Outside Influence: Affect - Change - Behave

influence  :
verb [T]
to affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves or thinks

Outside Influences are one of mans "self driven" worst enemies and over the past 6 years I have come across an endless number of people who have made life changing decisions based on someone else's view and opinions.

You see, as human beings we have to make sure that what we are doing is right, therefore we seek others approval, opinions and views. When we buy a car, book a holiday or join a Health Club, we generally make that decision based on what others have said.

Plus..have you stopped and wondered just how much influence everyday things such as TV, Radio and Newspapers have on our mindset.

When you look at your next newspaper, just take a second and scroll through the pages, front to back, add up how many "bad news" stories there are and compare that to how many "good news" stories there are. I can guarantee that you will find more Negative Influence on your mind set than positive.

So what do I mean: Below is a scenario that I found my self in that I think best explains what I mean by "Negative Outside Influences"

Many months ago I decided to take up a new challenge. I had heard so much about the FOREX market and how much success people were having, simply trading currency.

I have "done my homework", found all sorts of blogs, groups and networks all offering trading tips and advice, taken a lot of information on board and had an idea of what I needed to do.

I had invested in a "well rated" software package, one that was easy to use, could be set up to best match my trading style and pattern. For over a month I traded in what we call a Demo account. To be honest, at the start, it was all down hill... but after a time, learning the market "hot times", understanding how cyclical the money market is and that there were good times and bad times to trade due to market openings and closures, I began to see a return on my investment.

Most, but not all the tips and advice seemed to be pointing me in the right direction and after 3 months of "tweaking" my trading charts, getting a feel for what was happening I made my first trade. Fantastic, all the homework, advice, charts and the "gut feeling" scenario had worked, we made our first $400 dollars.

I had set myself a goal, $400 per day, don't trade on a Monday or Friday, trade between 5.30am and 7.30 am, Tuesday and Thursday were the better days. So off we went, timetable set, graphs running great and everything doing what it should do. Now, those that do FOREX Trading will know, its all about mindset, your ability to allow yourself to loose, win, break even, go with what the charts tell you and not what your emotions tell you.

I had been trading for about 5 months, all was going ok, we were not achieving our $400 dollars a day but we were not loosing anything either. I remember it well, a Saturday evening, friends party, a few drinks and lots of polite conversation. One of the party guests was talking about his trading, how well he was doing and what he was using software wise... which as it happened, was the same as mine.

But, the one thing he was doing different was watching live TV, a channel called Bloom berg. Its a Stocks, Trading, Currency, Markets and general money news channel, live, straight to the point, lots of "experienced people" giving advice and tips on what they "thought" was going to happen..... WHAT A FANTASTIC IDEA!! Lets watch that from now on!

Next morning, on went the TV.... on went the Trading Platform.... on went the kettle.... up went my enthusiasm, excitement and drive.... this was it.

I spent all morning listening to the news, what was happening around the world, what was effecting the currencies, who was making decisions about what and "guessing" what effect that would have on the market. That Monday I did not trade.... why.... because the news was saying it was going to be a bad day on the markets!!

Tuesday: Enthused with my new friend, TV, today I was going to get going quickly. I knew the best time to trade, I knew what to look for in my charts and I new I could control my "emotions", all I had to wait for was the signal from the "master of knowledge", "the outside influence".... now was the time to trade. So off we went.... watching, listening, waiting... watching, listening, waiting!! At 3pm on the Tuesday I had NOT traded, everything was falling apart on the currency market, Japan, China, Australia, UK and USA Stock, Bonds and Currency all falling fast... it was a nightmare... how could I trade with so much bad news going on, so much money being lost on the markets... I would be a fool to go in now... so I didn't.

Wednesday: Another Day another Dollar - NO!!!!!!!!!!!! If Tuesday was bad, Wednesday was getting worse. The TV was just terrible, all the bad news was coming thick and fast, people were losing millions, jobs, companies closing.. and there was more to come.

Thursday - Take Stock Day!! Last week I had traded everyday, made a little lost a little, it was time to go back to basics. i decided to look over the charts... what had happened knowing the Financial Markets were in turmoil. I worked my way through each day, the "in" and "out" points, trends, rebounds, the cyclical pattern. All, the charts indicated there were good times to trade. I has been watching the TV and NOT using the tools and advice that I had spent months learning from.... I had secome to "Outside Influences".

What a disappointment... all those experts, all that information, all the live news... BUT not the facts, NOT what the charts had told me to do... I had become emotionally involved, I had become reliant on the News, I was being influenced by something, someone who was doing a job, telling people news, good or bad.

So what did I do next.... well it would be easy to say I went back, traded, made millions and now live a life of luxury... BUT... the fact is, I had to start again. You see, the "Influence" had placed doubt, confusion, a lack of confidence and the ability to be positive, self driven and motivated had been replaced with negative views and the inevitable... what if?

2 weeks later, I was back... forget the TV, forget what others were saying, look towards your goals and dreams, achieve your objective... my mindset had returned to a state that had given me success. No more TV!!

So, what am I trying to say?

Opportunity and choice are presented to every person, everyday across the world.

We search for acceptance from others, positive feedback, agreement that we are making the right decision... every single day. Some are more assertive, others will make a decision on what others say "might", "did", "could" or even "should" happen...

But... successful Business Builders, Entrepreneurs, Investors and Network Marketer do not allow "Outside Influence" to drive the decisions that they make... they do it themselves. And now, so do I.

"you have to give without want, before you can have"...

Stuart Bussley