Another way to ask this question is what do I need to do if I want to become a professional football player?
Anybody can become a ball player, but to become a great player, you must have lots of training, talent, discipline, courage and perseverance. Same goes for prop trading except that you will also need capital.
Here is the path I recommend:
- Study and find your trading style. Prop can be stressful and many suffer from anxiety.
- Start only with capital you can afford to lose.
- Pick a firm that can train you.
- Pick a firm that has profitable traders.
- Find a mentor that can teach you or show you how to make money.
- Get proper tools. Trading platforms, trading journal software, fast computer and internet.
- Work relentlessly. Study before, during and after market. If you are not dreaming about the markets, you are not studying hard enough.
- Help your trading buddies. You will also need help to endure the tough times.
- Open your mind about trading strategies and instruments and study them. Markets change and this exercise will keep your eyes open.
- Build mental toughness. Create a trading challenge once in a while that pushes you. Mine was holding a 10k share position.
- Have a long term plan. Prop can burn you out very quickly if you don’t have a balanced lifestyle.
You can see how well I did during my first few months as a prop trader here