Would you do it all over again?
- Thread starter dimestock
- Start date
No luxury, fancy stuff for me...I didn't say I was making a lot of money and don't know if fancy stuff is really for me.
I just wake at 6:45 AM, take a coffee, trade until 12:30... Eat, watch the simpsons, go running or skateboarding at the local concrete park with friends 'til 3PM. Have a shower. Back to trading from 3:45 PM to 8:10 PM, eat, perhaps go the local bar play pool with my brother( the guy is literally full of chicks and I'm single at the moment ) or friends, or just watch TV til midnight.
I live in one of my family houses near Grenoble, France, so I snowboard every WE in the winter and sometimes make some heli-ski.
In the summer, my father has 2 houses( with pools...LOL ) on the french riviera and I settle there from June 'til August with my triple screens and trading stuff. I also like to travel a lot ( Russia, Spain, Corsica, Tunisia last year ) but not when I'm single.
Here's my lifestyle. When I type this, I really feel blessed.
I just wake at 6:45 AM, take a coffee, trade until 12:30... Eat, watch the simpsons, go running or skateboarding at the local concrete park with friends 'til 3PM. Have a shower. Back to trading from 3:45 PM to 8:10 PM, eat, perhaps go the local bar play pool with my brother( the guy is literally full of chicks and I'm single at the moment ) or friends, or just watch TV til midnight.
I live in one of my family houses near Grenoble, France, so I snowboard every WE in the winter and sometimes make some heli-ski.
In the summer, my father has 2 houses( with pools...LOL ) on the french riviera and I settle there from June 'til August with my triple screens and trading stuff. I also like to travel a lot ( Russia, Spain, Corsica, Tunisia last year ) but not when I'm single.
Here's my lifestyle. When I type this, I really feel blessed.
Yes, Cold, C-Kid... You're right about one thing : A lot of my lifestyle has more to do with my dad's wealth than mine . I have never ever needed money and thus was in the good environment to learn trading and be able to live off it after the learning years...
Should I be ashamed? Not really, About 80 % of all traders have a rich family but 90 % of them lose part of the family wealth in trading instead of contributing to it.
I should have invented a story where I was working in a copper mine to pay my first charting software, but I leave that to you.
Should I be ashamed? Not really, About 80 % of all traders have a rich family but 90 % of them lose part of the family wealth in trading instead of contributing to it.
I should have invented a story where I was working in a copper mine to pay my first charting software, but I leave that to you.
Kid, this ain't the place and far from the time. You missed the boat. If you take an analytical look at getting into trading for yourself, it's just not the place to be if you want to make money. The odds are highly against you, the space is very crowded, the regulators are working against you, hence rising costs.
It was lucrative years ago and even more lucrative before that. This game is now for pros, not new entrants.
I got similar advice when I was starting out and even though I still caught some lucrative times, I realized years after that I let much better opportunities pass me by.
The passion & excitement do wear off, in fact, it's just like poker where the pros say that if you're having fun playing it, you're not doing it right.
It is absolutely worth it, IF you make it. But it is far from easy or a sure thing to have sustained success. No other profession teaches you more about yourself than trading (both the good and bad).
Many fantasize about how great trading is only because they only see the romanticized version of what they think traders do. They imagine someone with a bank of screens, feet on the desk, hitting a key every so often and watching money roll in. Let there be no illusions. The real truth is you will work harder than you have in your life. And you are young enough you probably donât know what real work is yet. It can be stressful to those without the proper mental framework. Depending on your style, you may be staring at screens for hours at a time. Go to the bathroom? Not if the markets are moving you arenât (which is a lot these days). Yes, I have an "emergency" pee bottle. You can do everything right and still lose. Are you willing to work hard enough to reach the top 5% of a profession that makes it to some degree? Because you wonât be successful if you donât make it into the 5% max that last (my number and is probably optimistic).
It is a game that is always changing in subtle ways. But human psychology doesnât change. Those who donât adapt get eliminated. I do what I should I make money, I donât I lose money. Very democratic and the way it should be (for those who can handle it). You are responsible for whatever happens, good or bad. You can take satisfaction in knowing few can do what you do. But of course, if you donât do the right things or suffer a âsunspot theoryâ moment, you could be out of business tomorrow. Can you handle that level of uncertainty? Do you think you can compete with anyone who treats this like a business (most donât)? Are you willing to learn an edge, develop a real trading plan (19 pages) and then if you make it that far, do you have the discipline to follow your plan? That is the hardest part for some.
If you will do these things you have a small chance to make it. But if you are lax in any area, on any day, in any mood, many will take your money faster than you know what happened with no apologies. Can you handle that? The truth. If that realism scares you in any way, move on now. Trading isnât for everybody.
We welcome all newcomers. We like competition. Why? Because we know few are doing more than passing through. Most donât have what it takes. But have no illusions. You are in the fight of your life for the rest of your trading life. But donât let that discourage you. Probably not what you want to hear but there it is.
Good luck
BM
Many fantasize about how great trading is only because they only see the romanticized version of what they think traders do. They imagine someone with a bank of screens, feet on the desk, hitting a key every so often and watching money roll in. Let there be no illusions. The real truth is you will work harder than you have in your life. And you are young enough you probably donât know what real work is yet. It can be stressful to those without the proper mental framework. Depending on your style, you may be staring at screens for hours at a time. Go to the bathroom? Not if the markets are moving you arenât (which is a lot these days). Yes, I have an "emergency" pee bottle. You can do everything right and still lose. Are you willing to work hard enough to reach the top 5% of a profession that makes it to some degree? Because you wonât be successful if you donât make it into the 5% max that last (my number and is probably optimistic).
It is a game that is always changing in subtle ways. But human psychology doesnât change. Those who donât adapt get eliminated. I do what I should I make money, I donât I lose money. Very democratic and the way it should be (for those who can handle it). You are responsible for whatever happens, good or bad. You can take satisfaction in knowing few can do what you do. But of course, if you donât do the right things or suffer a âsunspot theoryâ moment, you could be out of business tomorrow. Can you handle that level of uncertainty? Do you think you can compete with anyone who treats this like a business (most donât)? Are you willing to learn an edge, develop a real trading plan (19 pages) and then if you make it that far, do you have the discipline to follow your plan? That is the hardest part for some.
If you will do these things you have a small chance to make it. But if you are lax in any area, on any day, in any mood, many will take your money faster than you know what happened with no apologies. Can you handle that? The truth. If that realism scares you in any way, move on now. Trading isnât for everybody.
We welcome all newcomers. We like competition. Why? Because we know few are doing more than passing through. Most donât have what it takes. But have no illusions. You are in the fight of your life for the rest of your trading life. But donât let that discourage you. Probably not what you want to hear but there it is.
Good luck
BM