Welcome to NexusFi: the best trading community on the planet, with over 150,000 members Sign Up Now for Free
Genuine reviews from real traders, not fake reviews from stealth vendors
Quality education from leading professional traders
We are a friendly, helpful, and positive community
We do not tolerate rude behavior, trolling, or vendors advertising in posts
We are here to help, just let us know what you need
You'll need to register in order to view the content of the threads and start contributing to our community. It's free for basic access, or support us by becoming an Elite Member -- see if you qualify for a discount below.
-- Big Mike, Site Administrator
(If you already have an account, login at the top of the page)
I think it is simply my nature to be hands on and to want to do everything myself, my way (the best way, naturally).
But the forum would be fine without me while I am on vacation. I would probably only check in on it 5-10 times a day and write 20 posts and 15 private messages a day while I am on the cruise ship, instead of my normal 6 hours of non-stop typing on the forum all day... LOL! j/k
I've started to post a bit lately and whilst I've be at this trading thing for a couple of years, it really is only in the last few months that something has changed in me and my trading has, as if by magic, fallen roughly together. And, whilst I've wrestled with defining what that something is, I haven't be able to, until I read this thread.
I think the reason is that trading is freedom, or as close to freedom as we are likely to get. I've set up and run businesses in the past and am obligated to stay involved with one of those still, albeit only a day a week. But the best day in that office is not even close to the worst day's trading.
Are we not free to come up with any idea and see if it makes money, circumventing the need to hire, train staff, take on overhead, deal with bankers (oh lord the blood is draining fom me at very the thought) - and work till our fingers bleed - before the idea is proven or not? For me ideas are the key and in trading anything goes and it can all be done by me when and where I choose. Trading provides me with the time and freedom to learn, oh the books and ideas I have soaked up in the last few years - not least from this forum.
This is invigorating stuff and it's an arena where you can really discover who you are. The mundane and everyday will not expose the character of a man (or woman) but in trading you operate in such a different environment the true you can not hide and you must confront yourself. That is such a valuable lesson.
So Mike in answer to your question I would say it ends when the returns in intellectual and self development are marginal, when it no longer floats your boat. Having said that I work to targets which are very modest and yes that does include an end game. (But fortunately it has a trailing stop)
This all sounds like such a great problem to have.
What to do with your life after you've "made it".
We have all thought about this a lot I'm sure.
Unfortunately the vast majority of us here have not made it.
And the vast majority of us never will...
We live life moment by moment either way.
The trick is to enjoy the moments as they happen... one at a time. You don't get them back.
It would be great to have the financial freedom that being a successful trader would, assumably, bring.
But life has to be about a lot more than that, or I would be extremely unhappy in this struggle...
I wish you guys the best in figuring out this "problem".
Here, it's good to be alive.
You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.
Dr. Seuss
When I was ya'lls age I thought if I didn't "make it" by age 40 ... l would be a failure... looking back now... I am amazed I was able to accomplish anything with so little experience ....
I'm just a simple man trading a simple plan.
My daddy always said, "Every day above ground is a good day!"
I have not made my millions yet, but I have come far enough to know that you can redefine the problem into any relevant amount of money to suit your life.
For example, the problem of "never having enough" can be relevant to the person that is consistently making $250 a day in the market, but wants to make $500. And then $1,000. And then $5,000. It is all relevant to the individual and to the outsider looking in, whatever perspective they have.
The question I originally posed was in effort to better understand why some people have "made it", in my opinion, yet continue to press for more (at a risk). I think I got my answer, but I know that personally I will err on the side of caution when I "make it" because that is what suits my personality.
I have no problem taking risks, but when I measure the importance of making more money vs. not being happy, it is an easy choice.
Broker: Advantage, Trading Technologies, OptionsCity, IQ Feed
Trading: CL, NG
Posts: 1,038 since Jul 2010
Thanks Given: 1,713
Thanks Received: 3,863
I've been hesitant to comment on this as I view my personal goals as private. But I will say this, did Tiger Woods quit once he made enough to retire on? Phil Mickelson? Paul Tudor Jones? Or any other successful person regardless of their career, just walk away from what got them there because they "made enough"?
This brings up the point that I've said often. Trading isn't about just making money. It's about having a career, owning your own business, having a sense of pride and accomplishment in what you're doing. If your sole focus is to make enough and walk away, that's fine but remember then that you're focusing on the money rather than focusing on what you're doing which should be trading correctly.
The above 2 posts provide an excellent summation of this thread. @Big Mike presents the problem /dilemma and @Private Banker hits the nail, squarely-on-the head, with the appropriate solution. "Success is a journey, not a destination". Just as in the "trade" itself, those who concentrate on the "outcome" and not the "process", are missing the big picture.
Granted, without a goal, there is no process. However, the only way you can continue to grow and improve, is by not resting on your laurels. Process oriented people will work towards their goals in such a way that in the process of attaining their goals, they grow and learn. Like PB stated, it's not about the money, it's about becoming a better trader.
Goals should not be "end-points", rather than "milestones". And again, as in trading itself, doing what is "comfortable" is rarely the correct thing to do. If you become comfortable with having "made it", you have probably ceased to learn and stretch yourself.
"The greatest measure of personal success is not what one gets from it, but rather what one becomes through it"
TMITITW: Live well, enjoy life to the fullest, but don't risk more than you can afford to lose. And, as always.... "Stay profitable, my friends"!
