from your wealth.

So, keep your expectations realistic. Don't follow any trader hoping they will throw you a breadcrumb. Learn to make your own damn bread and you can then make crest, croissants, buns, anything. You can then make pizza, vada-pav, burgers, the world is your oyster.

But, if you follow some traders like a dog follows his master, hoping they share some secrets or trades that will make you money, like the dog hopes for treats from his master, you will NEVER be a successful trader, let alone keep your existing wealth.

Do not take any trades that someone suggests, without knowing what capital is employed, what total capital they have at their disposal, what's the maximum risk on the trade, what's the expected RR of the trade, probability of the trade working, adjustments to be made, etc.

If you take such trades and cry foul, you deserve all the loss in the world that you get following such people. They will escape with minimum damage and they won't keep you in loop through the entire process. You don't know that though. You trust in your masters.

A healthy dose of skepticism is necessary in trading. And unlike in life, a pessimistic person who expects the worst is the person most suited for the trading world. You must know when to switch off your optimist and turn on your pessimist when required in trading.

I have now heard countless tales of debauchery and deception in the illusory twitter trading world. If you have to be really successful in trading, you have to be patient, hard working, consistent, disciplined, risk-first, etc.

The traits most people (who follow traders who appear successful) display - greed, laziness, jealousy, impatience, trying to take shortcuts to success, etc. Especially if you're running around paying people for strategies that don't work, systems that fail, and useless workshops.

These traits like greed, impatience, etc., are the opposite of traits that make you successful in trading. So what do you think the all knowing, all encompassing market will do to you? Show you your place. That's what is happening to many people here.

Because there is a huge churn every 6 months in these traders who come in and go out, and because people are embarrassed to admit failure or lack of judgement, you never hear negative reviews on workshops, never hear failures admitted in public. So you think it's a magical world.

If you think that way, you're going to be shocked and appalled by what you see, disgusted at yourself at the end of the process of being so naive. This is a wake up call. Get real, or get out and save yourself + your existing wealth.