Mr dreams, I think that you are now trying to justify your decision. It was better before you posted this post I quoted below. I now see that you will be back...Trust me. Wifey
Nah, wifey. I was just explaining to that guy that passion is not enough. Passion doesn't magically talk to the trading gods to have them send rains of profit from the sky. If it was only that easy! Anyway, five years is a pretty long time. Only a small fraction of a tiny percent make it and continue to last and keep it. The odds are pretty overwhelming to overcome. Everyone thinks they can make it, and that's understandable. Even me at some point. But I just don't feel that way anymore. A real job is my path to stability.
Did you know Electric quit once?...after blowing up twice...Never say Never BD... Thank you for sharing and you seem like a reasonable, balanced person. Currently you have made up your mind and there is nothing to say here. No one is going to magically convince you otherwise. I just posted because Electric does not really know what to think or post here. I have the intuition to know that you will be back...I just believe that and it is my opinion, but you got to do the time. Five years is reasonable for you to arrive where you are today. This is America. The land of capitalism. If you do not trade, what else is there? Wifey
look, it comes down to this. you need to be a 10%er to make it in trading in some careers, 50%, 60%, 70% or more "make it" in some careers, less than 1% make it trading is not quite as hard as the last, but harder than the first that's the reality i see you are trying to project some of your defeat onto others. and that disturbs me. i entered trading fully aware that 90% + fail that didn't faze me a bit, but maybe because I come from a background in sports (and another career) where at least that %age fail, and I didn't you have to have the confidence to say "i can make it into the 10%" while not being so stubborn as to keep doing the same thing, and expecting different results imo, there is no better business opportunity in america than being a trader. the startup capital is tiny, the flexibility is tremendous, and unlike many small businesses, there is absolutely only one thing that will seperate the winner from the loser, and that's you. unlike a restaurant, or other type businesses, you do not depend on others. hey, you gave it a shot. great. it wasn't for you. no problem. it's not for MOST also, anybody who enters TRADING (vs. investing) with money that they can't afford to lose has already signed their defeat i trade futures. it's competitive and difficult most rewarding things in life are competitive and difficult
Nah whitster, I'm definitely not projecting my defeat on others. If it seemed like that way, it was not my intention. I'm just sharing my version of the game. It's just a conditioned opinion from personal experiences from five years of observation. I have seen so many traders come and go. The turnover is exceedingly high in this industry. The striking thing though was that even the best former traders weren't able to keep up with new trends and keep their money at the end. It was a hard game for them, and it was a hard game for me. If trading is not a hard game for you, hey, that's awesome. I'm not discouraging anyone from chasing their dreams, but I'm just being honest. Oh, as for your 90%, I think that's a bit generous. 10% of new traders probably still last in the game and even do well after two years. But after five years, it's maybe 5%. Ten years? I'd say less than 1%. And 20 years? Wow, that's like a fraction of a fraction of 1%.
one of my friends just blew up his account. Its unfortunate. there are three guys in an office i know. one guy's been doing it for 8, other 7, the other 4. One scalps nyse and pair trades, another does breakouts/breakdowns. The 7 year guy scalps size on naz. and they all make money. Then i met a guy who'd been at it for over 8 years. Can't make a dime; was a dot com trader. Bowing out at some stage doesn't mean you "failed". Anyone who made it in the dot-coms and stopped didn't fail. Any of the 3 traders I mention above wouldn't be considered failures if they stopped now; they've got a lot of loot to show for their work. A lawyer who quits his job to become a physcian isn't a "failure" even though they are going to incur massive debt going back to school. They just choose something else. If you supported yourself for 5 years successfully, you were a trader for 5 years, simple as that. I think thats quite admirable, and you really shouldn't take that away from yourself. Does it have its drawbacks now? sure, like everything else, theres always something to regret. Its hard not to, but hey, everyone has that option.
Broken dreams, there are 6.5billion people in a 32trillion dollar global economy. i.e. every life on Earth has a value of about $5000. That is equivalent to trading 1 futures contract on YM per annum at the 200 day moving average i.e. 1000 points per year. If you don't take up that equation for yourself, someone else will. If the Chinese don't get you, the Iranian mullahs will. If someone puts a gun to your head, and says "you die," are you going to say "that's OK, go ahead and make my day."? I trade for the brave men and women who died for my freedom (they are dead, you hear me, dead), and, for those who stand in harms way to protect my freedom. It's about passion, the passion of life. When you see hell, you'll want to trade on air.
if da guy sees he can't beat this tough mkt, that's good enough, actually, pretty commendable since he admits defeat before carryin' on too far with things that don't work, therefore wastin' precious time and money. afterall we are not all designed to make it in this biz. it is clear his aspirations lay elsewhere and he's well and done with tradin'.
Uhh... 1000, before, you said you wanted to trade because you simply despised your 10 hour 6-day job. You were tired of your old work. But now you're talking about passion for something else and that you only want to trade for the brave men and women who died for your freedom? ? You lost me, dude. You sound pretty angry too for some reason. Hey, I'm the one who is hanging it up. I'm not making you hang it up. Take it easy.