Nana, I hope your trading has improved since, but $30K is a very decent size loss. I'm surprised you didn't quit. Any thoughts on how you went from being a loser (lost $30k) to a decent trader, which I'm assuming you are now. -FastTrader
Better tell you right off; I'm 70. 25 is a good point to do a self check. At 25 I generally had a good life and strategy for living so I would not make any changes were I to go back. I had to work my way through two degrees and my depression oriented parents did not want me to take on debt. I had up to four part jobs and a full schedule for 6 years to get that done using their advice and not their funds. I only ate two meals a day then, but I did always work in the student cafeteria so eachmeal was unlimited. Here is what I see. Money is easy to come by. Especially if you know its value from earning it with no skills for a few years. Learning the value of money is a personal effort; no one can tell you about that. Time is more important than you think. Unlike money which can be recovered, time cannot. Do not waste time. You will never loose in court when you are getting money back if you always keep your integrity in tact. There are no integrity short cuts. As you spend time be sure you are learning correctly. Self learning is the only kind. So always try to figure out when you are learning something wrong. Here that mistaken math statement by the guy everyone liked was a kick!!!! Always go first class; there is no other way. Accidents will happen so learn soon the value to you of other people. Teen age drunks change families in a minute. You will miss what is gone forever and it is okay. Always go the extra distance and always be grateful when it is still possible. With children there is only one rule and it applies to everyone it turns out. "It's not what you say its what you do and when you do it for them." They set the timing you do not. Always take photographs. We all have default life plans. It's the adjustments that count. Here is how to adjust your self to your potential; your potential is unlimmited. I found out that I didn't miss questions on IQ tests. I had a hard time ignoring the pressure that came of that. Don't kid yourself. When I got the compound interest formula down, I knew I could do anything with my life starting from ground zero financially. Find out when your job income will equal your investing income. I started with 300 dollars as an engineer. It took 3 years. I had a job for five years of my life. You can do more than one person if you delegate anyway that is possible. Ford Foundation gave me a grant to write. They asked me to choose on the topic "what's wrong out there" I did. Yyars later, I helped red line PL92-500. Help out when you can and make it possible for others to help also. Justice Douglas called me a member of the "green Mafia". I was one of five guys who slipped the "EIS public hearings requirement" into the legislation to empower the EPA. I am a mafioso on the environment vis a vis violators. Writing books (30 so far) gives you more leverage than anything and always try to help the community you live in; it comes first. Don't let any pseudo authority keep you off balance. I get cited by the SEC. So what; they always retract their mistaken citations. I never let airport people remove my NSA issued protection. If a deputy sheffiff stops me cuts up my drivers license and removes my plates, in court, he get assigned to go to school to learn community relations even if his boss has me on his hit list as a hell raiser for priniples.. One of my companies only hires people coming out of incarceration. Sometimes I have to have probation people and their detectives reassigned for screwing around with my employees. If a bank manager will not let a new employee have a checking account because the employee has a criminal record, I just go in and have him bring up my accounts so he gets reoriented quickly and corrects his mistake. Finally, get rich asap. being rich cuts through all the crap you will ever have to deal with. Money definitely acts as an unlimited way to get to the place you are going. Do not worry about leaving money on the table. And do not put yourself in a place where you cannot trade as you wish because of illiquidity. That is a must. A daily limit on the nasdaq is 100,000 shares traded for me I do not recommend with 3 beta stocks that anyone trade over 10% of the daily volume. I switched from Mercedes to BMW 12 cylinder models; I like the ability to move away from AZ red necks in pickups when necessary. Police may say that I am too old for the power but I do not take them seriously. I also find that sports accidents pile up after a while. I do not do over 5G's in glider acrobatics. My rest pulse is 55 and my bp is 118/78. I stay as healthy as possible; it just happens to be dfficult now. LOL.
If you're 25 you have no idea the depth of that statement, the exponential expansion of obligations, family and economic.
Wonderful thread! My $0.02 worth, from the perspective of being one week away from my 51st birthday: 1. All you really have in life is TIME. It is how you choose to spend that time that determines the quality of your life. 2. You need to have money (aka bread) as a buffer against the vagaries of life. Remember the old adage "Life is like a shit sandwich - the more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat." (Sorry about the "S" word, but it only makes sense that way...) 3. Be true to yourself. Integrity does not grow back. Neither does hair, it just moves South... 4. Learn to keep your mouth shut. People WILL steal your ideas if you let them. And often times nothing is the right thing to say anyway... 5. Don't rush to get married, wait until it feels right. I got married at 35 and it was the best move I ever made - sure there are ups and downs, it couldn't be any other way. 6. Trading. This is the real biggie - you MUST know yourself before you start, and then you will learn a whole heap MORE about yourself as you go along! You need to find what trading style suits your way of doing things. For me it is systems trading, medium to long term. For some it is scalping, whatever. Find what your style is first, then develop it as your knowledge increases. 7. You have GOT to understand some math. If you really have trouble find someone to teach/coach you. The fact that young people are asking "what do I need to know" questions (and hopefully reading the answers) is great. More power to them, they are the future.
At the sweet and tender age of 24, I share my realizations thus far: * This moment sums the total of all experience. * Order naturally tends towards disorder. * Our chosen individual/collective hallucinations create the individual/collective hallucination of reality. * On love: only for the fearless.
My one (and only) chance with Theresa M. If only I had opted for a bench seat instead of the buckets, but nooooooo........
Bubba, I just wanted to let you know, I'm personally inspired by your words and have shared them with some friends over at Livejournal.com at http://www.livejournal.com/users/chipware/25804.html I'm 27 now, but I wish I had a mentor like you when I was a teenager...