Professional sports is different because humans peak physically in their 20s, hence you have to start young because it takes many years of practice and hard work to reach a level of performance that places you in the elite. With non-athletic professions, such as trading, you can start anytime before 40 and still have time to gain experience.
May I suggest that trading is actually the second or maybe even the third derivative of opportunity. The actual opportunity is out there in the real world. Traders simply 'feed' off the real $. Since I hate dealing with the real world, I trade. But that would not be my first choice for serious, low risk money making.
You need opportunity in order to make money, but some people wouldn't know opportunity if it hit them in the head. I believe everyone in their lifetimes will have multiple opportunities to become rich, but most people won't take advantage of them for whatever reason.
coolweb, Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others. No Man is an Island: "No man is an island, no man stands alone. Each man's joy is joy to me. Each man's grief is my own. We need one another, so I will defend Each man as my brother Each man as my friend. No man is an island far out in the blue. We all look to One above Who our strength doth renew. When I help my brother Then I know that I plant the seeds Of friends that will never die. I saw the people gather. I heard the music start. The song that they were singing Is ringing in my heart. No man is an island, no man stands alone. Each man's joy is joy to me. Each man's grief is my own. We need one another, so I will defend Each man as my brother Each man as my friend."
You should really read Moneyball which is a book on baseball statistics. A group of die hard baseball statisticians discovered there were inefficiencies in how baseball players were valued. They discovered that certain highly touted prospects were overrated and overpriced and many players who weren't what pro scouts considered "major league material" were grossly undervalued. The A's turned the washouts of many other organizations into stars. A's management succeeded in winning more games than organizations with much higher payrolls. Now, teams mimic the Oakland A's management style and the edge diminishes each season. The edge was best when the Oakland A's style was out of favor with the other teams.
I understand what you are saying about opportunity and why it is important but I do not believe that it is entirely correct. Undoubtedly there are opportunities which present themselves and beg to be taken advantage of but this is not the case the majority of the time. I believe that the truly successful are capable of creating opportunity or are able to take locate and take advantage of opportunities with a greater level of skill than the majority. When Warren Buffet invested heavily into Geico, he was not the only person with the opportunity to do so. However, he was one of the few that had the talent to locate and take advantage of the opportunity and because of that talent he has attained such a high level of success. As for your story about digging for gold, take into consideration this line I once heard, "If there is a gold rush and there isn't a lot of gold, you can still make a lot of money selling shovels". In essence, the gold diggers are purely looking for opportunity and are dependent almost wholly upon luck. The shovel salesmen however are creating a more certain opportunity based upon a more risky one. In summary, know how to find opportunities and how to take advantage of them better then the majority. If you cannot find an opportunity, create one. This is critical to being able to attain and maintain success in most any venture in life.
Also, people tend to forget about the promising young athletes that never deliver. Think of all those Heisman Trophy winners that flopped. What about the young tennis phenoms that never make it? Pure athletic talent is one component of many that determines athletic success. Consider this: Michael Jordan was cut from his high school b-ball team once.
Inaction is an opportunity lost. As long as you work hard and remained focused on your dreams, then opportunities will arise.
I agree. But you could study, for example, every post ever written on ET and you would get nowhere. I would say that equally important is: EFFORTFUL STUDY, or the acquisition of structured/interconnected knowledge. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73641 In regards to trading, the only way to do the right sort of study is to go to a firm. It is close to impossible to learn it on your own by reading because trading knowledge is held close to the chest, and "not getting it" is expensive. nitro
Thanks for the link! Wow! A ton of info at sciam.com. I've been reading a lot of Ken Wilber recently and most of what he says just blows my mind. Meditation has made the biggest difference in my life. Thanks again Nitro. haha, they should bring American Gladiators back, I loved that show.