I understand and appreciate your examples regarding the hobbies that you developed into something more. My point was that trading on global exchanges does not lend itself to this kind of exploration without hefty costs. With piano, you didn't have to go in on your first day and compete with professionals. Same with tennis. But in trading, there is no exchange for starters. There is just sim trading. Hence, when one starts to think about possibly trading, they should consider that this is a serious decision and can be very costly. That was my point. Trading is just not something one can dabble into as a hobby and find rewarding. It must be viewed as a business if the intention is to get ahead in it. I believe the attitude that "hey, it would be fun to try it" is what results in the huge failure rate. I think having a very high failure rate makes sense in this type of venture. I'm glad you have achieved your goals and live the lifestyle you desired. I hope you continue to trade well.
Actually my position is not that one has to trade from an office nor is it that traders have to move to a major financial center. My position is simply that when one attempts to trade and then find that it is something they want to make a "living" at (the thread topic), then this person must approach this as a business. I trade from home now. I am in Chicago this week trading out of my office, but I moved away earlier this year. I find that one must make an extra effort to separate the home from the office, physically or psychologically, while trading out of a home office. This was my point. You can still run your trading business from home.... just do it like it is a business. This means have a plan just like a business would so that goals, responsibilities, risk and money management are defined clearly. That's all I'm saying. I think this was many ET'ers are doing anyway and they will profit from this sooner or later.
If i could get my chesapeake to stop the puppy face and leaning his muzzle on my lap routine signaling he wants to play my productivity would increase but i guess we all make trade offs. I should be back in an out of home office by December because of a soon to expire 1031 exchange. Both have advantages for me i find. With a home office there is less unnecessary preparation but with an out of home office one could maintain a tighter regiment among other factors for both. In either setting you will work hard to make it strictly business. No drop ins or calls or chatter...only extreme focus and maintaining a constant state of readiness--that is if you are heavy that day. Some days are best spent brushing up on technique rather than actual trading but i guess this is different for everyone. Suffice to say that if you are a beginner and you have an opportunity to work for a firm and see how others fail and succeed you should welcome it with open arms. A generalization of course but i believe working your mirror neurons into proper management of learned behavior goes a long way and especially if you have access to people doing your line of work. Sorry for the extraneous material but i think some starting out could benefit from knowing this.
It is a good thing someone understand what the guy says - I have no clue - to me is sounds like this: Blah blaah blah, blaaahaablah, blah... nitro
Perhaps a doctor's visit can determine if you have ADD and are unable to concentrate on what seems to be your native language, English. We will wait to hear your results and will make the necessary adjustments to accommodate you. Until then, fuck off.
Sorry if the following point has already been addressed (I've only read pages 1 & 20 of this thread): at least for those that trade futures (not sure about the tax consequences in stock trading), those of us that plan on making a profit would never elect mark-to-market because it is disadvantageous for profitable traders. Therefor, the group of mark-to-market traders that Mr. Green refers to may be a self selected group of losers. Cheers, TRADERguy
I thought so...One more into the moron pile. It's uncanny how good I am getting at spotting them. nitro