Discussions: Trading for a living
It's an excellent discussion with great rationality on trading for a living.
Here are some 100% agreed quotes:
From the 1st page:
http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/lofiversion/index.php/t5395-0.html
"I could not succeed in trading for a living till I didn't have to trade for a living. If you are a small trader, it is difficult, if not impossible, to trade successfully, if the next meal has to come from trading profits. I found out first hand that scared money never wins. If losses become personal instead of just business expense, the mind games will nullify performance and the road to ruin is swift and inevitable."
From the 2nd page:
http://www.traders-talk.com/mb2/lofiversion/index.php/t5395-50.html
"A mistake since at first I'd take massive massive drawdowns but a blessing since it would motivate me to work harder than I ever had not only during market hours but also preparation outside market hours. Basically it accelerated the learning curve. I worked in the "real world" to make back the initial money and was much better prepared the second time."
"It's all just a question of how bad you want it..the price you are willing to pay. From what I've seen, the vast majority of people that say they work hard really don't."
"I have been in this industry since 1985 and seen many come and many go.
I share your skepticism on the number of people that are able to trade for a living in reality but I also have to whole heartedly agree with the originator of this post.
There are many levels of maturity and experience that a trader must pass through before he or she is able to achieve the proper set of attitudes and habits that will make him or her consistent and the originator of this post for what ever reason seems to have arrived there.
If you are the Gary Smith who wrote that book. I can tell you for sure that you have not yet achieved that level of trading maturity yet, I can assure you of that."
"I can vouch for the fact that some of the most famous traders have blown up at one time or another, if not several times in their trading carreers. The most obvious one would be Jessie Livermore. On one of his "blowups" he declared bankruptcy."
"In 1980, I lost $100,000 (all my money) in one year. In other words, I have paid my dues. Now I subscribe to the fact that money management is more important than trading style! I have been trading since I was 18 years old in 1958. Now I am 64, and determined to keep my cool, and never blow up again."
"Know thy self!"
