< The second worst was when I first went out on my own and HAD to make money to feed the family. >
You touch on an interesting aspect in the above. Additional pressures, such as feeding a family, paying the mortgage, car payments, etc, can add to the "need" to "have to" succeed. Feeding the family is an ongoing reality. But one thing I did, and I'd suggest to anyone who desires to trade full time, is to have your financial life "in order" before you quit a job to pursue trading. For me, this meant paying off my mortgage, not having a car payment, etc. This way, if I struggled with trading and didn't generate consistent profits, I wouldn't be digging an even deeper hole financially, wondering where the mortgage money would come from. I set up a budget, day to day living costs, expected trading expenses and had a business plan. Knowing that I didn't need to make a fortune early on helped immensely when I did struggle, and creating additional emotional/psychological pressures is not anything a trader needs. There are many benefits that trading affords that can't be measured in dollars, freedom and more control of ones life are two that come to mind and mean so much to me.
Dave |
