I have been trading for over 10 years and has been successful in past years I have tried going full time but problems like over trading , entering trades when I shrouds not because too much free time, if having a corporate job can help distract me somehow,and will not enter irrelevant trades When full time trading, after taking out monthly expense, account grow very slowly or stagnant When trading and working, account grows much faster But my aim of doing trading is to be able to get out of corporate world, away from bosses and other 9 to 6 office hours, traveling. Yet now I have to depends on corporate job for my trading to be successfully. I'm also thinking of doing part time job, but at this age 40 plus, and if the part time job pays only 1k to 2k, what 's the point of doing
I've had a similar experience. I traced it back to the same cause: overtrading and continuing to explore for new methods, out of boredom. If trading is a business for you and not a hobby, you will document your method that you used when employed and only use it with the real money account. You can continue to explore new methods for fun in the sim account, to pass the time. The other option is, as you said, go back to a life of corporate minionry, where you will be subject to the whims of some career manager and his imaginary empire. :eek:
But it seems not easy to be so discipline, sometime also when you are too focus on the market, you will be whipsawed and incur bigger losses Also job do provide some kind of comfort when going thru some bad losses, and least no need to withdraw for monthly expenses So I think only way is to find alternative like setup business where if successful , brings more stable income
So instead of working, setup a business and also carry on trading But setting up business requires lots of hard work and passion
There is no easy way to financial freedom. Decide if you are willing to trade with discipline, or if you are willing to set up a business with passion and hard work. If not, a life of corporate servitude is probably your best bet.
This is the key. I am still sometimes amazed at how much discipline successful trading takes. Let me ask you a question. Do you have a distinct, systematic method which, if you were extraordinarily disciplined, would make you consistent money? Sometimes this question takes some serious self analysis.
No, sometime if too discipline will get whipsawed or miss the train, but there are times when need to be discipline , so it really depends on lots of env factors
Many of my clients are full time working professionals and business owners. I've developed a swing trading system with very modest capital requirements. I have many clients who are doing it successfully and some provide references. My own pimping aside, it is certainly viable IF you have a very good system that is more mechanical in nature and that minimizes the use of discretion to the extent practical. Spreads are ideal because usually their capital requirements and drawdown characteristics are modest compared to flat price outright positions. If you choose to trade out rights, start off using very small sizing - anxiety about drawdowns will kill you quicker than anything because you will sabotage yourself. From what I have seen, taking your time to learn to use your trading system correctly and consistently without putting 'deadlines' on yourself will actually yield better results than forcing goals and forcing trades. My 2 cents.
You have to come up with some tools to discipline yourself (that sounds kind of off-color, huh?) But seriously, think about what you have done in the past. How did you develop the habit of exercising, flossing, taking a medication, or whatever other boring but desirable things you do daily? What worked? When trying to form a new habit, it is sometimes helpful to link it with an old one or with some routine (eg, put your blood pressure pills next to your toothbrush) set a limit for yourself (set an alarm so you have to stop watching television at 11:00), or create a reward (if you cease all trading at 12:00 you can have a brownie with lunch). This is very simple. Once you have established a new habit, you don't have to re-decide every day what to do. It will become like showering or brushing your teeth; you do not decide anew each day whether to do those things. They are a bit boring, but you just do them without questioning.
Thanks drcha for your good suggestion , unfortunately now I'm in my new job, and if I leave this job and go into full time trading again , and if go into overtrading again, I don't think can find another job, given my age 40+ And I recall back those time when I 'm in full time trading, it gets bored. I only watch tv most of the time, fetch kids, buy lunch, boring things, jogging, sometime sleep, very soon 6pm So everyday the same, fetch kids, eat breakfast, watch tv, buy lunch, watch tv, fetch kids, 6pm Not very enriching life compared to working But when I'm working, I start to complain, since my trading brings in much better income than my job, why am I still working? More complain by me when I get stress out by the corporate job It is a dilemma that even my wife says I'm going crazy But when trading is going some rough patch, and when I'm not working , my mood start to get quite bad, regret leaving job and have to take out monthly expenses So if I didn't get into trading, then I may just work for rest of my life , mayb will have more time since I don't have to do the extra work for trading ... Zzz