Quote from aphexcoil:
I agree with you. However, I have noticed as I've gotten older than a lot of people are constantly judging other people on their success level by the type of car they drive, the house they live in, the people they know, etc. Although I don't feel that way, I have always been curious as to why our society places so much emphasis on material items as a measure of self worth.
We live in the most materialistic society on earth. What else would they judge you on but materialistic values?
It seems like everyone my age places so much emphasis on career, cars, job, house, money, clothes, etc, while people a decade or two older place a lot more emphasis on family, kids, etc.
Americans buy into what the media and political leaders say.
Heck, they will even buy into a WMD story from the President as a reason to attack Iraq.
The running theme seems to be that once you have kids, your priorities change.
They usually do change, sort of. In the beginning, it is what can I do for me. Then with kids, it becomes "what can I do for my kid so I look good doing it, and it reflects back on me."
The sad truth is many people treat kids like pets. They exist to fill an empty hole inside of the parents, rather than share the joy and fullness of life they already felt before having kids.
I'm no different, since my first post on ET was the infamous "5k to 1m in 18 months" one. However, after moving and taking on other responsibilities, I have mellowed a lot since that time.
Yes, you have matured.
Gordon Gekko is my age and places a lot of emphasis on being a "successful" trader. Naturally, if you become one, you write your own checks (if you are that good). Well, I traded for awhile and realized that I was pissing money away because I was too immature and undisciplined at the time to trade the right way. I don't look at it as a failure but as a lesson.
Gordon is a little boy. There is an inverse relationship between maturity and blaming other people for problems one has in life.
Whatever you do in life you had better prepare beforehand and take the time and energy to do it right. I feel that our fast-paced society sends subliminal messages to people that success is something you can just whip up overnight. Take for example all the "get rich quick" schemes. A lot of people play into them with the expectations that success is something that may not require a lot of homework and sweat before the fruits of your labor become evident.
Success is 100% a state of mind, nothing else.
Well, to sum it up, there was a line from the matrix that said it best. "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." So in respect to being successful at say trading, one would seriously have to spend a large amount of time seriously backtesting and researching models before they had a chance at being successful. And even then, the "fast-food give it to me now" mentality that is so prevalent today will keep a lot of people from achieving what they want because many people are willing to flip a switch yet few are willing to wire it correctly in the first place.
As you mature even more, you will look back some day and see that quoting a line from the Matrix was not very mature.
"I got out, and I am here to say, baby you can get out too."
---Johnny Winter---
Still Alive and Well
