There are 5 important achievements that every successful system trader must make.
1) You must know your own weaknesses. Each of us brings strengths and weaknesses to our own trading. Some find it exceedingly difficult not to tinker or play around with the markets when trading and in the process we don't follow our systems; some find it difficult to pull the trigger; some find it difficult to endure drawdowns of any size. Unless you know how you react to the markets and the pressures and elations of trading, you cannot compensate for your weaknesses.
2) You must understand statistics well enough to understand the limitations of trading using only history as our guide. I am constantly surprised by how many people get this wrong. Even the so-called "experts" in trading.
3) You must learn about trading systems, many of them, many different kinds of systems. In this process, you will learn that there are many answers, many paths to profits, but none of them are as neat and palatable as we might wish.
4) You must learn about brokers, markets, execution, risk, slippage, and other operational issues that affect trading profits. The best way to learn these issues is to start trading somewhere using a small account. It needs to be big enough that the losses matter but not so big that you will bankrupt yourself if you lose the entire account.
5) You must learn about yourself and how you react to all the items 1 to 4 above. This is perhaps the most important knowledge. How to fit your own personality, weaknesses and strengths, into the trading ecosystem. You might find you are bored with long-term system, or that you can't stand looking at screens, or that you need a robobroker to execute since you won't follow your systems closely enough. You will only learn this by being honest with yourself and by reflecting on what works and doesn't.
The best possible way to learn is to sit side by side with someone who knows what they are doing, but this is not possible for most, so you will likely need to find another way.
As far as a specific course of action, which is what you have asked for, I will offer one way that I think works pretty well. If you persevere and if you reflect on your own condition honestly, you have a good chance at success if you follow this course.
1) Buy some testing software and learn some of the well-known systems that work. There are many examples of systems that work out there. Play around with them, change them and see what happens. I'm obviously biased in my opinion of what software you should buy but I leave that decision to you.
2) Read and Study Trading. Initially, I suggest buying the Modus course. It is a very good foundation for people who don't know where to begin.
3) Start trading as soon as you think you are ready. Start small and don't worry about the profits, worry about what you learn about the markets and yourself. Consider your initial losses as tuition that all traders pay.
4) Honestly assess yourself on a regular basis. What did you learn? what are you having trouble with? What do you need to compensate for?
5) Repeat starting at 1).
One thing that troubles many people is the high cost of software and courses. Consider however, the high cost of trading incorretly as the alternative. If you can't afford software, save up until you can. If you can't afford money for a course, you likely can't afford to lose as much money as you will if you start trading without understanding what you are doing.
Last of all, don't be afraid to ask for the advice of others, even to pay for it where appropriate.
Keep one thing in mind, however, sometimes even successful traders are wrong about the reasons for their success. Trader A might think his success is due to his fancy computers and sophisticated algorithms when in reality his success is due to his having a solid foundation and good operational execution.
Trading well is not easy, but it is something you can learn if you have the perseverance combined with the humility to be realistic about your own strengths and weaknesses. - Curtis Faith ( Turtle Trader )