We can get a start by looking at an unusual international club designed specifically for teen-aged up and coming market talent: Leaders Investment Club. I've met quite a few of the members and detect similarities that I believe will account for their future success:
1) Talent, Motivation, Attitude - As the quote above suggests, having talent is not enough. It's what you do with that talent and how you do it. To a person, the up-and-coming trading talent displays a passion for markets and a strong can-do attitude. Their optimism and energy level are infectious. They don't hesitate to reach out and network.
2) They Play a Different Game - This is very important. An unusual number of the young, talented traders look at markets in unique ways and ask unique questions. They are not reading the same old trading books and trading the same old patterns. When I recently spent time with my grandson Ethan, who is not yet in high school, he eagerly asked questions about systems trading and showed me what he was doing to find replicable patterns in stocks. He was asking questions I don't hear from much older traders. Tomorrow's stars are raising questions that aren't being addressed today.
3) They are Entrepreneurial - When you read the bios of the Leaders Club members, you can't help but be impressed with their initiative. Many have started businesses, careers, and/or trading enterprises. They enjoy a high degree of parental support for their efforts, and they display creativity in what they pursue. I can easily believe that many of the Leaders Club members will not ultimately make their marks in markets, but will succeed in entrepreneurial ventures that express their underlying curiosity and drive.
4) They Leverage Distinctive Strengths - The young stars are not good at everything, but tend to be distinctively good at something. They draw upon strengths to express their interests in markets. In the case of young Ethan, he was drawing upon math and analytical skills. Within the Leaders group, one can find young people with unusual social and interpersonal strengths as well as those with canny pattern recognition and research competencies.
Everywhere I see it: talent is attracted to talent. I've enjoyed organizing craft beer gatherings of successful traders and portfolio managers. While our rising talent might be too young for those venues, perhaps they will accept my offer of a summer gathering in NYC to learn from one another. Hats off to Julian Marchese and Austin Schwab for their early work in organizing the Leaders group.
Further Reading: Blueprints for an Uncompromised Life: Constancy of Purpose; Devotion to Development; Resilience; Enhancement of Perception; Multiplier Effects
.
Posts
