This is such a weird phenomenon to me. I mean, people comment that traders have a high failure rate and I am just wondering exactly how many people had their job before they got hired. -qwik
there is nothing you can do now except to remember how it feels and use it for motivation. if you succeed later you can treat them the same way they treated you. people say money doesn't make you happy. well, it does. when you have financial freedom you don't need to take crap from anyone.
You know what's funny is when somebody gets "laid off", "fired", or "downsized" from a corporate job - the family never question whether the corporate system is a scam or if you should stop pissing away 40 hours of your life working for a company that rewards your loyalty and efforts with survival income, and zero actual security. It sure is funny how when people get within 1-2 years of collecting significant retirement benefits / pensions / bonuses, that they are somehow put out of the position ( downsized, "right-sized", eliminated ) before they can actually receive it. Just ask any 50+ year old person whether any "age-bias" exists when attempting to get another job. These are the main points I would say about it: 1. Don't discuss trading in depth with people that are non-supportive. 2. Don't take financial or career advice from people that are broke, or have less than what you are aiming for. 3. Suspect an ulterior motive if someone is overly supportive of what you are doing, or asks a ton of questions about it. They are likely trying to sign you up for an MLM, or some other high dollar "business plan". 4. Do not ask other people to finance your trading, or otherwise support it financially - if you do, then they will expect to be able to tell you how to do it, and they always come in with ridiculously unrealistic expectations, like expecting a 50% return monthly. 5. Learn to think for yourself, and not give a damn what other people think about it.
95% of traders might fail, but 95% of non traders are full of shit. I agree with Optioncoach 100% . - nathan
Now how can I make my trading more "legit" to the eyes of the outsiders, say turn it into an incorporation with proper tax accounting and such? So it's a serious business and no longer a hobby...
you mean you TOLD them?? wtf dude?? I like to keep them guessing as to where the money comes from. When they ask, I avoid the question by simply saying "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do". Whenever I hit a bad patch of losing trades, I become agitated, nervous, and start sweating profusely. They never said it, but I'm sure they worry about me getting hit mafia-style, being pulled out of a canal or something. It alleviates the stress and adds some comic relief. On a serious note, I broke down and told the wifey a few months back once I became confident in my trading (took about 2 years). She was around when I was po', so she deserves to be in the loop. She supports me fully. If that were not the case, I would just not bring it up anymore. Maybe I'll tell the rest of the fam' one day...naaah.
almost forgot...when I do have a bad month, I keep it to myself. Wifey only cares about the $$ that's coming in...no way I would tell her how much is going out. Not yet at least. Also, I still have my day job in the blood sucking world of Corporate America, so that helps take the stress off of any losing streaks. Maybe you should trade off-premises. Dress up in a suit and tie, tell her you got a big pow-wow with upper management and just go to the corner starbuck's and trade your ass off all day. Or maybe the local college..then at least you'll have some eye candy during the down times.
Is that all you care about? How it looks to others? Would you rather have a 40% drawdown in a sexy looking entity or make 40% trading in your shorts at home. Stop caring what other think or trying to bring it to their standard. Traders do not care about what others think, as long as they are making money. You think a pretty LLC and tax filing is gonna make them say something different?