A Chat With Traders: Traders And Psychology With JohannaJohanna a 22 years old forex trader—with an enthralling background and compelling story. The Sudanese trader’s story starts from: Cameroon and Norway. Johanna was born in Cameroon but, bred in Norway.
According to her, “emotional intelligence is a crucial part of forex trading”. Albeit, traders don’t really talk about it. However, she prefers to trade in a converse way in relation to other retail traders. “I didn’t know I would be so affected by psychology in this game”, she mutter. In addition, “I’m a risk-taker. I love taking risks”.
Who is Johanna?
Originally from South Sudan, born in Cameroon but raised in Norway. I am currently both: a dental student and an upcoming day trader. Was first introduced back in 2018 through another female trader posting it on Instagram but—because of fear and lack of motivation, I did not take it seriously until late 2019.
Had jobs in different branches: from store employees, elder homes, and customer service. None of them have really fulfilled my perspective of living my life on my own terms.
So when I got introduced to trading, I knew it could give me the freedom I was looking for. What I didn’t first know, was the work, effort, and knowledge that was required. My first initial thought was to give someone else my own money to trade for me whilst learning, just for me to become a victim of scams on my earliest day.
Moving forward, after almost 10 months of trading live, I’m looking to get the right skill needed for me to handle the market in the long term but also educate and inspire more females to join the industry.
Woah, Johanna that’s some kick wass intro. I wouldn’t continue until this question is asked though. How long have you been trading? How did you learn forex and come to know it?
It has already been year on a live account. But, I was 5 months on demo before that.
Johanna’s On Trade And Psychology
The previous chat I had, inspired this particular question. Social media has allowed us as traders to have a wider footprint outside of the forex industry, what do you think your impact is in the industry?
The industry is heavily male-dominated and I really want females to contribute and represent another side. I’m also big on learning the right skills; from the right people so you don’t get scammed easily in this industry.
That’s you speaking from experience there. Right? Do you have a special way you trade this particular pair? If yes, can you share a tip for that pair?
My approach is a bit different: as I look to trade the strongest and the weakest pairs. I will therefore look for these pairs during my market preparation—this will also help me to understand the directional bias for further analysis.
Hey, Johanna—are you a technical or fundamental fan?
Technical and fundamental. I personally feel like both are important to have an overall look of the market and why things happen the way it does.
Without a doubt. Loving the way you’re handling this questions. What is your go-to strategy? I would also love that you explain: why that is your go-to. Do you have a major reason why you chose that strategy and how it has helped in improving your trading.
I like trading the opposite of what retail traders generally do, and as an Intraday/Swing trader, I prefer to look out for major liquidity grabs and trade from those areas.
“The opposite”. How can you tell—Just a curious cat here. By the way, Who/what inspired you to start trading? If you have a mentor, what’s their name and what about that individual inspired you?
Haha. The freedom to be able to trade from wherever and whenever I want is—definitely the inspiration. Those who inspired me are: Melisa Hilma, Cue banks, Forex with ally, and the Gold father
It’s research time for me—I guess. However, still on psychology, What keeps you sane? Because I won’t lie—trading can stress you out and some even get depressed. So how do you overcome this?
Hmm. I trade with an amount that doesn’t affect me, adjust my risk management to a level where I feel comfortable trading, and ready psychology books both for trading and personal development.
Okay, that works. Especially the reading part. I know this particular question may sound weird. The reason asked is: as humans we have the whole “act now, think later” thingy going on even when it’s not the right thing to do. So, do you have a trading “guilty pleasure”? If “yes” what is it and how do you handle it when it happens?
Made this mistake a lot in the beginning. Albeit, I’ve tried to work on being very strict and journal every time—I might do this mistake to then go over it during the weekend. If greediness occurs, I really need to take a step back and look at my plan, checklist, and rules before taking a trade.
Someone’s disciplined. Tell me—what are the three traits you have that keeps you successful? And what three traits do you hope to have in trading that would make you a consistent trader?
A big risk taker, I love taking risks. Being consistent and systematic as a person, also helps me become a better trader and the appetite to always learn something new! As a trader you meet so many challenges, you can never be bored!
Truth to that. It’s amazing the discoveries one can get from just trading. Speaking on bore-dom—When you’re not trading, what are you doing?
I study, read and I like meeting friends. In addition, the Corona virus has also made me start watching some new tv shows. I love to bing watch them on: Netflix and HBO.
Yeah being hooked on some shows as well. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision. A time you didn’t follow your trading plan. What did you do?
There was this one time where I did something. Though, I do not recommend it. Took a trade into a news event. That’s personally against my rules. I still did it and it went away for a while before it reversed and hit my stop loss. The worst part was: I was trading Nasdaq100 (indices) that moves very fast and can easily blow up your account with one bad move.
Eish! I can definitely relate. Nasdaq’s my field. How do you handle pressure, impatience, fear, doubt and greed in forex?
You know what, I don’t work well under pressure—so, I can’t be dealing with anything that might pressure me to do something outside my plan. I’m actually a very patient person and I haven’t really rushed in the market. Things take time and I accept it. I might doubt myself sometimes but I keep thinking that others have done the same but they are now in better situations. Same thing with greed. Greed will test you in the market but, taking control of that earlier in the trade will help you a lot. I take what I can from the market and I’m happy with that.
Well said. Johanna. Let’s visualize now. So what would you want your forex dream to be like (in details).
Too many dreams. My forex dream is just one of many things I need to accomplish. Being financially stable from forex is the first step, but investing in other assets and businesses is as important as my drive to learn forex.
Investing, compounding. A great dream. Who is one person/academy you think Neophyte or everyone should follow and why?
Really look up to Melisa Hilmi, the first person who introduced me to forex. She has a genuine drive for the market and has an amazing course from beginner stage to advanced. Also, she has an amazing track record, history and I appreciate people who do their own thing.
Haven’t really heard of her. Another assignment for me. What are you biggest strengths in forex and What’s one thing you think you are very good at in forex?
I’m a big risk-taker. This makes me less emotional when I trade: as I’m not attached to money—the same way as many might be in the beginning.
“Big risk-taker” That means you probably won’t relate to this question—But, Have you ever tried quitting? If yes, what did you do about it?
Yes. I took 2 months break after I got scammed and was really depressed. I got back up knowing that it was just a mistake. Trading is still something I should be able to try out but by myself.
Ouch. So sorry about that. By the way, speaking on losses—What was your greatest loss, how much was it?
My greatest loss so far is: $6000 in 2 days.
That’s crazy. What motivates you?
Being able to change how I and my family live. My younger siblings motivate me—even more. I want to give them much more than what I got when I was younger.
Aww. That’s so sweet. In trading, how do you manage a trade when in it?
While the trade is running, I make sure I have alerts on areas of key levels. I might check it one time every hour and might adjust my stop loss to make the trade risk-free.
I’m curious now. What’s your trading plan? And what is your go-to assess class (what pair(s) would you consider are your favorites) and why do you prefer these pairs?
I start off by looking at major news for the day/week and look out for events that might affect my trades. Most of my market preparation for the week happens during the weekend and I will focus on only executing my trades after that. I look for high probability trades and I have a checklist I mark off before, during, and after the trade. They include: my entry rules, exit rules, risk management strategy, and how I will manage my trade while it’s running. My favorite pairs are: GBP and NZD pairs.
Johanna speak on the Industry and It’s Newbies.
Hope to see your watchlist someday. I always ask this particular question. What’s your take on Neophytes that want to learn forex? Do you prefer they paid for the knowledge or stick with YouTube videos and free materials.
Spent a lot of time on YouTube and it helped me but—you should also take a course: as the information can be overloaded with free materials.
Yeah. Lots of free courses everywhere. Learning everything can be quite exhausting. This may sound “cliché” but why forex? What is your major reason for choosing forex?
Not funny but, I was first scammed in the crypto industry—I backed off from that. Then forex seemed like a reasonable market for me as it involved more than just studying currencies.
Lot of scamming on your part. Moving forward. We all talk about trading psychology, what can you say about that?
Didn’t know I would be so affected by psychology in this game. Pay attention to every move that affects your mindset and work hard on improving it.
Needed to hear that from you. Because, I think psychology is one of the most important—if not the most important part of trading. So, that’s why I’m laying emphasis on it. What are your trading rituals and how has it helped your trading?
When looking for high probability trades, I only take trades that matter hence—why I don’t need to take many trades every week. I stay out of bad markets and back-test my weekly losses.
Back-testing, important. What are your trading aspirations? I know many trade for “financial freedom” but what happens when that’s achieved? What do you plan on doing with trading?
Plan on making an educational space. Not just within trading, but also in finance. There are many opportunities out there: to better yourself financially. However, I see many people don’t take that chance due to: either lack of experience but also fear of losing money. I want to motivate more people to go for what they want.
Good-luck on these aspirations Johanna. It’s a great idea. What would say is your “win-rate” and what really drives results in your trading?
I would say I have a win rate of 68-72%. My results are driven by hours of back-testing different pairs and their movement.
Not bad really. Did you have a job though. If yes, What was your salary in your last job before forex? Was leaving it for forex worth it and why?
$1300-1700 a month. Definitely worth it. Not looking to go back to a corporate job anytime soon.
Haha. Forex stole you away. Tell me how you think other people would describe you. What do you want to be remembered for in the industry?
Very social and outgoing. I want to be known for someone introducing the market in a different way by: showing them both obstacles and good days. There’re too much fake lifestyle on social media.
Well, most are great marketers. Others, for social status. Do you keep a journal? If yes, what does it consist of?
Yes, I do. I have different sections where I journal my market, pips achievements, losses & wins, my risk percentage, and personal processed thoughts I had during the trade.
Nice. I’m really grateful for your time. Although, I won’t be leaving till you tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months. Was it a trading decision? If yes, tell me how you handled the situation.
No worries. Quitting my last job. It was a hard decision but I knew it was the right thing for me not only to pursue my trading dream but—also be able to focus on things that make me happy. I don’t regret it at all.
That’s tough. How would you describe your ideal work environment?
My ideal work environment is essentially an office filled with other female traders working to help and educate other upcoming traders like myself on their journey.
Yup. You’ve definitely got a great belief system. I’ll be looking forward to this Ma’am. You know we have the Neophytes now in the industry. In fact, more Neophytes are trooping in. What’s your advice to them and what would you recommend they start with?
Simple. Throw away the whole “I’m going to become rich in a few weeks”. Focusing on the money aspect will really turn your motivation off in the beginning as: you don’t even have the skill set. Focus on the skillset, and the money will come along.
Process first, then outcome. You couldn’t have said it better. What would you consider to be your biggest forex achievement? Tell me about a forex accomplishment you are most proud of.
When I was profitable enough to quit my job. It takes time, and I’m nowhere near where I want to be but—I have at least come a long way.
Positivity goes a long way. Do you have weaknesses—What are your forex weaknesses? How do you plan on going about them? Have you succeeded in doing that?
Social media can be a very scary place and as an upcoming trader, you will encounter a lot of different things. Comparing myself to other traders is a weakness of mine, but I keep reminding myself that their journey is different from mine and we all have our own path. I don’t really look at other traders that much anymore and just focus on myself and my own journey.
The media, if used wrongly is a deadly disease. Proprietary firms are in existence now. Do you trade for any proprietary firm? If yes, which one and how is it going?
No, not yet but I’m looking to take the FTMO when I’m ready.
Finally, before I leave you Johanna. How long do you plan on trading forex and Where do you see yourself in five years with forex?
Plan to stick to my written rules and risk management. I also look up everything that I don’t understand and learn from it. Progress is my everyday mission.
