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Author: Doug Newberry

Article: In order to trade stocks it's very important to keep realistic goals. If you're not realistic, you probably won't stick with it long enough to be successful. Realistic goals help keep you grounded, helping avoid disillusionment when stocks don't pan out. In this business of win some, lose some, you're not going to make a profit every time you invest. Reaching for the ideal lifestyle with poolside WiFi stock trading and midnight buffets is probably going to leave you flat on your neophyte face. Not making an enormous profit on your money? You're in good company. Top investors make high percentages on their money, but they don't come close to doubling it. Let's take a look at some of the top investors and their average profit percentages:  Warren Buffett - 21% for 40 yrs.  Jim Cramer - 24% for 13 yrs.  Benjamin Graham - 15% for 20 yrs.  Eddie Lampert - 29% for 18 yrs.  Peter Lynch - 29% for 18 yrs.  George Soros - 29% for 37 yrs. Expecting to make 30% profit on your money the first year of trading is setting yourself up for failure from the get-go. Are you a better trader than these heavyweights? Making 30% on your money per year is quite good. If you're able to do that in your first year of trading you have the makings of a trading genius. One advantage you may have over these heavy hitters is that you can be more nimble with your investments. It becomes difficult to get really high returns on billion dollar investments. After all, after a certain point, huge money BECOMES the market. You may be able to do better than, say, Peter Lynch, at 29% in your first year of trading, but what is the likelihood of that actually happening? Optimism is one thing, dream catching is another. No matter what, you don't want to start out with unrealistic expectations. Without realistic expectations, you'll never know how good you can become. Give yourself time to grow as an investor. Keep yourself balanced, however, by not beating yourself up when you lose some money or by not slapping yourself on the back one too many times when you make a lot of money. The market can be good to you if you don't expect too much from it.

About the author: Doug Newberry works hard at his position as Host of the "Market Toolbox On Demand" online radio show and Editor of the "Market Toolbox Newsletter." His company, Investing Systems Network, helps traders and investors in more than 70 countries learn to trade stocks and manage their portfolios by building specialized stock picking software tools.