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Are you in the market? If not, why not? Have you sown your seeds in order to reap a harvest? One thing we know for sure: No seeds in the ground is tantamount to a zero return. So what is it about agriculture that makes a good pattern for long term investing?

First you have to be in the race to win the prize. No matter what adverse conditions prevail the farmer always plants a crop because conditions can change and do change over time. Compare that with fidgety investors staying on the sidelines waiting for that perfect entry point. We know you cannot pick the tops or bottoms of the market. You can only find that out three months later looking back at the charts. By then it is useless information apart from setting a precedent for the next support/resistance level.

Later as soon as the seedlings emerge the farmer waters them with tender loving care. But some investors are so paranoid that they protect their position with a stop too close. Sure enough they get bumped off at the first retracement to re-test the last support level. That would be like a farmer pulling up a plant off the ground to check how the roots are doing.

Lastly plants do grow in the wild without the help of anybody. The farmer knows that time is on his side. The process that was started will eventually reach fulfilment. The seasoned investor also knows that time is on his side. The economy keeps going and going simply because consumers keep consuming what producers keep producing. Yes peaks and troughs follow their erratic ways but there is also an upward bias in the market that will reward those who stay for the long haul.

But what about you? Have you sown your field? Are you in the market? If not, why not? Maybe you heard so many horror stories of people who lost their life savings that you don't know who to believe. Obviously you do not have yet a positive personal experience to fall back on.

What if you could look over the shoulder of a successful trader, gaze at the trading log and ascertain the overall performance?

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