yeah well, some of us like being lonely, and don't consider it a risk all the risk happened when we tried to interact
As you have done me the courtesy of explaining your position, I will do the same. We do need to be clear on something first. There seems to be a great deal of tribal instinct at play here, of the sort you see in street gangs, cults and North Korea. Dear Leader must not be criticized it seems. The reason apparently is because GoC is a good trader who knows his stuff, etc etc. I'll take your word that such is the case, but have to disagree that everything he says should be accepted without criticism. Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia have achieved a great deal of success in life, yet both have been heavily criticized lately. It doesn't matter who you are, if you are wrong, you are wrong. You may think me unkind for saying he is weak and dependent. Well, how about this gem from another thread? ....I can stop saving if I am dating a manic-spending woman, etc._ ..... A frugal woman can get me to save more. I think you know what one would typically say to a man like that, but I refrained. Lo and behold, he shows up here with this gem; So, if you are a very disciplined loner, and happy to chug along earning your keep without ever getting close to realising your full potential, then trading solo may be for you. It would appear that the fawning fanboys have stoked his hubris to the point where GoC honestly thinks that what may be good for him is good for everyone else. No one can be better than him, so if he can't do something, nobody else can. As to what you see as my strong ego, I beg to differ. I'm not going to blow my own trumpet, suffice to say I have achieved success in life. I did that through leading by example. That required a healthy awareness of my strengths and weaknesses, and working to eliminate my weaknesses. It meant setting the highest standards for myself and holding myself to them. I had to be self-motivated because I was the one who was supposed to motivate everyone else. The world would not be what it is today if we all quietly accepted it when people said "it can't be done". Having a healthy appreciation of ones own abilities and refusing to go along when people say it can't be done is not ego, it is common sense. So no, there will be no apology to that self-appointed know it all who has the temerity to proclaim what others can and can't achieve on their own.
Oh dear! First realise this is just an online forum, and what we want is for people like GoC to feel V-E-R-Y welcomed, and to continue posting. I guess we can all agree on that one. . I have to say you are making a good analysis of GoC weaknesses : weak and dependent on women. I will, like many, give him a pass on that one lol. , as it is clear he is not yet with THE one. His generalisations : I am guessing he might have a good understanding of human nature. I think his approach is to advise people to be very careful of the environment around them- including people. And I will agree. I regret to have learned it the hard way - as it is really really really difficult to get rid of ugly parasites for instance. But please keep posting as well. Trading - even prep prep prep - can be pretty boring.
I am not a full-time trader, but if I get the opportunity, I for one would love it. Being an introvert with a job that includes interacting with clients and employees daily, it would be like heaven to trade from my home. I've had to force my self to appear to be an extravert all these years to be successful in my career, but I really hate to be on call with clients I dont like and to act interested in dicussions I have no interest in. Would like nothing better than to get rid of my smart phone that beeps 24-7 with work related issues. The only people I like to socialize with i would still see, since I socialize with co-workers very little. I used to wrap my identity up with my career, my self worth was connected to where my career stood at the moment. Now its dollars and cents to me only. My dream would be to trade from a cabin in the mountains and only go to the city a couple times a year, grow a beard and become a hermit, lol. I even skip church at times to avoid the meet and great handshake session, I shake enough hands at work all week!
I trade fullltime but I live in a very social neighborhood( Miami Beach) and I have absolutely no regrets about working alone from my home office. Mind you i do have various trader friends that I skype and video chat thru Bloomberg Professional terminal with while Im working so I really don't feel alone while Im working. ...whatever works for you.....
my hero... if I traded full time, for a living, I would certainly be in SoBe... 77th and collins... away from the tourists but still close enough to the beach, hopefully they wont develop ocean terrace and block my view.. but then again, only issue is with the flooding during hurricane season.. so maybe I pick Parkland overlooking a golf course... anyhow, I envy you a bit...
I am at 10 years full time, and quite a few part time previous, a few of those were probably close to full time. The full time for me is turning into the same experience of working for someone else. I am getting worn out. I have the benefit, although for me it is also a pain as it cuts income, of having summers pretty much off as I am running kids here there and everywhere. At the same time I am a strictly manual trader, and due to other issues I am trying to learn how to automate some of my trading. One of the issues with full time trading if you are on your own as opposed to being with a firm is the lack of benefits of any kind. I hear people proclaim how great I have it, and I thought I did too. Unfortunately I have been dealing with effects of medical crap, concussions, and they have impacted my trading. Yet, there are no paid days off, or short or long term disability. I am out of work for the most part, and I had to identify I needed to stop trading on my own. This summer I am going to take off completely, hopefully, and recover. Wow, how great a summer off! Well, no as the income will be missed, and hobbies and retirement accounts will suffer. The other end is human interaction. A whole lot less working on your own in front of a computer. I can say even before my current issues my social skills have deteriorated from trading daily. There's my 2 cents, and hopefully makes sense, as I am having issues with that lately. Peace
A great example I am off work today and have already received 2 work related texts and 2 phone calls during my morning workout (wanted to know if I could just pop in the office for a couple of hours to meet with a vendor rep!). For some of us, that $100,000 salary may be closer to minimum wage when you factor in being connected to the office all the time. I for one look forward to the day I can put 9mm holes in my i-phone, lol!
There is a reason that 95% fail at trading There is a reason that 95% of intj's make up successful traders This game is mind chess not social poker This is a lonely profession because of the sheer probability of the beast. I'm not trading online to socialize and be your bff I'm here to win and take all the money you want to donate to me for being smarter than you. Maybe your retirement Maybe your rent Maybe your grocery money Think about what you are really doing when you make more money in a day, hour, minutes than some people will make in a month, week or year. At least the money is anonymous. I don't think I could do this if I had to put a real face and story to the other side of my trades.