What to tell family/friends?

Funny how everyone wants a one minute crash course in learning how to trade.
I bet you journalists, engineers, doctors etc... are never asked over dinner: "Can you teach me to be a brain surgeon?"

Why is it different with trading I wonder?

The other question I get is do I double my money?

All the time, I say. I take my bills, fold them in half and put back in my pocked.
 
Quote from Muddy Farmer:

Funny how everyone wants a one minute crash course in learning how to trade.
I bet you journalists, engineers, doctors etc... are never asked over dinner: "Can you teach me to be a brain surgeon?"

B]
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1. not everyone can be a doctor or an engineer

2. "Get rick quick" is usually not seen the same with others as it is with traders.

3. Anyone can be a trader with as little as 2k down or less.
 
Quote from otcstockfund:

i tell them just read these books(like 1 or 2) then come talk to me so you have some understanding of what i'm gonna show you.....thats where it ends :eek:
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I agree with this. Once you ask them to put in a little effort, they will run away and never ask you again...
 
5% SURVIVAL RATE .........90% OF THAT 5%WORK FOR OTHERS.......DAYTRADING FUTURES........THAT IS THE TEST....IT IS CALLED SKILLS TO OPERATE MECHANICAL SYSTEM.......DISCRETIONARY TRADERS FAIL ......... ...POSITION TRADING DOESN'T MUCH SKILL......MY DOG LEARNED THAT OVERNIGHT....
 
I trained some friends.

One family member wants to learn, but I can't teach him unless he becomes obsessed with it and spends all of his time rethinking the normal comfortable mindset, which would not be good for anyone. So I try to complicate everything I say so he gets the idea it's better to not try.

One friend I have is incredibly lazy and despises work. He is, by objective standards, a real loser. But he is a good friend, and he is an obsessive gamer with a very different kind of brain than most. I am debating teaching him, but I am worried he will be too lazy to learn the more complex, non-key-pounding, psychological aspects, along with even basic economic principles. And he gets angry very easily.
 
Quote from fedge:

What do you tell family and friends when they ask you to teach them how to trade?
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http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=78278&perpage=1&pagenumber=14

First of all, if you don't have the time nor the teaching skills to teach a friend or family member how to trade...

Do not do it no matter how much pressure they may put on you to do such.

Simply, some can teach but cannot trade.

Others can trade but cannot teach.

To be able to do both is a tough task.

With that said...tell your friends or family members to visit you and watch you trade in person for a few weeks without missing a single trading day.

In fact, tell them to schedule their next vacation time for such (I'm serious).

If they are still interested in learning after watching what you do in person along with showing up every day to show you that they are serious about learning how to trade...

Tell them to go out and buy the necessary trading equipement, data vendor subscriptions et cetera.

My point...if they are serious...you want to find out about such and the above is proof that they are serious.

However, if your teaching someone how to trade begins to interfere in your own trading and the results...

Stop doing it immediately.

Yet, if it helps with your trading...get more involved with it and you may develop a good trading partner out of this.

Mark
(a.k.a. NihabaAshi) Japanese Candlestick term
 
All I know is, if I had a family member or friend who traded, I'd be like "F--K YEAH!". To be able to have a mentor that's close to you, would be so valuable. I could have saved alot if I had such a person.
 
I hired my 16 y/o nephew for a summer to manually trade a system I had but wasn't worth the effort for me to do it myself. He got to keep 20% of what he could make. Took home almost $2,000 over his summer holidays. I took him on a month long road trip to visit a trading office and work 15 hour days on new ideas. I was looking to groom him for more responsibilities, but on the trip found out that the passion wasn't there. Not a strong enough work ethic. I told him to talk to me in 5 years if he still wants to be a trader and I'll re-evaluate.

I backed my sister-in-law at the start of this year with $10,000 and taught her two of my core strategies. Starting with 100 share trades in January, she's up >$50,000 ytd. I knew she would be successful because she has the right mindset for it. She's willing to put in the work and ask the right questions. The thinks about trading when not at work, mulling over ideas.

Other people have asked me and I can basically tell in about 5 minutes of conversation if there is a real passion there or they just think trading is a cool way to make lots of money. I recommend them some books and tell them to spend hours reading on this site. IF there is genuine desire, they'll do all that and continue to pester me. So far no one's gotten past the reading a book stage.

So the door is ready to be opened to anyone willing to search for the key, but like any endeavor in life, only a small minority will really make an effort.
 
Quote from lescor:



Other people have asked me and I can basically tell in about 5 minutes of conversation if there is a real passion there or they just think trading is a cool way to make lots of money.
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Completely agreed: Most people think it is a fast and easy way to make a lot of money. But they have no real passion, no persistency and no discipline. They can not sit in front of the screens for hours and waiting for the right set-up, they can not enjoy it. Trading resembles hunting or fishing: You must be patient but always alert. And the very best don't do it for the money alone, it is just a way to measure success, a straight and honest way.
 
me1969,

"Trading resembles hunting or fishing: You must be patient but always alert."

I liked this. It's like if a hunter has so many bullets; he can spray the forest hoping he catches a deer.
Or wait for the deer to pop his head out and slowly get into a good position; and then BAM.

Only so many bullets ... which will get you the deer?
 
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