Picasso once said: "Art is a lie that tells the truth". I say: "The market is a truth that tells the truth, and nothing but the truth". Do you recall the many people you encountered in business meetings and in other contexts in life who are smooth enough or have political connections, and/or the control of strings to get things their way even if you now that those guys were dead wrong, but still got their way and probably received big bonuses/promotions/etc. Well all those fat cats cannot do that in trading. They have to be right to earn the money/reward. Trading is one of the few professions in which the man who is right/best gets the legitimate reward, and no one can argue about the outcome. It is black and white: you make it or you lose it. The market is "slave" only to the men who are right and patient. Above are some of the reasons I love the market and trading. It is not about the money. It is about a human lab that pays the accurate observer. Now your turn to tell me what you think, and add to /comment on what I wrote. Let me know what you think. You can be frank, and you can insult my post/views (but please do not insult people including me as people and their views are separate).
Yeah, sure its about money. But love the market itself? Well, it is pleasurable because the market is a means to use to make yourself rich. Do I like it? Sure I do. Have I spent a lot of time to master a process of daily extracting net profits? You bet - endless endless time. Is my life outside the market? Of course it is. That is the point. Having a means to see and particpate in the world around you from a lofty perch. So why do so few succeed in really making it? The reasons get discussed all the time at ET. My view? I'd like to see more people dedicate themselves to this business, get savvy and really make themselves into outstanding winners.
Excellent comments. My above comments apply from the perspective of one's time allocated to producing income. You are right, life is more than income. Income is just a need for life. I would add that I also view markets as a laboratory of human behaviour as a group (which is one of my interests from a personal research/understanding standpoint).
I enjoy the medium. The technical aspects of analysis, execution, psychology and computer science all in synergy. - Being one with the network that constitutes the market. Plus, winning is fun! - And yes, losses are the stern taskmaster. Every morning brings a fresh challenge, even on crappy days. For me that's the carrot. The stick is the 9 to 5 alternative.
I enjoy it so much less now than I used to. I went through a year of complete dedication with no life whatsoever outside of studying the market(this is after one blown out account in forex, another year spent at a firm, and misc time spent churning another account). Then I realized nothing I read worked and nothing was going to make me money easily. So I picked a method that fit me and follows trends. A simple simple method. And worked on money management and position sizing. BAM I started making money. Good money. But I was extremely bored. I even caught myself a couple times breaking the rules just to do so and giving profit back. After that I am back to boring trading that I do not enjoy at all but its my job. I feel that I could have more fun in the market once I had a larger account and could trade a longer time frame with more position but I have also learned that I cannot grow my account any faster by not following the rules.