Several years ago, the 80/20er in me conducted a little analysis to identify the #1 skill I should learn to consistently increase my schillings inflow.
It was clear to me that business was the way to go.
When I conducted an 80/20 analysis to identify the most critical business success skill, it became evident that selling was the linchpin.
A further 80/20 analysis on selling led me to identify copywriting as the cornerstone of effective selling. As most copywriters will tell you, "nothing gets sold until the copy is written."
Then, the modeler in me set off to select a copywriter to model in order to speed up my learning. Thanks to NLP modeling, I did learn how to write copy in a short amount of time.
Fast forward a few years to 2020...
I discover I'm DEAD WRONG about the most effective way to increase my schillings situation!
There's a better way! Holy cow!
Let me take you back to the genesis of how my conclusions got detonated...
On a hazy pandemic morning, my friend Alex from Brazil sends me a Whatsapp message telling me he wants to have virtual coffee because he's got something to share.
I oblige.
Right as we begin, he tells me: "I just got into trading the financial markets. I think you should join me."
The financial markets?! That sounds risky as heck to me. What a great idea!
Over the following few days, he introduced me to his trading platform, to the asset he was trading, and showed me a few basics on how to make sense of the market. All very rudimentary.
He suggested some courses I could take to start learning about the markets and trading in general.
As a seasoned modeler, I know quite well the perils of trusting courses. While they sound like a safe and secure idea (after all, that's how we got through our childhood, teen and early adult years, right?), courses can be misleading when it comes to skill acquisition.
Instead, I knew I needed an effective operational model of trading. Something that worked functionally.
Do you remember the first commandment of NLP? Here it is in case you need a refresher:
COMMANDMENT UNO: Pay a lot of attention to what people do and very little attention to what they say they do.
Courses = someone saying what they do
I set off to find an exemplar I could model trading from. It took me a while to find one. But when I did, it offered me exactly what I needed.
Would you believe me if I said you don't need to know a darn thing about the market to trade it successfully? In fact, the more you know, the more confused you might become.
I liken it to analysts vs quarterbacks. Analysts have a gajillion statistics they keep rattling off during the game, enunciating dozens of key factors at play during this next down. Quarterbacks, on the other hand, rely on a few key heuristics to consistently move the ball down the field.
The same applies to trading.
The only way to identify these key heuristics is to apply the cardinal rule of modeling, which I'll dive deeply into in the first edition of NLP Insiders.
Once I was done with the modeling project, I realized that I was wrong. Trading is the ultimate way of inserting schillings into my piggy's slot.
No product. No customer. No prospect. No selling. No service. No marketing. No social media. No email. No team.
Almost any time. Anywhere. All you need is a laptop and a net connection.
Can't beat that.
But... you have to become good at it. Otherwise, it can suck your piggy dry within seconds.
