When it comes to trading, persistence is a trait that can be applied to many aspects of the game. One of the most common applications is continuing to trade in the face of losses & tough times. Back in the prop firm days as a young buck, the turnover was through the roof. New traders would funnel through the office and back out within a month. Working with no guaranteed salary, is a difficult thing to grasp for many people, especially those unable to make sacrifices.
Trading can only be done successfully when you sacrifice your current lifestyle, to some extent, in search of a better one. Thus, persistence becomes the determining factor whether or not you will make it in this business.
I was just a kid when I started around the age of 23/24 and had recently just had a completely ‘unplanned’ child. My girlfriend and I moved into the shittiest, illegally converted, one-bedroom apartment you could possibly imagine. Rent was about $600 and our landlord took it in cash. There was mice. Oh there was mice. We lived off of her school loans for a while, until she had to bail & start working full-time. Ticket scalping wasn’t bringing us steady money so I took a job as a Financial Analyst to make ends meet and we were comfortable, until I decided to quit and pursue what I felt at the time to be a great opportunity for me and my new family.
Of course, she didn’t see it that way…
As you can imagine, the arguments were plenty. I hustled 10 times as hard doing whatever I could to pull in extra cash on the side. I was obsessed with making my new venture in trading work so I put every dollar I made back into my prop account, often foregoing paying bills or for basic necessities.
I eventually lost her in my self-proclaimed pursuit of happiness.
I studied every night, going over plays made by the head-traders in the firm. I’d take notes on everything and finally something clicked and the persistence paid off. Now, I’m not advocating for you to go through the same things I did, but I am trying to convey the simple notion that sacrifices must be made. Not everyone will understand these sacrifices and many of your friends & family will think you’re just wasting time, doomed to fall into the pit of failure like everyone else who has tried.
Fuck them… Persistence is a dangerous weapon…
