I felt like you before and it was time to do something about it. My next check was to a real trading education site. Took me awhile , but I found a group that I signed up , I finished and I still have constant support from the moderators. All I know is I was foolish to think of ever trading without an education or support. If you love what you do, then do what you must do. Speak to a moderator direct, I bet you see a different aspect of trading.
I don't want to start an argument here, but paying someone for "trading advice and ideas" is the absolute last thing you should do. If the ideas and system are so great, why the hell would they sell them to people??? They could make a hundred times more money by implementing their "great" ideas in the marketplace.
I think you need to look hard at the actual facts of your trading. How many profitable trades v. losers? Winning days/weeks/month/ v. losing ones? I don't want to know your actual numbers, but you must be honest w/ yourself and decide if this is a trading forum in which you can succeed. It sounds like you have the desire and intelligence to make it work, but you are not in a good position w/ respect to capital and your trading environment to make a go of this. My point look deep and see if this type of trading would even work for you. There are MANY ways to trade this market in terms of styles and vehicles to use. I would definitely quit what you are doing now and look to "other" avenues to start your "new" trading career.
"that said, my (financial) life has made a new all time low today. i totally feel obliterated. i have put countless hours into trying to trade since 1999, i'm 25, and i have absolute NOTHING to show for it" This is an excerpt from the comments by GG in the beginning of this thread. If he believes he has NOTHING to show for it, it means to me that he has learned nothing about himself, the markets, or trading. Those who value self knowledge, know that all experiences are invaluable in the process of preparation for the next step. The stubborn one, who refused to look inside and change what is wrong, will never understand what trading is really all about. That is why so many chase the trading systems, and never once address the internal aspects of trading. My guess is that GG employed emotional decision making in the last 3 years, stubbornly refused to listen to the advice of his fellows who had learned the lessons of trading the hard way, and GG did not employ money management principles properly. This is GG's chance to improve himself, to discover what it is that he has learned, and how valuable that really is. I wonder if he will take advantage of it.
Gordon, when you're up and running again, send me a message. I'll give you a simple easy clearcut strategy to work with. No joke. I've been there man, and I'll be glad to help you out.
i have to leave now..but i will be back later tonight and try to respond to more questions to me..... you made a very good point about learning nothing. i guess i wasn't clear enough. i would say i have definitely learned A LOT the last few years. not just about trading, but about myself, and life in general. there is no doubt my struggles will build character. when i said i have nothing to show for it, i meant i don't really have anything that shows the effort i put into this. i don't own a house. i won't have my freedom anymore (when i get a job). if in a few years my friends are buying houses and i'm not, the effort i put in will not be seen by others. when i'm working at some job soon, nobody will know what i've been through, they won't know what i know. they'll just think i'm some average guy. they'll have no idea what i've been doing the last few years. in that respect, i have nothing to show for what i have been doing. i just hope i do someday....
You're walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.
GG, I'm also 25. I also started just b4 the top of the nasdaq... just a few days b4 in fact. I also had to stop trading and get a job recently. I moved to a new city now, and joined a prop firm. I'm learning alot... and life is throwing me a new ball, one that i can hit. Take the advice someone gave and consider your job as a stepping stone. good luck. oh yah, one good way to make extra cash is selling stuff on ebay. I get tons of computer equipment free at garage sales in the bay area. It's not very difficult to sell the stuff.