Take it from the person who won the United States Trading Championship with profits of more than 440% in 1984 – there are five things that every successful trader needs to know how to do:

Have a method to trade.
Have the discipline to follow your method.
Get real trading experience, instead of only trading on paper.
Have the mental fortitude to accept the fact that losses are part of the game.
Have the mental fortitude to accept huge gains.

Bonus tip: Find a mentor.

That trader who won the championship in a record-breaking fashion is Robert Prechter, the founder and president of Elliott Wave International. Once you think you’ve mastered his 5 tips for how to trade successfully, then the best thing to do is to find a mentor. In this excerpt from the book, Prechter’s Perspective, Bob Prechter discusses how sitting at the elbow of a …