Trading coaches

Over at Elite Trader Forums I recently came across a post that discussed something that really smacked me in the face.  For years my focus has been on profits.  If you have a technique, an idea, something to say, anything to comment on related to trading, I want to weigh that with how well things have worked for you.  I care if you have beaten the market in any regard, weighing the amount of work your methods take with the results they derive.

What I have found as I ask those I encounter (mostly online, few in real life) about their returns has been interesting.
1.  Many won't answer.
2.  Those that do answer generally underperform the market.
3.  Few beat the market averages.
4.  Many justifications exist as to why folks underperform, most are unacceptable in the paradigm I operate in.
5.  It seems that extraordinary efforts are undertaken in many stocks to eak out a gain.  This appears to be emotional trading for some and chasing the latest fad for others.  Just watch someones twitter feed, amazing the change of themes, focus, and timing.

So I focus on profits over and above the averages and find the masses ill prepared to be my trading coach because of their relative underperformance.  What smacked me in the face was someone asking if Phil Jackson could not beat Michael Jordan in basketball, could he coach the Bulls?  I instantly went overboard with guilt, wondering if I have been shutting out those that offered me something.  Perhaps these people that don't do well offer some tool or method I should adopt?

POPPYCOCK!  Phil Jackson was a winner before he coached Jordan.

Perhaps others can coach or teach without beating the market, but I do not want to be the first student.  Show me the records of your students!

If you earn returns in excess of the market I'll listen to you.  All else is useless dribble