Lou Harty - From Professional Soldier to Professional Trader & Traveller!
There is no doubt that Lou Harty is a high achiever. She speaks with Jonathan Jackson about how the military helped launch successful trading, mentoring and e-business careers.
Tracking through muddy fields at 5am, climbing walls with heavy backpacks, the raised voice of a drill sergeant, I can trot out a myriad of military movie clichés. And there’s truth to some of them. There has to be, because what the skills and practices that these clichés represent are life skills that once a good soldier is discharged can be applied to anything that soldier puts his or her mind to.
Exemplifying this is Lou Harty, a 21-year veteran of the Australian army. As a warrant officer, Lou had reached the pinnacle of her military career. It takes at least 10 years to reach the rank of warrant officer and they are highly specialized experts, trainers and leaders who provide valuable guidance to commanders and organisations in their specialty.
“For a female to reach that rank was an achievement. But I felt that there was nowhere for me to go to after that,” Lou says. With a husband in Special Forces and a growing family, Lou made the decision to leave her military career behind and concentrate on supporting her clan. She joined the army at age 17 – calling herself a private school ratbag with little discipline, but a strong personality – when there was only 7% female representation.
“It was definitely a boy’s club which forces you to be kicked around initially, but I knew that I would survive and marry one of these dudes.”
“He (Lou’s husband) has deployed to the Middle East and all over the world for the last 12 years, that’s been the story of our lives. So, I made the decision that we both couldn’t do that with three children.
We both can’t be out defending the nation.
“I wanted to make more money than I was earning, but I didn’t want to go and get another career. The military convinced me to undertake a degree, so I went out and did a Bachelor of Education, which although I didn’t follow through taught me how to research.”The course was remote, so all correspondence was conducted online.
Lou found that the development of those research skills became invaluable, particularly when she began to research the skills that made successful people successful, such as trading, investing and financial education. It is safe to say that Lou’s life since the military has been about discipline and the empowerment it creates.
“I have amazing discipline. It is one of the key professional qualities instilled in soldiers: time management, man management, dealing with people, looking after people, camaraderie, teamwork, professionalism and being structured in a routine. My daily routine consisted of being at work at 7.30am and after an hour or so of physical fitness the day was laid out: where to go, what to do, who to do it with and an end result. Instructions were simple and concise. When you look at it like that, there are similarities to running a business and or trading the markets. Now, when someone says here is a training product, follow it and implement it, I think ‘Okay, I’ll watch, learn and implement and get the same result’.
I don’t deviate at all, I do what the product owner tells me and I don’t question or try to reinvent it. And I think that’s the secret.”
That’s not to say Lou hasn’t donated back to the markets. Trading is volatile, but the same disciplines required to make the trade are necessary to back away from it as well. Many young or novice investors don’t understand this. Lou was keen to learn; she wishes she began her trading and investing career 20 years ago. However she may not have been as good a trader had her life been different; had there been no discipline.
“A lot of people who undertake trading courses come up with the idea that they can do things differently. Like most people, I wanted to earn more income. I had the burning desire to acquire as many assets as possible, and I was supported by all the things the military had given me, particularly working in a group and pulling together and the need to achieve the end result.”
She likens trading to the battlefield.“We train soldiers as young as 17. Within three to four months training, they are overseas fighting for their country. Their fear is similar to that of trading. If you have a young male who knows his role is to defend the nation, he is out of his comfort zone. It is the same as a young mother who has never traded before. It is the fear of the unknown. Of course, the consequences are different: worst case scenario for a new trader is that you lose some money… in the military you lose your life, but that’s how I relate it.”
The soldier is taught strategies and disciplines that will minimise the impact of any dangerous situations. “It’s a sweet relationship the way the skills are transferred. There are many people who have had far greater success than I have, but when it comes to chaotic decisions, I know I can rely on the disciplines.”
Traders will make mistakes and they will lose money, but if they have their eye on the bigger picture, if they stay current and understand what is happening within the market, they will be fine. If they lay down an undisciplined trade then they need to be prepared for the consequences; they must be accountable.
Accountability is another skill the military instils.
“Learn from mistakes. Reduce your risk; for one of my trading strategies I only risk 1%. So on a $10,000k account each trade I’m only willing to lose (or I prefer the term donate) is $100. Knowing that I’m confident I won’t lose much money and it makes it easier to go and trade again – even if you have two or three trades go against you. But so many people come in with the cowboy attitude, driven by greed and say here’s five to ten thousand dollars and they just blow it. The greatest traders in the world will tell you that it takes two to three years to become a disciplined trader.”
Greed is particularly dangerous when you’ve made a few successful trades and have a false sense of security or reality. However, easy money increases the risk (money laid out) and eventually turns into gambling.
“If three trades go against me in a day, I will close the computer. However, a word of caution: if you can’t afford to lose the money, don’t trade it. Always ask yourself…how much can I afford to lose? The profits will always take care of themselves. Trade with what you are comfortable with.”
Lou’s common sense approach makes her an excellent mentor, though she says she is a tough task master. She requires those she teaches to put 100% into trading; this means doing what needs to be done. Persist when the going gets tough, stay current with the strategy, know your risk/money management, understand your psychology and raise your standards.
Trading is a holistic experience and should be treated as such. As Lou says, “The strategies work; it’s the person that doesn’t make it work. There are hundreds of trading strategies available. They all work, however you need to find the one that suits your personality. For example, I’m predominantly a day trader; therefore those strategies such a Forex and Eminis excite me the most.”
Having given up the military to be able to earn more money and provide for her family, she teaches her children the same principles.
“My youngest daughter wants to be a chef. I taught her a couple of years ago to get online and follow her favourite chef’s techniques. Then I taught her how to create videos of her cooking meals which we hooked up to an affiliate program. Her pocket money is generated from people watching her cooking videos online and linked to a cooking affiliate program. My son is 16 and already knows what candlesticks are, trends and markets and is at an age where he’s receptive. He knows that in order to have what you want you need to model from those who already have it. A kid needs to have something to aspire to; he needs to see someone he can model from.
‘Ambition and having high personal standards is shown by his dad who is his role model and who protects the nation. But he also needs to understand money, how to use it and more importantly how to keep it.”
Lou is an entrepreneur; she trades, mentors and runs her own affiliate marketing business. However she is more than that; she is a natural leader and a motivator, teaching people to climb the proverbial wall, think for themselves and forge their own way forward.
This is how she has lived the majority of her life; moving forward by continuing to learn and apply disciplined actions to her tasks. She still sees herself in a ‘protect and serve’ role, “except this time I’m protecting and serving in a more passive way”.
Her greatest joy now is to help people achieve their goals and find purpose, just as she has during life after military. “You need a purpose and you need to love what you do. Robert Kyosaki doesn’t need to work, but he is motivated by passion. I need to feel good and I do that by living my passion which is to teach people the right way to do things.”
And let’s not forget the discipline she instils to make those things happen.
Lou currently continues to trade Forex and Crypto and also has a successful online Travel business.
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Follow Lou on her Social pages.
http://www.youtube.com/louhartylive
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https://twitter.com/louharty
https://loucrativetravel.dreamtrips.com/