Were you still in school at 20?Quote from vanilla2:
How is it that you're a 'famous' jewelry manufacturer and successful trader at the tender age of 20? Are you in school too?

The answer is motivation, attitude, knowledge and endless determination.
I assume success as a complete matter of course.
Failure is absolutely intolerable and not an option.
But that doesn't mean, for example, that I don't take trading losses within my system. Those are a complete matter of course, too. I don't worry about them. To me, losses are an indicator of likeliness of the next trade being a winner.
To me, trading losses are the same as overheads in my other businesses. Every business must have overheads.
My aim is to approach whatever I do with a determination of achieving excellence. There's no compromises, everything I touch, I want to finish. And I want to do it better than anybody else. Always. That's a minimum requirement. Otherwise I don't touch it. "Good" is not good enough. "Good" is for "good" people.
I hardly have rolemodels, but I look at the absolute elite, study them and take in if they have something useful to say.
And at the end of the day: Constant self-examination. I want to know all my weaknesses. And I want to work on them. Period.
I never blame others or anything. It's all up to me. Everything that bugs me is my own fault, and I have to work on it. Period.
I am aware that I come across as arrogant to a lot of people, but these are generally people who aren't bright enough, don't understand me, or envy me. Like-minded people I get around with in an excellent way, so that is proof enough. Everybody's darling is nobody's darling. If you want to be victorious in life, you can't always avoid pissing people off. Surround yourself only with the most excellent people, and avoid the others as much as you can. It's not worth it. You alone are the master of your reputation, life and destiny. It's your call.
Also, I'm a great fan and student of diplomacy, but I prefer honesty, and to say what I think.
This isn't always welcome or diplomatic, but it helps in the end.
These are a lot of my personal secrets to success. I hope all this helps you in some way.
By the way, I'm not the only person who's a successful entrepreneur at this age. Fast_Trader (as stated on this board) started a very successful IT company at 15. He's 21 now. We've become good friends due to our shared passion for trading and fast cars.
jpomerenke (who's also an ET member) is also a successful multiple entrepreneur and futures/stock day trader. He's 19.
I'm sure there are many others around. But us three are sort of a "club" here anyway.

I only started JDM after school, as late as 19, (my dad: 16), but had various other (part-time) businesses since I was about 8. I also started looking into stocks at that age...

Plus, I've worked as an IT consultant and network setup / administration when I was 14-17. My untamed hacking fanatism at the time actually proved itself useful in some way.
I Started trading actively a year ago and am determined to enter the realms of Jones and Schwartz. Then I may move on to something else, but currently I love trading. I'm still looking for something really challenging in my life. I thought it was trading, but currently I'm figuring out that trading is really quite simple, once you've figured it out. I thought trading is for geniuses, but it's really more about discipline, knowledge and experience than about genius... See how we go. Currently, I focus on microtrading (very-short-term) and scalping. I might also go and study medicine, computer science and philosophy, subjects I always liked a lot (and I would have a headstart already).
I probably would be a lot more successful as a trader already if I didn't have these teenage weaknesses for sports cars and living in a beachside house. So some of the things I have to remove now from myself are traces of societal conformity and materialism, that will be the next step in my personal evolution...
I passionately practice Martial Arts (Shotokan Karate), as a means of discipline and health preservation, and am training towards the Australian Team to compete for the world titles.
I am a notorious advocate of peace, compassion and love, and although I'm not religious anymore, I am a great fan and follower of the Dalai Lama. I am planning to open a charitable organization one day and that's a main reason for my trading, too.
OK. This should be enough for you to understand where I'm coming from...
Btw I'm not 20. I'm turing 22 in a few days...
All the Best & Peace, Brother!
Sincerely,
<i>~The Scientist</i>
P.S: vanilla, I love music, too! I play the guitar, what do you do?