Not looking to drag this out, but OP, please do share your " ‘Thread 1’ people " forum/thread. Would like to see what these successful traders look like.
1. Not sure I "immediately stabbed him in the back". Might have taken a few minutes at the very least. 2. Next time I stab someone in the back and publicly slander them, I shall endeavour to thank them a few hours later.
Feel free to start a thread...about the thread 1 people . Perhaps he'll post some pics there so you can see what they look like.
Ha ha ROFLMAO if you start such a thread #1 make sure I am on it and Visaria. P.S. Don’t forget to add Speedo and Ironchief
Gentlemen (and Ladies). I stepped back from this forum for a reason I actually forgot. You see I have a habit. For many years, I have had a personal habit whereby I would never allow myself to be enslaved to any addiction. Whether is was alcohol, the internet, social media, certain people, an employer, debt or any food...I would never let anything become an addiction. If I recognized that I had even the beginning of an addiction (e.g. I was eating too much chocolate or drinking too often) I would silence the addiction. The longest time limit I have ever given anything is 3 months. To explain this, I remember an incident with a man who I greatly respected who had a problem with alcohol. He had tried many things to solve his addiction but nothing worked long-term. In our conversation, I explained that many people start an activity (like smoking) because they felt they were stronger than the habit and could always stop. The reason they failed, I said, was because the habit was or had become, in fact, stronger than them and had become an addiction. The secret, I told him, was to create a positive habit that would become stronger than you (e.g. working out, education, eating healthy food etc). I created one (among others) that would protect me. So my habit of stopping me from addictions has protected me,... from addictions. In my roles in trading, brokerage and portfolio management, I carried with me my approach and management of addiction, but this time with a ‘zero tolerance’ policy. No 3 month limit. I had a rule that I would never trade with my own money ever, for example. I used a principle learned from the illegal drugs sector….that the better drug dealers would never use the drugs they sell i.e. ‘never take your own product.’ I had seen and studied the addictive nature of trading and gambling and didn’t want to be enslaved. I want to share something else that I did not have the space to add to my synthesis. This was the addictive and neuro-chemical nature of trading (I won’t get into a debate as to whether trading is gambling). In my opinion, the ‘Thread 2’ individual is one who is usually enslaved to neuro-chemical systems in his body. It is, in my opinion, almost impossible for any addicted person to exhibit the characteristics of ‘Thread 1’ as the route they have taken will have reinforced their addictions and irrationality to such an extent that it will be stronger than rational aspects of their being. Had they managed their addictions as I did very early on, these addictions would not have become stronger than rational aspects of their being. There are ways to help them later in the process, but ultimately, they can only help themselves. Here is an interesting article written by a certified psychiatrist (Dr Dorn) I would like to share with you: www.thefix.com/content/are-you-trading-or-gambling Some quotes: Novices who want to learn to trade are taught a singular lesson before they even put one penny into the markets: Preserve your capital. They hear this, but most do not listen. They see trading as some magical process in which they can sit in their pajamas, click a few times, and suddenly see monies pouring into their accounts. They end up chasing, getting whipsawed and losing. Drip, drip, drip—and then larger chunks of losses and then maybe a margin call and then they are out of the game. The addicts add more money to meet a margin call. This is called throwing good money after bad. It won’t be long until they are also out of the game. Addicts don’t know when to stop trading. They think that tomorrow will be the big win so they do everything possible to get money to bring their accounts up to where they can trade again. They lie, cheat, and steal to do this. Eventually, they fail. Some hit absolute rock bottom. They are out of capital. But it’s not just financial capital. It’s a whole lot more than money. It’s psychological, physical, emotional and spiritual. They are lost and floundering. At this point, they become prey for the thousands of vultures, cons and hocus-pocus creatures claiming to be the best traders who ever lived, who are out there selling them instant riches. They will bite on the bait and lose more money. Some will pay tens of thousands of dollars to be mentored or coached by another trader. Others will spend large amounts of money to buy programs that promise the Holy Grail of Trading or The Best Trading System in the World. Think about it for a second: If these gurus are so great and have such fabulous trading systems, why are they selling them to you? Why aren’t they out on their own private island, soaking up the sun, sipping a cool one and making millions? Also, this on... ‘All gamblers die broke; it's a cold hard truth, but not for the reasons most people think. All gamblers die broke because the pain of losing is felt so much more intensely than the joy of winning. Thrill junkies choose gambling for the intensity of the experience, and behavioral psychology long ago demonstrated that the mind's ability to choose rational thrills offering positive rewards over more intense thrills offering irrational, negative rewards is pitiful at best. We're simply not wired that way.” Hence, I left the thread as it was becoming slightly addictive to interact with you. Chemicals were released due to the social interaction of the thread (dopamine, serotonin and even oxytoxin). So my ingrained habit of stopping any behaviour which could lead to addiction kicked in, unconsciously, without me realizing it. I logged on today to share this with you. It may help some of you. Certainly, it should be a thought-provoking addition to this thread.
What if that addiction is a positive? Like for some people they are addicted to learning, challenges, the effort, finding answers to puzzles? For example some people are working jobs they absolutely love, so work is actually a pleasure, trading can be like that.
Agreed, self made successful people are usually self driven, pushing their limits. 'Addiction' is usually construed as a negative expression of people, however, like the word 'gambling' this is not necessarily so.