You have rowed a boat at some time haven't you? Yes, put the oars in the water and pull. Of course, you don't know where you are going because you are sitting backwards. Every so often you have to turn to look ahead to see if you are pulling in the right direction.

Reminds you of the stock market doesn't it? You have your money invested and you are pulling hard (working) trying to get to that rainbow where the pot of gold is supposed to be, but you are sitting backwards and you can't see where you are going.

The stock market is more like one of those Olympic shells with a bunch of people rowing together to the finish line. Unfortunately, in the stock market each person is putting his oar in the water at a different moment and some are even pushing on their oar. What a mess. How is anyone ever going to win if they don't all pull at the same time? Let me give you a clue. They won't.

And why won't they?

You, the little guy in the row boat, doesn't have a coach or the coach you might have doesn't know what he is doing. Those coaches have been taught how to row by the big guns on Wall Street and the big guys don't care about you.

In order to become a stock broker the person must pass a very tough test. That test has nothing to do with helping investor make money. It is all about rules to keep them from lying to you and cheating on your account. That's good and it works, but they are not taught how to trade or protect your money.

When the broker or financial planner does pass that test he is given two manuals. The first one is a copy of all those rules and regulations. The second is how to open account in other words get you to send him your money.

There is no third manual on how to protect a customers' money. You can't expect to row your boat in the right direction if your coach doesn't know what he is doing. When your boat starts to leak (the market starts down) your coach has no idea how to patch those leaks and you slowly sink. Does this sound familiar?

You have to learn how to row your boat in the right direction by steering through the maze of Wall Street lies. The first rule is not to let your boat sink. When you see a leak you must patch it immediately. In the stock market that is called selling a losing position. Stop the leak so your boat won't sink.

Wall Street coaches are not taught this simple technique and the brokerage house always wants you to have a position. When you sell you have cash and learn this ? CASH is a position. Many times it is better to be out of the market than sinking with it.

That way you will still have a boat to row.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005