Why I Decided To Start Trading:
The world of finance. Fascinating. I was fresh out of my
college graduation and fortunate enough to be starting my big boy job the week
after. There is no better feeling than crossing that stage to grab your
diploma all while knowing you have a job lined up. I was finally going to be
making some money. No more weeks of having $100 to my name. I was truly
blessed. Now the question was, what am I going to do with this money? Well the
first paycheck was an easy decision. I spent it much quicker than I earned it.
That was my celebration paycheck. After that it was all business.
My accounting degree had exposed me to several finance classes learning principles such as the time value of money, the power of compound interest, and how money left in a bank account is only losing its value to inflation. I was a bit interested in the stock market and investing, but my knowledge was minimal. I had a two hour public transportation commute to get to work in the morning, and obviously another two hour commute to get back home for the night. I started reading all of my father's 'Money' and 'Fortune' magazines in hopes to pick up little tips as to how I could turn one dollar into two. I started becoming more interested in the stock market and this forced me to start learning as much as I could. I started reading Investing For Dummies books, checking investing websites, apps, talking to people already investing, you name it. It was soon clear to me that I had a strong passion that I barely knew about. I figured with my accounting knowledge and being able to read financial statements coupled with a bit of self study learning the stock market, maybe the world of finance could be my calling. I opened up a brokerage account, spent months finding a few stocks that I liked, and put that hard earned money of mine to work. Buy and hold, never take a loss, the Warren Buffett strategy. It felt great. I was reading so much everyday and felt like I was really learning the ins and outs of the stock market and why it moves how it does.
After about eight months of having my money invested, studying for the CFA test, and non stop reading and researching to find the next best growth stock/industry, I started questioning my strategy. Being aware of our economic reports and what the FED is doing that is affecting the stock market and our economy is one thing, but making that my life did not sound as appealing to me anymore. I knew so much about so many companies, their numbers, their business strategy, the FEDs impact on them, and still my small portfolio of 5 or 6 securities wasn't doing too hot. My defense was that these are growth stocks and I am just waiting for a pop. I felt like I knew more than most of my peers, but had nothing to show for it except a portfolio that was in the red. I then came across a few very successful traders in the market. I always wanted to learn how to trade but felt I needed to keep it simple first because trading is risky business. Well, I had enough of keeping it simple and decided it was time to learn a new craft.
For the next four months I would put all my time into learning how to trade. I even stopped studying for the CFA exam so I could put those hours to my trading studies. Trading CAN be risky, that is if you don't know what your doing. This is a whole different world that I do not think too many people really know much about; I don't care if you have a finance degree or you're a CFA charterholder, that doesn't mean much in the trading world. Personally, now I have realized that even investing is risky. We just make ourselves feel better by saying, "oh if I hold this stock long enough it will eventually rebound and I will sell for a profit." I think this is the easy way out. After 8 months of investing I eventually sold everything in my portfolio to help fund my trading account. After 8 months and $3,500 invested, I sold for a $275 loss. After my first week of trading, really only 3 days of trading, I had two wins and four losses making out with $225 in profit while only risking $1,000 at a time. One of my winning trades took 15 minutes in and out, the second took 6 minutes. I make about $150 in 9 hours in my ever-so-glorious cubicle, and I made that in 6 minutes my first week of trading. This whole process from reading Money magazine on the train to +$225 in three days took one year.
If you love what you do you will never have to work a day in your life. Therefore, if you love what you are doing in that cubicle then more power to you. I do not. I want to live a happy, fun and fulfilled life which I don't think I can experience walking into a cubicle or top floor office for ten hours a day for the next forty years. My whole point here is, there is so much information readily available to us to learn if we are willing to put in the work. Whether you want to learn the world of finance, the world of fitness, coding to develop mobile apps, how to mix music, or whatever interests you, Google can be your best friend; start there. The power of the internet is amazing, however, you have to WORK for it. Also, don't think there is some get rich quick scheme. Not that I'm rich, but those four months of trading before I placed a trade were filled with AT LEAST 4 hours of studying a day. Those four months were also after 8 months of investing studies with AT LEAST 4 hours a day. Although trading and investing are two opposite worlds of finance, those months helped me out tremendously and gave me a head start in my trading studies.
I still have a LONG way to go, but I love trading and am fully committed to making it my full time career. I may not be as smart as Warren Buffett, George Soros, or the Harvard Business School graduating class of 2014; but hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Do anything and everything possible to fuel your passion. I will continue to bust my butt and learn as much as I can. No one wants to live an ordinary life.. but few people fear it -- that's the difference. If you want something bad enough go out and get it, no excuses. Please follow me on my path to achieving my dreams. Thank you.
See my trading stats here
My accounting degree had exposed me to several finance classes learning principles such as the time value of money, the power of compound interest, and how money left in a bank account is only losing its value to inflation. I was a bit interested in the stock market and investing, but my knowledge was minimal. I had a two hour public transportation commute to get to work in the morning, and obviously another two hour commute to get back home for the night. I started reading all of my father's 'Money' and 'Fortune' magazines in hopes to pick up little tips as to how I could turn one dollar into two. I started becoming more interested in the stock market and this forced me to start learning as much as I could. I started reading Investing For Dummies books, checking investing websites, apps, talking to people already investing, you name it. It was soon clear to me that I had a strong passion that I barely knew about. I figured with my accounting knowledge and being able to read financial statements coupled with a bit of self study learning the stock market, maybe the world of finance could be my calling. I opened up a brokerage account, spent months finding a few stocks that I liked, and put that hard earned money of mine to work. Buy and hold, never take a loss, the Warren Buffett strategy. It felt great. I was reading so much everyday and felt like I was really learning the ins and outs of the stock market and why it moves how it does.
After about eight months of having my money invested, studying for the CFA test, and non stop reading and researching to find the next best growth stock/industry, I started questioning my strategy. Being aware of our economic reports and what the FED is doing that is affecting the stock market and our economy is one thing, but making that my life did not sound as appealing to me anymore. I knew so much about so many companies, their numbers, their business strategy, the FEDs impact on them, and still my small portfolio of 5 or 6 securities wasn't doing too hot. My defense was that these are growth stocks and I am just waiting for a pop. I felt like I knew more than most of my peers, but had nothing to show for it except a portfolio that was in the red. I then came across a few very successful traders in the market. I always wanted to learn how to trade but felt I needed to keep it simple first because trading is risky business. Well, I had enough of keeping it simple and decided it was time to learn a new craft.
For the next four months I would put all my time into learning how to trade. I even stopped studying for the CFA exam so I could put those hours to my trading studies. Trading CAN be risky, that is if you don't know what your doing. This is a whole different world that I do not think too many people really know much about; I don't care if you have a finance degree or you're a CFA charterholder, that doesn't mean much in the trading world. Personally, now I have realized that even investing is risky. We just make ourselves feel better by saying, "oh if I hold this stock long enough it will eventually rebound and I will sell for a profit." I think this is the easy way out. After 8 months of investing I eventually sold everything in my portfolio to help fund my trading account. After 8 months and $3,500 invested, I sold for a $275 loss. After my first week of trading, really only 3 days of trading, I had two wins and four losses making out with $225 in profit while only risking $1,000 at a time. One of my winning trades took 15 minutes in and out, the second took 6 minutes. I make about $150 in 9 hours in my ever-so-glorious cubicle, and I made that in 6 minutes my first week of trading. This whole process from reading Money magazine on the train to +$225 in three days took one year.
If you love what you do you will never have to work a day in your life. Therefore, if you love what you are doing in that cubicle then more power to you. I do not. I want to live a happy, fun and fulfilled life which I don't think I can experience walking into a cubicle or top floor office for ten hours a day for the next forty years. My whole point here is, there is so much information readily available to us to learn if we are willing to put in the work. Whether you want to learn the world of finance, the world of fitness, coding to develop mobile apps, how to mix music, or whatever interests you, Google can be your best friend; start there. The power of the internet is amazing, however, you have to WORK for it. Also, don't think there is some get rich quick scheme. Not that I'm rich, but those four months of trading before I placed a trade were filled with AT LEAST 4 hours of studying a day. Those four months were also after 8 months of investing studies with AT LEAST 4 hours a day. Although trading and investing are two opposite worlds of finance, those months helped me out tremendously and gave me a head start in my trading studies.
I still have a LONG way to go, but I love trading and am fully committed to making it my full time career. I may not be as smart as Warren Buffett, George Soros, or the Harvard Business School graduating class of 2014; but hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Do anything and everything possible to fuel your passion. I will continue to bust my butt and learn as much as I can. No one wants to live an ordinary life.. but few people fear it -- that's the difference. If you want something bad enough go out and get it, no excuses. Please follow me on my path to achieving my dreams. Thank you.
See my trading stats here
