Over the past eight years, I have attended numerous trading workshops and conferences, read dozens of books on trading and many more magazines and newspapers. I've also had the opportunity to spend time with top traders and trading educators in a variety of settings.

Most of the best traders share many attributes but none more important than following a carefully researched trading plan. There is probably nothing more crucial to your success as a trader. In fact, to use a cliché, "if you fail to plan – you plan to fail."

Yes -- an elite handful of traders can trade intuitively. We've heard about them and perhaps we even know a few of them. They seem to defy conventional wisdom in this regard.

My belief is that these individuals probably have very complex trading plans working at a subconscious level. They may not be able or even have a desire to try to transfer what they do to paper. In some cases, they can't even put a finger on exactly why they do what they do. They are processing a variety of market data and other subtle clues as to market direction and have a very good "feel" about the market.

In some respects, it's similar to watching an experienced musician improvise or "jam" on a song that he is not familiar with. Theses musicians don't have a specific "plan" for a song, but they are so familiar with the structure and flow of music that they can almost put together a nice riff effortlessly on the spot.

Of course, not all musicians have this ability. Many outstanding musicians play every note of their performance according to a carefully planned score and wouldn't even consider doing it any other way.

Both approaches can generate a pleasing musical presentation. One is not superior to the other -- just different. I believe you see something similar with respect to traders who follow carefully scripted trading plans and those who appear to "improvise".

If you are a new trader or are struggling to be consistently profitable, consider this: If you had been learning to play the guitar for the last year or two, would you consider stepping onto a stage in front of a large audience to "jam" or "improvise" on a musical piece? Probably not.

This analogy fairly represents the trader who attempts to trade without a carefully thought-out trading plan. The probability that he or she will be successfully is very low. It is difficult enough to manage your emotions while trading. If you add the additional stress of having to make difficult decisions when your money is on the line, you decrease your chance of being successful.

This is the first in a series of three articles we will present in coming months that will break down the trading process step by step -- from beginning to end:

• Selecting a trading style
• Determining the time frame you are going to trade in
• Defining the conditions in which you will enter a market
• Establishing in advance what your risk is
• Managing the trade
• Taking profits

We will also look at the role that back testing and simulated trading play in this process.

When the series is complete, you should have all the tools necessary to complete a comprehensive trading plan that will permit you to trade objectively and with confidence. This will help you to get the emotion out of your trading and get you focused on execution instead of outcome.

*Reprinted (and modified) with permission from Kerry Szymanski