I've actually started working for myself as a indepedent trader just about a month ago. Since I left the firm, I've had a little chip on my shoulder bothering me. Performance wise, I'm doing better. I'm not satisfied but I've made money consistantly before and consistant alone also. Still, there's a little awkwardness I have inside. Usually, writing posts in here tends to refresh and straighten out what I have in mind but what I write seems to be confused. It seems like I've lost the sharpness within me that I've had while working at a firm. Philosophically, it all comes down to what I seek for and I might have had a different sub-conscious objective toward trading. Or it has changed when I left my old job. So to all the profitable people. What comes after consistent profitability? or What comes after becoming financially secure? Is monetary performance the most important for trading?
Working alone you are confronted with yourself. Before it was you and them, now it's you and yourself.
No, monetary performance is not the most important thing for me, cos I could make just as much in a high paying job... what counts for me is the ability to simply make a living on my own terms, being answerable to nobody... FREEDOM
Same here. In fact I'd even be willing to take a small hit financially vs.a regular job not to have to commute and kiss some boss's ass 5 days a week. That's worth a lot - being in control of your life.
Oh man does this one bring back memories. I'm 46 now, so half of my life ago all that mattered to me was money. Money, money, money. Had to have it...lots of it. Even before that, when I graduated from high school I wanted to be a doctor because they made a lot of money. Well I discarded that idea because I didn't think...even at 18... that a person should be in medicine for the money. I avoided college. 'Who needs it? Let's go, I'm ready to be rich now!' Sales jobs, sales jobs, sales jobs. Hated sales. 'If the shoe fits, put it on...I'm not going to shoehorn you in to this thing.' Money, money, money, gotta have it, and lots of it. Stockbroker! Hey this is cool. What...cold calls - they don't come to you? Maaaan! Ok ok, I'll make the cold calls, but I'm also going to pick the brains of the guys in NY and Chicago and learn what I can about trading. Money, money, money. But there was always this little voice in my head, or my heart - saying, "when you make a lot of money, if you're not happy, what then?" Hmmm. Well, I guess we'll see when I get there. Money, money, money. Started to make some money. And a guy in Chicago gave me an idea I used to trade the spoos. Did well. Left the company, bought a seat at the Merc, and traded in the spoo pit. I had arrived. Money was rolling in. But I wasn't happy. That voice had persisted - "Now what? You're making the money, but it's not making you happy. Now what?" My world crashed. I was in a bad marriage, leading a bad lifestyle, making bad decisions. Except for the money, I had nothing. 'Gotta fix it.' Left the marriage, the lifestyle, the trading floor, the money. Went to college to tread water for awhile. Ended up on the pre-med track. 'You know, taking care of sick people seems cool.' Huh? Who said that? I had always known that I was happiest serving others. Giving, not taking. Yet I had pursued a life of taking. No wonder happiness and fulfilment had escaped me. Medicine...family practice...helping people. 'The healing starts when they walk through the door.' My office motto. Alas, insurance, HMO's, PPO's, EIEIO's....took the fun of medicine away. I had received Salvation from the Lord when I was 16, but I never followed Christ. I led my own life. During college, and medicine, I had returned to Christ, and Christian living. Trying to anyway. Trying to serve the Church when called. Serving others. Trying. Trading has always been my first love. So I'm back. But I am not a money whore.... please excuse the intense language. I trade to provide for my family. I trade to provide for my church. I trade for the freedom it provides me to serve others. Money is not the end. It is 'a' means to an end, as is the Lord, family, service. Having money means nothing if it is not used in the service of others.
Every business owner has whatever degree of freedom he desires. To me, that's the most important difference between that and working for someone who has half your brains but thinks he is better because he can exploit you. And he is, as long as you let him. Once you have made the decision to emancipate yourself, then you will have to choose amongst different enterprise venues. You might have motivations other than the financial bottom line, like you might found a church to actually preach and not just to make tax free money, but for trading the only motivation besides profitability that I can think of is to look at it as a gamble and save yourself a trip to Vegas. Such an opinion is said to exclude profitability anyway.
I think what gann is getting at, At a firm, money is the most important thing. You can be a bad guy nobody likes, but if you are the top guy moneywise, you are the big guy. You can be shy, you can be technical, you can be funny, you can be anything, but it all comes down to how much you make compared to everyone else. When you work alone for yourself, that one stabalizing factor is gone. Suddenly how much you make is not the most important thing. Other things also become important, like, how much is enough? Now what? I'm free and I can blow off the day if I want, is that what I want to do? hmmm, what DO I want to do?
Thanks for all the replies... Despite all the confusion... I'm trading better... It's weird having a niche and doing good in trading. Usually these things affect my trading but it still hasn't shown performance wise. Well, I'm actually in a great environment. I'm a smoker so being able to smoke while trading is great luxury(All the smokers agree?) My commute is just a walk across the living room. I have a drafting desk which I keep my Gann analyzed hand-written charts just a push away from my computer on my very comfortable swivelling chair. Nice stereo system with all my favorite music burnt on a CD. A coffee maker with my favorite grind, all to myself. I'm single so I don't have anyone bothering me... while I'm trading. Financially, I can actually put all my money in a bunch of funds and live off it for the rest of my life without working... I call some friends and some call me every few days to get insights based on my Gann Analysis and I ask them for insights based on their specialty. Still, a little niche...
Yeah, It's a perfect lifestyle, but the perfection of it all can almost at times be hard to deal with. Most independent traders are loners, but this is REALLY alone. That's why I say, suddenly, you are confronted with yourself. Before, you never had to really deal with yourself because there was always something else bothering you and you couldn't wait to get away and savor those precious moments alone.
After consistent profitability in the past comes the difficulty of remaining profitable in the future. That is the ultimate goal of trading. Past performance does not guarantee future results and it is a continual challenge to be net positive every month. It's like being a professional athlete. You're only as good as your last game. Consistent profitability is the ultimate barometer of your ability to utilize your trading knowledge and harness your emotions. What comes after being financially secure? For most people, financial security is never really attained because their expenditures rise in proportion (and sometimes greater) than their increase in income. They get bigger houses, designer furniture, flashy clothes and jewelry, German cars, etc. and they become slaves to their liabilities. They may appear to be financially secure but in reality, they're caught in a rat race of spiralling expenses.