After rereading my post from last evening, I feel the need to clarify a comment I made.
In making an objective assessment of my trading performance (with almost a decade of data to analyze), I came to the conclusion that I am (currently) and “average trader”. Now, I have high expectations for myself, so my “average” may be your “spectacular”, “shitty” or, well, “average”.
Please do not misconstrue this comment as a personal malaise or a lack of interest toward trading. Other than my family and my favorite sports teams, there is nothing that I am more passionate about.
Let me be clear: my statement was not a resignation to being average. It is where I am. I’m never going to be Paul Tudor Jones or Ed Seykota or Uncle Warren or “The Fly”…that boat has sailed. I suppose that what I was getting at was the ability to honestly analyze one’s performance is a key component to not only staying in the game, but also discovering ways to break through and improve as a trader.
My ‘real’ career (as a Traffic Engineer) has started to take shape and I’m pretty happy with the way things are headed. Even with this, the stock market provides me with an all-encompassing quest for learning and improvement.
How can I say this with certainty?
I don’t trade for a living, therefore, this is more of a “hobby” than an “occupation” (however; please keep in mind that I do not approach trading as a hobby…I’m looking to make money, not spend it…which is what hobbies typically constitute). Even with that, I undoubtedly spend a good portion of my free-time running screens, scanning charts, trying to hone old methods and trying to find new ways to extract coin from the stock market.
Sure there is the immediate gratification of “winning”, but I have little practical use for the money that I make or lose in trading.
(As an aside, I have 70% of my investment capital in dividend stocks, an index ETF and other illiquid investments…so it’s not like I’m counting on my trading whims to retire on or anything. Right now the best case scenario is that I’ll be able to retire early and comfortably live out my golden years farming a little plot of land, fishing and building furniture in my home shop. Basically, I have little use for material possessions.)
There is just something about the markets that “scratches me where I itch”. It provides me with a daily challenge, one where I will never know what is going to happen. There will always be a challenge lying around the next turn…unless you decided to cash out and bury your money on your property, there will always be surprises. There will be incredible wins and (likely) horrific losses and a lot of stuff in between. The goal is to maximize the wins, minimize the losses and find ways to come out on top in the rest of the wash.
I found it as fascinating in 1998 as I do today and as long as that fire is burning I’m going to work hard to learn from my mistakes and improve. Based on my experience, that is typically a formula for success.
My best to you all.
-EM
