Stevie Swai
I recently had the pleasure of rekindling a friendship with my best buddy from high school. We had lost touch with one another and haven’t seen each other in 25+ years. We had always been on separate paths, he was the smart one, I was…well, I don’t really know what I was, but I was on the path that doesn’t head straight for the goal so to say. He always knew what he wanted and he kept his eye on the prize. He got a degree from an Ivy League school and went on to find success as a trader.
I, on the other hand, have been trading for less than 5 years and he was pretty amazed to learn that somehow, as different as we were in high school, our paths had finally merged together. So after 25 years, we have a lot to talk about including markets. Now, I must admit, that after a long day of trading and talking about markets ALL day with Trader Scott, I don’t really want to talk markets.
So anyway, my friend called me the other night and the first thing he asked was, “How’s your trading going?” Well now that’s a loaded question. Luckily, on that day, my answer was, “It’s tough, but I’m still here trudging through it”. On another day, my response might have been, “I had a great day”. And then there’s, “I want to jump off a building”. I’m glad he didn’t ask the question on one of those days. Luckily, those days are few and far between.
He proceeded to tell me how impressed he was that I was trading for a living seeing that most of the guys he had known over the years, all with college degrees, had moved on from trading because they simply could not tough it out and make a living. I can’t imagine giving up on trading. Even on my worst days, when it seems all is lost and I really want to give up, I just can’t. What does one do after trading? So I asked him. The answer: One teaches others how to trade.
What?!!!! Hello….did I hear that correctly? He told me about a particular friend of his who couldn’t pull out a living trading so he got a job with a company who charged something like $6000 per person to teach others how to trade. Okay, so let me get this straight-the guy had failed at trading, but he’s charging $6000 person to teach them how to trade. Maybe it’s me but, isn’t there something wrong with this picture?
So the story gets even better. His friend worked for the company, but after many years, he became disillusioned and unhappy with his job. He wanted to quit and go back to trading, so that’s what he did. Unfortunately, he failed again at trading and that’s where the story ends, at least for the moment.
What’s the moral of the story? Learning how to trade from successful traders is most probably a better idea than forking over 6 grand to someone who has proved himself a failure. So be careful about anyone out there seducing you with guarantees of money falling upon you from the sky and how easy this business is.
Trading is super tough and not for the weak. It takes a strong mind and resilient nature to overcome the many obstacles that not only the markets present, but those that our own psychology present. But it can be done and luckily, you’re at the right website and with the right people who are not going to sugar coat this business and tell you how easy it is to do this. It’s hard work. Like Scott said to me just the other day when I was having a crappy day, and I do mean a CRAPPY day. He said, “Stevie, the market isn’t an ATM machine. It doesn’t just give you money.” Well said Scott. Sometimes we need to be reminded of this especially after coming off a good winning streak and then hitting some rocky roads in the market.
Happy trades to you!
Please let us know how you are doing with your trades and what we can do to enrich your experience with us.
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