Spirituality has traditionally been a taboo subject among entrepreneurs. Many successful entrepreneurs I have met or know have a spiritual practice, but will not talk about it openly.
I feel this is because entrepreneurship has traditionally been a male-dominated profession where feelings are considered weak or a liability.
However, depending on which study you read, up to 90% of new entrepreneurs ultimately fail to become consistently profitable.
So, there is something clearly wrong with the old model.
All trading problems come from being separated from your soul.
That statement seems ridiculous now. But if you stick with me, I’ll show you why this statement is true.
Maybe there is a small part of you that agrees with me, but the rest of you is very skeptical.
I understand, that’s normal. You don’t have to believe me now.
Let’s explore the spirituality of trading and why I feel it is so important to your long-term success as a trader.
The 3 Person Element of Trading
There are basically 3 elements within ourselves that we must do to become a successful entrepreneur.
Understanding these elements will allow you to consciously improve in these areas.
If you don’t know about them, then how can you work on them?
Does it make sense?
Well, here they are and how they influence your success as an entrepreneur.
Knowledge of the Left Brain
Our left brain handles cognitive functions and deals with logic.
This is where we usually start when we are learning any new skill.
In business, this means learning how to:
- Implement the rules of a trading strategy
- Entering trades
- Calculate the risk
- Analyze your results
- Optimize your strategy
Unfortunately, this is where most new entrepreneurs get stuck. They think that trading is only about numbers and trading systems.
This is why online content focused on trading systems is so popular.
Most people who are new to trading think that all they need is a good trading strategy.
Then they get stuck in the Trading Silodrome, going from trading strategy to trading strategy.
If they don’t stop, they will eventually realize that they also need to learn about their emotions and mental programming.
That’s when they start focusing on right brain awareness.
Right Brain Awareness
The right side of our brain has been shown to be responsible for processing emotions and intuition.
In other words, this is where most of the “psychology” of trading happens.
You can have the most profitable trading strategy in the world, but if you can’t control your emotions, then you won’t be able to do it successfully.
Traders who are unaware of their emotions will do things like revenge trading, take too much risk and enter a downward spiral of catastrophic thinking.
When traders master the emotional aspect of trading, that is usually when they become profitable.
If you want to see my favorite trading psychology books of all time, I’ve listed them here.
It’s not about shutting down your emotions, but being aware of them and not overreacting to them.
But it’s hard work.
Many people do not want to face their psychological obstacles and do it.
Unfortunately, that is the reason why trading psychology content is not popular on the internet.
However, even when a trader finds profit, there is usually one more knowledge they have to deal with.
Total Consciousness
This is something I see very few people talk about when it comes to trading. I’ll be talking more about this in the future, so be sure to bookmark this site or sign up for the email list if you want to know more.
In this third level, we want to get out of our brain and focus on our whole being.
This awareness combines the functions of both sides of our brain and awareness of a third element, our spirit or soul.
Without spirituality, it is difficult to find meaning in our lives and in trading.
So let’s look at what spirituality is, the benefits, and how you can start cultivating spirituality in your life.
What is Spirituality?
Spirituality is the belief in and connection to the divine part of yourself. That part is often called the soul.
In more practical terms, it’s about getting in touch with who you are at a core level and figuring out what brings you joy.
When you break it down, this is the common thread between all world religions and spiritual practices.
Many people equate spirituality with religion.
Religion certainly includes spirituality, but there is more to spirituality than any religion.
So whether you believe in a particular religion or not, I invite you to leave any of your preconceived notions of spirituality at the door.
Just as there are many different trading strategies, there are many different forms of spirituality.
There is no one method that works for everyone.
What matters is that you find the one that works best for you.
The way I see it, whatever you believe right now is perfect. Use that as a starting point to explore.
You may change your mind, or you may not.
Stay open to the idea that spirituality is an important part of life and business.
The impact of spirituality in trading may not be visible right now, but I will show you why it is more important than any trading strategy or trading psychology tip.
How Spirituality Is Related to Entrepreneurship
The topic of spirituality often comes up when a trader becomes consistently profitable.
Once they’re out of financial worries, they’ll ask things like:
- What’s next?
- Does entrepreneurship make me happy?
- Why do some things outside of trading have a big impact on my trading?
- Is there more to trading than just making money?
- What activities do I find fulfilling?
- How can I make a positive impact on the world?
If an entrepreneur doesn’t answer these questions, then they may lose interest in the business, or worse…burn out.
The reason is that you need to find the definition of the business activity itself, or the activities that are allowed in the business that you can do.
In the words of Brian Gerard Schafer:
“The meaning of life is to have fun. The purpose of life is to share that fun with as many people as possible.”
For example, you might not think that trading is the funniest thing in the world, but you love that trading gives you income and free time to indulge in your true love, kite surfing.
Why wait until you are a successful entrepreneur to start asking these questions?
But if you don’t have a deep connection with your soul, you probably don’t know what you really enjoy.
If you want to be successful in the long term in trading, know what is important to you while you are learning to trade.
For many people, that’s not as easy as it sounds.
Unfortunately, for many of us, the connection to our soul and what we find fun has been removed from us.
We are forced to go to school for 12+ years and learn what other people think we should know.
I think I can speak for most people when I say that I find school boring and a huge waste of time.
Think about what you are interested in.
That would be amazing!
Then we work on jobs where we just work on other people’s jobs. Again, we are not allowed to chase anything WE looking for fun.
On top of that, we are bombarded with marketing messages and other people’s opinions on our social media feeds that further separates us from our own voice.
Spirituality helps us quiet the noise and reconnect with that part of us that loves to have fun and helps us align our passions with the way we earn a living.
The Positive Effects of Spirituality
When we have more meaning and fulfillment in our lives, that takes the pressure off our trading and gives us more energy.
Have you ever been so engrossed in an activity that you forgot what time it was?
That’s your fun.
For some, that may be the act of entrepreneurship itself.
Others may prefer other activities and only see entrepreneurship as a means to an end.
Either way, doing something you love is refreshing and relieves stress. It makes life more exciting.
If you are trading in a relaxed atmosphere, that gives you the best chance of good trading.
How to Get Started
If you already have a spiritual practice, that’s great.
Even if you don’t, that’s fine too.
Start where you are now.
Meditation can help you quiet your mind and relax your body.
If you haven’t done it yet, I highly recommend it.
Many spiritual teachers say that it is the door to our inner self.
I agree.
When you are relaxed and free from most of the distracting thoughts that run through your head every day, you begin to get in touch with who you are and what you want.
You will notice when your emotions run wild. You can identify areas where you need to learn more.
Here is a quick introduction to how to start mediation.
But meditation is just one of the things you can do to explore your spirituality.
You can also try…
- Yoga
- breath
- Volunteering
The key is to start with something that makes sense to you and go from there.
Final Thoughts
Spirituality is the missing piece when it comes to being a successful entrepreneur.
You may not even know you need it at this stage of your trading journey.
But eventually, you have to answer some important questions that lead you to the core of who you are and what you really want.
So it is best to start this work as soon as possible.
Having a spiritual practice and connecting with the deepest part of you is the best way to become a great entrepreneur, enjoy life, and have no regrets when it’s time to check.
PS – If you want to go deeper into spirituality and know what I’ve been up to, read this.