I don't think that money drives these people, it's more about challenge as Samson noted, but you can find challenge in other things as well. I trade for a living, I don't live for trading... Yes, I want to be a good trader and do my best in this area, but not someone for whom trading is everything...
Electron, My relationship with God comes first. So, yes I can agree. Trading is my life's work and I want to do my due-diligence. As for those others, I can only go after what I read about them. When I was younger, I challanged God with my life. I was athletic and breaking my limitations, then one day when I was rock climbing, I became very scared and asked myself what I was trying to prove. Challenge, Ego...goals all seem to come into perspective for me now. Michael B.
I watched all the dung flung at the prof on ET. I've lurked on his site and emailed him with the occasional question. He has always answered my questions with more detail then I asked for, I find the site spotty (from my standpoint because I have no access to the members area) but I find he is arrogant and I imagine that is because he knows his stuff better than anyone. It is all his. As far as being an a$$hole, I would say that the treatment he got here encouraged it. He used to charge $300 for 10 years worth of new research and most of you condemned it but Brandon offers to mentor people for $1000 on tired warn out methods and the same people call that fair. I would call it hypocritical. Samson says that if 90% of a teachers customers are satisfied, then it is probably ok. I've attended more than 20 seminars in my life and can say that there has never been a 90% satisfaction rate at any of them. One is lucky to get 50% and the other 50% are really pissed.
Seminars, IMHO, are a total waste of money. For the same money and sometimes even less you can get a good system and put it to a good use. How much can you benefit from someone's drivel? You still need a tool to trade. Seminars at best provide ideas and a lot of pep talk. Who really needs that?
Samson, about 20 years ago I attended a seminar where the speaker was the Paul Jones. It was in regards to the then Tudor-Clearwater fund. He is arguably one of the best investors of all time but when the seminar was over there were almost half the attendees would have paid a fin to take a swing at him. I can only image some of prof's students feel the same way. I am not comparing prof to PTJ but making the statement that any teacher or instructor will not have even 90% of his clients happy and that doesn't make what they teach wrong.
Pep talks are worthless and I agree. I attended the ones I did from a standpoint of searching for something new. Trust me, I rarely found anything new. 99% of it is a rehash of stuff you could find in most trading books. Almost never can you find anything new but it is out there.