Are you happy with your career?

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by Kastro_316, Mar 4, 2004.

  1. Once again another great post from Aaron. I fully agree - that trading can vacillate from being the best profession to the worst in minutes. But with time you find emotional balance. I'm happy I'm a trader!
     
    #31     Mar 7, 2004
  2. ertrader1

    ertrader1 Guest

    I think you all should write a book on FEELINGS as a trader.....enough yahoos would buy it and hell a few of you could be the next DOUGLAS.......my vote is for the ASTOIDS VIDEO GAME example......yea, trading is just like a video game, ,,,,GIVE ME A FUKING BREAK.
     
    #32     Mar 7, 2004
  3. It all depends on one's perspective, doesn't it?

    Then again, if your P&L at the end of the day usually reads GAME OVER, I can see how trading might not be too fun for you. Better start saving your quarters.
     
    #33     Mar 7, 2004
  4. ertrader1

    ertrader1 Guest

    DUDE ur a clown like most on ET........you left a carrer for trading and its like a video game...........if at the end of the day ur P$L says game over?

    Dude, go back to scalping for pennies and talking shit.


    lol
     
    #34     Mar 7, 2004

  5. Gee whiz, your incisive post makes me want to rethink this. So let's see . . . on Friday I made more money than probably most people make in a month by watching a few squiggly lines of the ES on my monitors and pressing keys on my keypad. I didn't have to wear a suit or fight traffic to do this. I strolled into my trading room wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, with a pot of green tea, and after putting Bach on the stereo I was ready to go. By around 9:30 the weather was so beautiful outside I decided to get started on the weekend early and left for San Diego to spend some of the money I made. In between, I chatted with a group of good guys in Paltalk who also trade the e-mini's and it was a lot of fun. So hmm . . . nope, it still feels like a video game to me.

    Hey, but I can understand where you're coming from. You can't know what you've never experienced. So if the thought of someone acing this game and shooting down the bucks every day upsets you, just ignore my posts.

    Good luck. And have fun at your "job" tomorrow. :)
     
    #35     Mar 8, 2004
  6. FredBloggs

    FredBloggs Guest

    Well said.

    It's so easy to tell the winners from the losers on this board by the posts. It's all in their attitude.

    People who are unhappy with themselves and their results have nothing positive in their heads so just seek to bring others down to their level (the gutter).

    The winners are content with their lot and results, so their positive vibe goes on to manifest by helping others.

    And before you say 'who are you, you 2 post nothing hippy fuk' or similar crap, remember this: the winners in the markets are too busy taking YOUR money in the markets (if indeed you do trade). While you waste your time on BB's making yourself feel better about yourself trying to pi$$ on others, all day, Im trading - taking your kids college education you planned away from you HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Who's larfing now! Soon your girl will leave you because you're BROKE! Who will she be running after - the winners, or another sad pathetic LOSER who bitches all day? Karma!

    Some of you got to grow up.
     
    #36     Mar 8, 2004
  7. sjp

    sjp

     
    #37     Mar 8, 2004
  8. This comes the closest to how I think about it. Yes, I too basically left a "career", in fact my own designer & art business, to do this full-time. And yes, some days when it's hot, I get up in the morning, just trade in my boxxers, then go down the beach which is right across from my apartment, have a swim, go back and trade a bit more, it's great.

    As for the "video game factor"; That's exactly how I think about trading. Matter of fact, I was a ace video gamer for like over a decade, did comps and stuff, had my highscores in gaming mags and arcades, you name it. My brother (he's quite a few years older than me) never got over gaming, he's got every decent console and PC game currently on the market. He's known in gaming circles as "fuxya", because that's what he does. :p

    Myself, I got over video games about 3 years ago. To recall, I think it happened the same day I started trading. One thing kind of just replaced the other. I started trading Naz stocks off Lv2 and tape, so that made things even more video-game like. It was a game, and I quickly learnt to play it.

    These days, I only trade futures, and usually for larger gains and less trades, but it's still totally like a video game. I now trade DAX, BUND, ESTX, ES, NQ, HSI, and they're all quite similar in many ways. Just different landscapes in the game.

    Somebody on this thread (not sure who it was) made some very immature, judgmental, not to mention uninformed comments on the video game analogy. Well, whoever said that, I think is on the wrong track. Trading is a game, and if you take your doings any more serious than that, chances are you'll take a beating. Matter of fact, Dr. Van K. Tharp himself summarized in "Market Wizards" the five most common traits he's found amongst the "supertraders", and one of those five is "Trading is a game." Anybody here want to argue with Tharp's analysis?

    In fact, that bumps me onto the best advice I could give any trader-to-be: Forget the money, and focus on the game. Focus on improving, getting higher and higher scores, playing the game 100% to the rules and develop decent strategies to knock out the other players. When you get ace at the game, the money will come by itself. Money sticks to good players like feathers to tar.

    I can't and don't want to see much difference between playing a MUD online with lots of other opponents, or trading. Now don't anybody say "Yeah, but there's money behind trading." What a pile of crap, there's money behind everything, including the time you waste playing online games (time = money). Forget the money and play the game, you'll do so much better.

    At the end of the day, it's more about attitude than anything. Seeing trading as a game is the best attitude I can think of.

    Just thought I'd throw this in here. Am I happy with my career? Of course I am! :cool:

    Scientist
     
    #38     Mar 9, 2004
  9. i love it.
     
    #39     Mar 9, 2004
  10. le140

    le140

    It's funny how I just told my buddies last week that trading is like playing the best video game that was ever designed :) . Live on xbox anyone????

    Every morning, I looked at individual stocks as different levels within a game and depend on my ability to read that level = stock, I would come running in and picking up some coins and try getting out as fast as I could without emptying my account in the process. Coins = your health bar/indicator :) If one level is too tough = hi risk, I would pick another one where the action is easier.

    I highly recommended it to anyone playing video games now. Of course you gotta pay your dues first.

    Life is definitely good and happy trading to all,
     
    #40     Mar 9, 2004