what got you into trading ??

My grandpa bought me a share of KO when I was 13, and I watched it move from 35 to 70 over the next year. At that point I could not imagine doing anything with my life that did not involve the market. I read a couple of Peter Lynch books and set out to be an analyst.
After college I started working with a regional brokerage firm as a broker/analyst. I hated the sales aspect of the business, but I learned a lot watching the mistakes of retail traders. Three years ago I came up with enough money to start trading full time and I can honestly say I will trade until the day I die. At 30 yrs old I don't know too many people who actually can't wait for Monday mornings.
 
Originally posted by marketsurfer
i am wondering, just was it that got you interested in the markets and trading ??

surf:cool:
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I was a retail broker @ a NYSE firm, became sick and tired of dealing with clients, and having to beg, borrow and ... to get them to trade and have to convince them on every move... etc. so then i figured my picks are doing well, my analysis is quite accurate so why not cut out the middleman (CLIENT) and just trade the Firms Capital... So here I am... (Ive only been Trading Since Sept.30,2002... however Ive been in the securities industry for well over 4yrs now... (far from seasoned veteran, however now where near newbie)


:NewYorkLove:
 
Made a bunch out of the same old boring buy and hold strategy in the 80s and 90s and wanted some additional challenge and excitement.

Did very well trading full time in 1999 and first half of 2000, like many others.

By that time, I was hooked. Love this sport :)
 
When I was 16 I had some extra cash from farming. I always loved numbers and money, and I knew then that farming wasn't enough of a mental challenge for me.

My uncle taught me how to read the WSJ and I proceeded buy an oil service stock that was going down, down, down. Well, I couldn't let the market beat me, and stocks seemed slow and boring, so I learned about options and started playing them. Then I lost the rest of my money!

I liked and still like the fact that trading is a mental challenge, it is the best mirror of myself that I know of, and it gives me tremendous freedom. Being self-employed with unlimited earning potential is a big plus for me also. Everytime I worked construction during the summer breaks thru college, I was watching the clock and counting how little I was making.
 
13- Parents bought me some American Home Products. My mother used to give the the penny stock quotes and I would play around with that on and off until my Junior year of High School. Decided having fun was more fun.

Soph. Coll.- I bought a computer from a small PC shop and the owner of the shop was running MetaStock, and DTN in his office. I thought it was the coolest thing. About this time two of my friends started SOES trading at BLOCK Trading. I would go and watch them (lose money). At this time I did some position trading. I considered trading at BLOCK, but virtually everyone there were just gambling, and I like Vegas for that.

19- Went Pro as a race car driver, I did that for about five years (great training for trading).

This whole time I knew that trading was what I was going to do [unless I made it to Formula1 or CART ;)] After I left racing I started trading (small size), but spent more time "watching." I spent a year and a half learning what to do and what not to do. After this I felt like I had a good grasp on things, and I started trading larger and larger size and have never looked back.

(I was in no hurry, I took my time, Thus I am not one of those who lost alot or did poorly at first.)
 
When I was 13 ( in October 1987) I heard a breaking news on TV that thousands of people had lost all of their money at WallStreet during the crash. I'm from postcommunist country in Eastern Europe and that time we hadn't a stock market, so I couldn't understand how it is possible to lose all your money in a day :D .
That was the very first thing that brought me to trading :) .

Vasilly
 
Originally posted by Vasilly
so I couldn't understand how it is possible to lose all your money in a day :D .
That was the very first thing that brought me to trading :) .
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the prospect of losing all your money in a day?
 
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