You're Not Alone

Being a trader can be one of the loneliest professions out there, especially if you work from home. I'm touching on this subject because no one talks about how being a trader can affect your personal life with friends and family. I've felt lonely and misunderstood my whole career so i know how it feels.

When I first started in the business, I got the "be careful" and "that's too risky" responses when I shared what I was getting into. Even my cousin, who he himself was a trader and is now head of the department for one of the big Canadian banks told me... "Scott, it's risky. Are you sure you want to do this?" These concerns are perfectly understandable and valid since so few people actually make good money in the world of investing. Funny thing is, when I went to family, experts, and associations looking for some form of help, mentorship, and advice, no one seemed interested to share any knowledge or at least point me in the right direction. Whether it be close family or strangers, I started to see just how competitive the trading industry is. The truth is, every trader has to take it upon themselves to not rely on others to help when in need. You need to put the puzzle together and that often comes from many different sources. It's very rare today to have a successful trader just offer up their method and every detail about what they do to remain ahead of the game.  

As I continued to trade (unsuccessfully), I struggled to fit in to a society that pretty much only respects someone who has a job. I'd go out to parties, talk to friends and family about what I was into, and the conversations would seem to die almost as soon as I mentioned I was a trader. I didn't look successful really. Average clothes, average car, and I probably had a low energy to me because of my current results. It's important to recognize, when an entertainer or an entrepreneur or an athlete experience obvious success, people tend to get excited and want to be around them. When you're in the trenches, working on your craft, with little to no success, people often write you off or simply ignore you.

Currently it's pretty much the same experience for me. I tend to not say too much when people ask what i do. I still look the same, I still have an average car, but my attitude and outlook is a lot brighter. I've chosen to keep my life fairly censored for now. Life is fairly simple right now but in time, I'm sure people will begin to notice that things are changing. They will recognize what I've known all along inside but that's the way the world is/works.

So my advice to all you hungry traders out there, whoever you are, wherever you are, you're not alone. Like my good friend's dad told me recently (retired Wall Street guy)... "If people don't recognize what you're doing is what you love to do and they smirk at building financial independence, f*** them."