there is no career in trading - quote

Freedom? Yea, right. Everyone is here for one thing....because we are money hungry demons. There is no other so-called noble or pure pursuit to this endeavor of trading. Trying to generate money from nothing.

Ross Cameron, Tim Sykes,
James Bond, ....a lot of these guys/crooks and their trading schools....all have pending lawsuits against them by their former, conned, students.

I totally see your point.

The way I look at is.. Why do we want money?

We want money so we have the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want. Sure we all want to be wealthy but my answer was focused around why do we want to be wealthy.
 
Well written post, but interestingly you picked two fraudsters in your example. What does that say about the industry?


I think this is something every trader has asked themselves at some point. I also think it's what makes trading one of the hardest career choices. Just you vs yourself and the markets.

We all became traders because of the freedom it can provide us. We don't have to be tied to anything. Then again what's the point of life if you don't have something to commit to. If you can't leave some sort of legacy.

You'll notice many traders have side projects, refurbishing old cars (Ross Cameron) or building schools (Tim Sykes) two easy ones to point out. I think this is what it's all about. Trading, like money, is just a tool to really make your impact. Whatever that may be.

Plus trading is fun as hell haha (jk serious face again).
 
Let's keep it real..

#1 Person trades to blow accounts and eventually quits.
#2 Person still trades after 30 plus years, with no retirement in sight.
#3 Person trades to earn enough to eventually RETIRE.

The rest is complete BS.
 
Do you think RenTech took a quote like that to heart? You build trading skills and strategies. That is what you take with you from one day to the next. No different than anything else in life.
 
This is a great topic and very timely for me.

I am a woman, I am retired from federal
government, I receive pensions, I don't really
need the money, although it is always nice to
have extra.

Over the years I've had various businesses,
sold on eBay, been in MLMs, sold Rainbow
vacuum cleaners, demonstrated Tupperware
and other party plan products, I have done
pretty much everything.

I did most of those things while working
full-time, so they were side hustles.

I generated enough income to retire early.

I recently discovered trading, I never knew it
was a thing, I thought it was for Wall Street
people.

I researched for a few days and decided to
give it a try, funded an account, read books,
watched videos, practiced on Investopedia's
simulator, I got really good at picking great
stocks, then I learned about screeners, and
continued learning as much as I could.

I didn't do anything with the real account for
a couple of months, until I was confident that
I knew what I was doing, once I got going I
made money with my very first trade!

It wasn't much, but it started adding up, and
by the third day I had my first $100 day, which
was fantastic because I didn't put much money
into my account.

That's been a few months ago.

And now I LOVE trading! Besides winning
lottery money, this is the easiest money that
I have ever made.

It gives me something productive to do, it
keeps my mind occupied doing the math and
the research, it gives my life more structure,
and it just makes me so happy.

I can automate things so I am not stuck
to my desktop computer or laptop. I can
do other things throughout the day, I can
go back to sleep or take an afternoon
nap, I can do whatever I want.

Trading is perfect for me right now and I
will probably do this for the rest of my life
as long as I can access the internet.

For the people that fail at trading, I think
they don't want to put in the work, they
expect the money to fall into their lap, and
they give up when they lose their money.

It takes time to learn, hang in there and
don't give up so easily.

For those that it's a career for, it's just as
valid as anything else if they are profitable.

I don't think of it as a job or a career, but
as more of a lifestyle.

As with anything, life is what you make it.

I'm not fancy with the technical jargon like
the rest of you guys, but I'll be right up
there with you on the money in a couple
of years.
 
the majority of retail traders are momentum which means they are sucking up liquidity and not providing it. In the commodities space they add volatility to input products which creates inefficiencies in the real economy.


I would argue that the active trading community as a whole is a net negative to the world, which is why no one cares when you don’t make money.

On the flip side, we want our doctor to be well to do, because if he isn’t the next smart guy won’t be a doctor and we will die at the hands of an incompetent surgeon.

What do you mean by active trading community? I don't think you are really arguing that a world without any financial markets or ability to trade commodity futures really be more efficient than what we have today, are you?

Sure if you could wave a magic wand and remove all scammers, chronic losing traders, degen gamblers etc from the market and put them into productive employment instead, obviously that would be a positive compared to the current reality. But it's not the same thing as saying that all active trading is a net negative.

Also, I'd say you gotta be careful with this sort of logic. Depending how you define it, almost anything could be a "net negative to the world". If the only goal is maximizing "efficiency" then 99.9% of people are useless eaters and the other .1% are only useful to build the super AI to replace themselves.
 
What do you mean by active trading community? I don't think you are really arguing that a world without any financial markets or ability to trade commodity futures really be more efficient than what we have today, are you?

Sure if you could wave a magic wand and remove all scammers, chronic losing traders, degen gamblers etc from the market and put them into productive employment instead, obviously that would be a positive compared to the current reality. But it's not the same thing as saying that all active trading is a net negative.

Also, I'd say you gotta be careful with this sort of logic. Depending how you define it, almost anything could be a "net negative to the world". If the only goal is maximizing "efficiency" then 99.9% of people are useless eaters and the other .1% are only useful to build the super AI to replace themselves.

I mean the hedge funds, quant funds, retail day traders, etc.

I completely agree a strong financial market is essential for a strong economy and society.

but have hedge funds, Day traders and the like really made the financial market stronger?

I think your logic is flawed. 99percent of the world is actually productive. They are building things and providing services that benefit our lives. Only a small fraction are not.

When I left Wall Street, I saw this. It still amazes me the number of things people do in this world and almost all of it provides value.
 
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What do people think about this quote? Even if I become and remain a consistently profitable trader, will I have acheived nothing?
Trading; What have I accomplished?

Back in the day when other people paid me for my time, I always subscribed to the bucket of water theory. Make a fist, put it in a bucket of water, pull it out quickly. The hole left is how much you'll be missed a month after you leave that job.

When I want to see what I have accomplished I look at my equity curve. I have been increasing my net worth while funding my lifestyle.

I use the market index as a benchmark. I have a sense of accomplishment being able to out perform the benchmark. You get a sense of pride being able to succeed in an industry where there is a 90% failure rate.

I enjoy trading. I can't say that I'd do it if there weren't financial rewards but it is challenging. If you keep in mind that the markets are not there for the average person to make money, they are there for the people who run the markets to make money, it's rewarding to put a bit of that money in your pocket.
 
I mean the hedge funds, quant funds, retail day traders, etc.

I completely agree a strong financial market is essential for a strong economy and society.

but have hedge funds, Day traders and the like really made the financial market stronger?
By default I would say yes they do. If you think not, then can you explain how those guys make money if their trading is not providing a good (usually liquidity or price discovery) for other market participants that they transact with?
 
Don't know what makes someone else think they can define what another chooses to do, as to whether it is valuable to society or not.

"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one". :thumbsdown:
 
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