As with anything else, one must emerse themselves into thier craft. Currently I run a mortgage company by day and trade the Europe and early New York Market since I am on the West Coast. I have a family to care for as I build up my trading portfolio and I decided to sacrafice alot of sleep(I get 3-4 hours sleep during the week) and a small amount of personal & family time. One must sacrafice something to truly be great and that also goes for trading just like being an athlete, Doctor, lawyer or what have you.
I absolutely agree that you need to keep any other source of income so you do not NEED to make money from trading. You have to be mentally free to learn without having to pull cash to live on. And keep the job until you are making a LOT, not just barely getting by from trading. And while the other Youtube video is good, this one is one of my all-time favorites and can show you how in your spare time after trading you can pull in over $250K tax-free a year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CVco2G6pys
Driving a bread route on the graveyard shift worked fine for me. I think it's practically impossible to make it unless you either have supplemental income or enough money to live on for at least 6 months or more plus your trading capital. Depends on your lifestyle but if we assume we are talking about the average joe with an average income in the US, then about 12,000 for living expenses (6 months) and 10,000 for trading capital. My creditors and the landlord still want their money, no matter what. One still has to eat and pay bills. Needless to say but trying to launch a career as a trader under those conditions is pretty stressful (as if the steep learning curve in trading wasn't enough stress already) Lack of sleep can play a big factor. I should get some sleep now, 9:30 opening bell is only 8 Hours and 45 min away.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I think it is a personality thing. While a few people who are at the polar opposites of the personality spectrum might need to "burn their ships" the vast majority of us need an anchor to keep us floating out into the sea of indebted/homelessness. And realisticly, for most up and coming traders learning the business, it would be easy to jump out to some mild success, think that you have the business & your strategy cold, only for the market to turn on you while you search for answers -- as well as lunch money. The biggest challenge that I have hear over and over for inexperienced traders to cross over the threshold into savvy pros is knowing WHEN to apply strategies in a given situation. This along with recognizing false signals are skills that can only be mastered by trading day in and day out for a good period of time. It's the when & risk management that set you apart. Now how in the hell can you concentrate on the "when" you need to identify on your chart, if you stomach is wondering WHEN you going to eat next? Seriously?
its EXTREMELY important to have supplemental income. whomever says otherwise is giving horrible advice. if you rely soley on trading when you first start out what happens when you take a small loss for the weeK? a new trader is going to take on huge risk to get his money back and get green. we know what happens when a trader does that! supplemental income affords a trader to take small steps and trade with discipline. you cannot do that with no other income,it will not work. period.