A very interesting thread! " Characteristics of a Successful Trader?" My guess: Probably (s)he would cease any posting on ET, especially a thread like this one!!
I would agree with this... You want to put life into perspective, then have some kids; they'll do that it a hurry. I look at the lives some of my single (and married) friends and family and I wonder why it is they feel their work is so important... that what they do is so special. Trading, like anything, is a job. If you treat it as such (and work your nads off) then you'll get it. But, again, there is more important shit going on out there than accumulating $$$. B
tone of facetiousness noted from teethy smiley face. me thinks, from a bleeding pulpy hearted dem perspective(spurt, spurt), a true measure of success is if you are of the considerate mind that can give something back. it is the successful trader that sees the trading environment with clear objectivity, "this is what the market is giving me RIGHT NOW" and they work with that with no emotions nor ego regarding the decisions they made 10 minutes ago. thus, no thoughts, "were we wrong or right" so we are free to act as if we just took over someone else's account, from moment to moment. if it sounds Buddhist, it is and so is the idea of giving something back in the form of posts, info, whatever (not to say the Buddhists have a monopoly on altruism). it is long known that teaching is one of the best ways to give ourselves insights in addition to reinforcing what we already know but perhaps needed to remind ourselves of. nobody in their right mind would give away a specific (like which stocks and combo of indicators specific to those stocks, etc.) system that actually worked as the system's creator could very well be crowded out of the trades he/she used to get in and out of easily. in no time, their kind teaching has made them homeless. back to the point, i know it isn't for everyone but teaching can be a trait of a succesful trader, as long as the volition is in the right place, like the EricP dude that started the post. if it is of the 90%+ ego driven variety of teaching, like "i am god because i make $50k per day and you will make money trading merely by chewing down 2 mm off one of my toenail fungus infected toes...ahhhh, thank you... now go and use the Boolean hypertext subcommittee approved axiom of buy sell high low!!" (or some other more enigmatic riddle for you to figure out, thus befitting his guru status). surely, some successful folks like to keep completely to themselves but this is one i hadn't seen in the...uh...3 out of 50 pages of posts i had looked at, which were absolutely great, though me not in total agreement with all the points.
Summer time is lonely for traders. it s a good thing the weather is cooperating and NYC is sunny and Not too humid which is perfect. BTW saw the hot dog eating contest at Coney Island this passed weekend. I will not eat hot dogs for at least a month after seeing "the competition."
Thanx EricP for starting this thread. It is very interesting, especially from someone who is a successful trader. Since Piggie2000 will not reveal who this is, does anyone else know? What prop shop was it?
Spent the whole day on reading this thread/not finished yet. I just could not help registering to say thanks, to the OP and many others. I learned a lot and really grateful for the sharing! Thank you really much, Eric.
Done with this at last! Just want to say wholehearted thanks to the OP, and people like AustinP, Dustin, etc. Good Luck to all!
EricP: My sincere gratitude for your magnificent contributions to the trading community. This thread is a classic! I have it book marked so that when I become successful trading hopefully I can contribute to someone else needing help. I hope you don't mind if I pass this along. I believe your intent is to educate and not impose your beliefs on others. A special thank you to all who contributed something positive. It is unfortunate however the degree some people went too trying to discredit you and your attempts to help others. I for one am thankfull for people like you. I aspire to implement many of the fine qualities you publicly display into my own life. Without going into detail I unfortunately had an adverse upbringing. While trying to move through those issues I learned that I should try to choose a person of character and integrity to look up too. I have found very few people meeting these qualities. Sir, you however are one of them. I hope to meet you personaly one day. For those of you choosing to slander and discredit this man and/or his friends I feel sorry for you! You will never experience the true essence of giving and how it comes back to you. Can't you see that his level of humbleness through the words he writes. Think about this for a moment. While he was being attacked did he ever retaliate or publicly attempt to humiliate or discredit you by dredging up your past. This exemplifies the true meaning of character and integrity. I feel we have a responsibility to all other traders here to act responsibly and let our words reflect the professionals we truely aspire to be. Ask your self this, "would you be so proud if your children or mother were to see your replies to this topic"? There is nothing wrong with sharing opinions we each have our own. Perhaps we should all consider how it would effect are own lives (trading) if we at least considered implementing some of thee ideas into our own lives. I challenge you to PAY IT FORWARD and experience the essence of giving and see how it impacts your own life!!!