Quote from garachen:
I actually couldn't figure out if that was sarcasm either. But he fully meant to post but I asked him to remove a few specifics so he probably fell asleep.
Thanks, yes I did. I'll come back to the thread over the weekend to add what we discussed - I'm tired at the moment and don't want to botch it. Certainly hope I did not cause any offense.
I ought to address this point. While some things can be attributed to cultural differences (are the British really known around the world for our sarcasm? I blame Fawlty Towers!), the evidence suggests there is to a degree a problem with the way I communicate. At this stage I'm prepared to acknowledge that it does me a disservice.
By way of explanation, I believe this to be a result of years of self imposed isolation which occurred first through circumstance and has persisted through inertia.
I have lived alone for several years with my social interaction being limited to weekly grocery deliveries and very occasional visits with friends. I have relied on letters, email, and IM for communication. The natural effect of this is that my telephone manner likely leaves a lot to be desired, I have developed involuntary verbal artifacts and stutter, and I find any spoken language processing to require excessive concentration (with my only prior similar reference point being high school French examinations).
I did not begin with the intent of becoming reclusive. It was a natural consequence of no longer interacting regularly with former colleagues and peers when I began my life as an independent trader. Casual relationships break down in the absence of shared goals and pastimes, and independent trading from home does not provide opportunities to meet new people. It was sufficiently demanding in the beginning that all else was de-prioritised.
For the first few years, I lived frugally and did not bother with such things as holidays, regular dinners out with friends etc, and ultimately my life did not involve much socialising or many hobbies except for gym and reading. I do not drink alcohol or enjoy frequenting bars. Add in to working on trading the vast majority of my waking hours including weekends for several years...
There is a sense of alienation as I have very little in common with the majority of people I am likely to meet outside of this industry. In addition, I do not really wish to share too much about the nature of what I do as it invites unpleasant assumptions from a misguided public, and instinctively I think it makes sense to stay low profile given the resentment against achievement which is commonplace. Of course this is far less of a consideration when dealing with other successful people, or those in the industry.
I particularly enjoyed aspects of garachen's posts where he refers to his institutional background and the difficulties encountered in receiving promotions as deserved when working back east due to the corporate culture. I certainly gave up some advantages in not going the traditional route or getting any industry experience before beginning independent trading, and of course this is no longer a route which is open to me, but on balance I am happy with the decision, despite the social costs which I should work more on mitigating.
I have a legal background and was well adapted for that environment, was quite eloquent at one stage, and understood how that particular game is played from relatively early on. Choosing a different profession was a challenge to laziness and due in part to my realisation that to be a career lawyer would likely rob me of the opportunity to do something personally meaningful with my life and obtain the degree of freedom and autonomy which I desired. There are also certain aspects of the law that are downright unethical / corrupt and I wasn't interested in being involved in that. It became clear that this may be a prerequisite to advancement in certain areas.
I'm very fortunate to enjoy a calm, peaceful life with plenty of time to relax, read, tinker with computers, listen to various music, and be engaged in work which I think I will always find varied and challenging. Trading is far from easy but this does not mean that people with the appropriate savvy cannot make themselves successful. It can be a lot of work and one should expect to make mistakes along the way. Perhaps I've neglected what is important, and so I look forward to improving my social skills in due course.
