Just wondering how many of you profesional traders out there would trade for a living if you could do it all over again. I left my family, my friends and everything I have ever known to trade profesionally. I have become more self centered, less forgiving, emotionally angry all the time, etc. The money just becomes too much and ruins you. The inner drive to succeed becomes almost sickening. I personally would not have done it again and sometimes wish I would of never traded a contract and started to play this game. Advice to all who want to do step into this arena.......DON'T. It will ruin you, ruin families, etc. You will end up lonely and your emotional health will be at extreme risk.
yikes man...I hope that isn't the case. You are young though, as am I, so there is plenty of time to do whatever else you want to try. I have found that its not trading that makes you more withdrawn from society, but simply being self employed and never interacting with people. For those that know me, I make my living trading, mostly grains, meats and the SP, but I also have "side incomes" from a small grain farm and a small dairy that I own. It keeps you sane and gives you an "out" when trading gets rough. I have someone else manage these ag operations for me, as I trade fulltime, but it still gives me something to do when the markets shut down, and gives me something else to have to "worry about" so that I don't get bogged down in a bad trade, and most importantly, it forces me to interact with an employee, and other people (seed dealers, vet, etc). Would I trade again if I had to do it over again? You bet. Without trading, there is no way I would be in the diverse business and financial position I am in right now at the age of 23. If I would have gone to college, I would still be slaving away for low wages, trying for 10 years to pay back student loans that weren't worth it, all while doing something I hated. I think that one has to truley love trading. I do...but I also love farming...so the farm "hobby" ties in perfectly with my grain trading. Without the trading though, I would never have been able to do both, and for that I'm thankful...although it has been over 2 years since I've had a girlfriend that I was comfortable knowing wasn't with me just b/c of the perception that I had loads of cash....and THAT is a disheartening feeling. BTW man...if you need anything...get ahold of me on the blog and I'll get you my office # and cell #, I'm here for you guys all the time. Thats one reason I created that blog, to combat some of the lonliness and social introversion that trading can cause.
No offense meant but those issues are a reflection of your emotional makeup rather than the corrupting influence of trading. Trading just might not be for you, eh?
you don't find us...we find you..LOL no, in all seriousness, its not a public blog, just a "hang-out" spot for me and a few trader buddies to go and shoot the shit.
I am not to the extreme that you are, but I know your pain. My years in this business have changed me a lot, more self-centered - yes, less forgiving - definitely, emotionally angry, sometimes. It is a tough business, probably one of the hardest things a person can do, but funny enough, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I look at where I am financially from trading and I could not be anywhere close to here had I taken a job working at a company. The freedom to work at home in my underwear, travel, and afford fine things is nice indeed. While as hard and as painful a road as it is to become a successful trader I would do again, but at the same time for many years now anytime a friend or someone I meet asks me how they get into this business I say "Don't." And then I tell them all the reasons you mention, and tell them it will rip their life to shreds and they have a 20% chance of being able to put those shreads back together as a successful trader. Everytime I say that to someone the conversation has ended there. I have always thought that the ONE time someone listens to me say what a rotten idea it is and then says, "No, I really want to trade, and I am willing to take that chance, please tell me." - because that's what I said many years ago - I would then open up and tell them how to do it, just one time, just to see what would happen, kind of give back in a way. But to date no one has ever said that and I don't think anyone ever will.
Hey: do you guys like to ask the same old question all over again every month? Did the time we spent on typing replies meant anything? http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160507 Forums âºâº Trading for a Living âºâº Career Trader âºâº Would you do it all over again?
By the way you describe your emotional relation to trading I would guess that you are trying to live and pay expenses from a not so ideal sized trading account. Heres an idea. Find another source of income that still allows you to trade and grow your account. Once I found how to do that I stopped having the daily and financial anxieties of trading.
I have been trading full time for 3 years and I have been doing very well. Last year I was up 34%. I consider myself a semi-pro and if it was not for trading my life would have been a complete failure. Not only I would do it again, but I would start in my 20's. I would be a millionaire now. I started when I was 34. For your info a lot of money does not = to a lot of problems. According to Ayn Rand ... "Money Will Not Serve the Mind That Cannot Match It" Do not blame it on money, blame it on you. The money is not good or bad per se, but the person is. With more money I find myself stress free and my life has a much better ballance.