There is one phrase in the share market game that personally I cannot stand. That phrase is "paper losses" or "unrealised losses." From time to time you will hear people say that losses do not exist until you sell your shares and realise that loss.

I am going to tell you something.....that is garbage! A loss is a loss no matter how you look at it. To be successful in any financial instrument is to adopt a certain mentality. The mentality you need to adopt at all times is..........."Should I need that money can I get it access to all of it now?"

The reason I speak of this is to highlight once again the emotional roller coaster of it all. I for one believe it must have been a broker that invented the words paper loss or unrealised loss!

Why would one say that? Well you guessed it, to keep you coming back for more. Please don't get me wrong, I have a lot of friends and colleagues that are brokers and fine ones at that. Again I am just pointing reference to the emotional side of trading.

Now let me tell you it was a long and hard road to get to the stage where I was confident that I could sustain myself for the long term, emotionally and profitably.

Not for a minute did I think it would fail but more to the point, When Would It Succeed.

I have been a private trader for many years now and like a lot of readers got started simply by trading shares and looking for a small amount of extra income.

As your confidence builds and you learn to manage your emotions, you will realise that the daily decisions you make will become clearer.

The end result of this for many of you will be to see your bank balance grow!