I think cautionary tales are useful. Here's one: My brother (a stock broker...not a trader) knew a guy at his club who made $2.5 million trading hot stocks in the late '90's. He was pretty sure this was true, because the guy used to carry his brokerage statement around in his pocket in case people didn't believe his story about how well he was doing. My brother advised him earnestly, "sell half". The dude wouldn't listen. Six months later...after parading his brokerage statement all over town...the market turns and the dude loses all of it. Unable to cope with the disappointment and the social embarrassment he himself caused...he shot himself, at the age of 29. Finito.
True story: One young day trader was making tons of money scalping the spread. When he got married he bought a 400k house cash. When the spread narrowed, here went with his winning days. He cried many times because of the loss & could not find a way to be profitable. Finally decided to go back to his CPA job. The good things to show for from his glorious days were his house & his wife's Jewelries. Now he does not talk anything about trading.
Actually that is a myth. Go get a copy of JK Galbraiths book "The Great Crash: 1929". He specifically addresses that myth.
I don't know about 1929, but Mark Barton of Atlanta in modern days was certainly not a myth. Many other unknown/untold stories, I am sure. I wonder if the current Housing Bubble will cause anyone to ....
I know a guy who lost his house, and his wife, and hasn't been employed for the last 5 years since he lost his shirt in 2001. True story.
To add to this, that guy was an excellent engineer, graduated from UC Berkeley. Quit his day job at a young age. wasted 7 years in the stock market and lost it all in 2001. Another 5 years wasted since. Watching his friends in recent years making millions in the real estate market, some of the didn't even have a real education . Those who think they are smart and quit their day jobs to become a trader need to be careful, IMHO .