To new traders

Somehow, many traders equate wealth with happiness. I am someone who already had wealth, a thriving personal consulting business, lotsa hot chicks, but no happiness.

I quit the business and dumped the chicks.

Learning about myself and digging deep for courage and honesty has brought me happiness. Giving up my greed and giving back to life has given me happiness.

Learning to trade fulltime for the last 8 months has been a thrill. Trading is chess, science, artform, social psychology, financial archaeology, personal growth, and fishing blended into the ultimate mindsport.

It is the ultimate profession.

If you read 100 books and study every chart ever and make thousands of trades in your first year, you know what that makes you? That's right, a novice.

Nothing really meaningful in life comes quick and easy. Hang on to grow and master yourself and your profession.

I decided a while ago to do just this, trading small beans (1-10 shares), and trading in my stock market wizard fantasies.

I am up $20 for the year. But I'm not in it for the money.

Yet.

; )

X

 

Where? Can I have them?

H

 

money doesn't make you happy?

send some to me - it'll make me happy.

 

Well, I will give you another $20 and double your profits this year if you tell me how your approach is different than "If you read 100 books and study every chart ever and make thousands of trades in your first year, you know what that makes you? That's right, a novice." to learn to trade like a pro.

Go on. Tell us what you are doing that is "better" than what any other novice would do.

 

Getting from $20 to $200,000 is where the real challenge is. All your trading books will have to be thrown out the window as you will have to face yourself every moment in the face of extreme stress, then the philosophy and the walk thru the park and thrown overboard and you will have to learn to deal with yourself and only yourself..

Welcome to this journey.

 

As silly and banal as I found much of his post ("I'm sick of being rich, "have sex with" beautiful women, and living the good life - I want to struggle like the common-man!") I think it was probably well-intentioned and you pretty much completely missed his point, which is exactly what you purport to "teach" him. (Or did you mean to be redundant?) Reread it and try again. It's about struggle and reward and independence, though I'm not sure why these goals weren't acheived by someone so successful in any other business, unless it was all handed to him on a silver platter. ("Thanks, Pop!")

As for "extreme stress", in my personal experience, I'd say such a trader is either in it for the wrong reasons or needs to ratchet down their position-size first thing and get a better grasp of their strategy second. A certain amount of stress is good and normal and expected, whether you're a quarterback in the NFL, an actor opening a play on Broadway, a lawyer in your first big case, or a trader making your first trades and working out your strategy - this gives you energy and focus. But "extreme stress" is unneccessary and detrimental to your objective, in all these scenarios, and really shouldn't exist in the first place if you've done your homework.

H

modified - clean up the languae

 

xtrhvydty,

Thanks for sharing. This was refreshing. Your sober mind will take you far.

May the Lord Jesus Christ Bless you in your endeavors.

Michael B.

 

Have you been trading lately?

 

If money isn't important to you then you will have a tough time ever making it. If you need trading to give you happiness then you are trading for the wrong reasons. Don't fall for the trading phsycology crap. This business is about hitting singles all day long grinding out your edge. You gotta want the $...and you gotta have an edge.

 

Which market? Yours? I don't know. What are you talking about? FX? Not since late last nite. Right now I'm just watching my positions. What is such a general question supposed to mean?

Have you played tennis in the US Open lately? Think there weren't certain points that they had to lay it on the line, challenging every skill and strategy they had? The good ones, the successful ones, the great ones, take that stress in stride, recognizing it as an inherent part of the game, and use it and learn from it. Stress, in reasonable measures, should already be factored in. If it inteferes w/your gameplan, that's a whole 'nother thing, and something needs to be changed.

H