come on, do you really think this is 'astonishing'? this world is full of really shitty people walking around following dumbass rules created by dumbass ancestors 200 years ago. nobody ever questions anything, and if you actually DO question something, you are considered an asshole. fuck this hypothesis thing -- just go out your front door and look at the piece of shit society we have. it should come as no surprise that in a field where you have to question EVERYTHING, that most people get taken for the biggest ride of their life... i actually view trading as one of the few ways of taking advantage of this useless civilization.
True, reminds me of a Tom Baldwin quote re washout floor traders- "it's like they have a wall in front of their face," or something to that effect. I wonder how many traders develop an innate understanding of what it takes, yet subconsciously make a decision not to achieve success because the personal sacrifice required is too great. The problem is that their conscious mind never gets clued in to the decision
Hey Dark. Please expand on what you mean by "personal sacrafice." Do you mean additional work habits or the power to overcome self destructive mania?
His whole comment is important to understand. And, of course, you question may lead to an amplification of why and how he got to the place he is. When it is understood, you then can have a fairly clear view of how far darkhorse has gotten up to this point in his life and, further, what he still has to overcome to go to better places. The entire thread points out that there is a spectrum of considerations for trading. What if it were a gausian-like curve for measuring success. What kind of band-pass filter would commercial providers use to select, process, and maintain performance of their clients? What if the problem was, as surfer intimates: the poor functioning of commercial providers. Potential clients (losers) go through drastic and dynamic change as well. It occurs before, during and after they quit. The "before" handicaps are often so instilled, that they are not repairable. Acquired handicaps are probably even worse since they are a pairing of method and emotions. If each were just good or bad, only one of the four possibilities would lead to success anyway. Three kinds of losers and one kind of winner. People suggest that failures should take breaks and try again. What could cause repairs to take place by quitting and returning later. For the three types of failure, it seems that this broad suggestion would have little chance of affecting repair. Some experts in repair and not in the finance industry, suggest pro active repair making. Again, the suggestions are not often direct ones but more like "health" oriented ones. This may be a consideration that could be well considered by losers. How do people reach thresholds for success? If not reached, is failure an absolute, or is it possible that as "learning" occurs, a trader is born also.
Hard to define because the obstacles are different for everyone- it's whatever stands in the way for you personally. Conscious recognition is the first step, willingness to overcome at all costs the second. Bob Dylan lyrics come to mind: I can tell you fancy I can tell you plain / You give somethin' up for everything you gain / Since every pleasure's got an edge of pain / Pay for your ticket and don't complain
Heh You make it sound like I've gotten somewhere impressive- in reality, I'm still building my base. Preparing for an upside explosion, sure, but not there just yet. For most of 2002 I thought I was on the easy street escalator. Then my main investor and I parted ways, for reasons that had nothing to do with performance, at a really inopportune time. I was so pissed (at the situation, not the investor, who is still a friend) that I decided I would rather build my own capital base than rely on OPM, even if it takes four times as long to reach critical mass for a fund. Looking back, and looking at where I am now, I'm grateful for the trial, and I know I'm stronger and wiser because of it. It was useful to have internal confirmation that obstacles really, truly don't matter. And I look forward to never "needing" a client again. At the end of the day, people are just people. Yesterday I had a telephone conversation with a self-made guy worth at least a few hundred million. He sounded just like anyone else, with the same concerns and desires of an average joe. And I'm sure he puts his pants on one leg at a time too. I think the real excitement of the journey is internal. "Where you are" is best defined by what you've experienced, what you see, what you understand. And yes, where you're going. It's cool to see that mountain and know you have full capability to climb it, and that if you had to you could happily die trying. Dig the climb.
The scarifices are very high and in todays society no-one wants to make any sacrifices anymore. Livermoore: "my life has been a failure' Baruch: " I should have done things differently and done something usefull, like becoming a doctor as my father was" Bruce Babcock: developped cancer and died no_pm_please: developped some illness of stressing himself out Vic Sperandeo: "paid too high a price, missed spending time with my family" (or words to that effect) myself: spend four years (12 ~ 14 hours a day 7 * 24, 52 weeks / year) before coming profitable and then discovering that my health is shot to pieces and that the future is pretty dicey now. I did not have a choice, was laid off in my profession and regarded as "too old" for the workforce. But I regard myself as lucky, as the Chinese say: "there is always someone worse off". I finally became profitable, have a colorfull life behind me and have seen many cultures and travelled the world. In the end: It is all about attitude and sacrifices. peace
Most people, especially those going to guru type of mentors, are not seeing mentoring at all. They are seeking hand holding and a pat on the ass. A successful trader is confident in himself and in his own ideas - and therefor that type of "mentorship" actually doesn't even appeal to the type of person most suited to eventually become a successful trader. just my two cents after having done this since 1996.
Most highly successful people looked for mentoring and they sought out the wisdom of more than one master. They especially liked hearing fron smart people who thought about things differently than they did Cavaet: The wrong "friends and mentors" will kill you. In trading, in my experience, most people charging big money for trading lessons are losing traders/hustlers. Choose your mentors wisely.