Back in 2010, I explained to a number of companies that solicited my involvement that the reason I didn't want to partner with them was that they are cheap whores. Can you imagine promising eager young people that anyone who works hard enough (and who makes use of your exclusive services) can become a successful professional basketball players, Hollywood actors/actresses, ballet dancers, or chess masters? The idea is absurd, because we recognize quickly that no amount of classes or coaching can substitute for raw talent. The reason elite performance is elite is because it leverages rare talent and the mentored building of superior skills.
The worst of the worst in the trading world are the services that breathlessly promise traders a path to being successful. They appeal to the egos of vulnerable people and their desperate need for success and then explain that failure is a function of emotional trading! Well, the reason the trading is emotional is because the traders so desperately need to feel like successes. They are not leveraging talents; they are needy. They overtrade and fail to manage positions well because they are trading for ego and self-worth, not for truly professional reasons.
The truth about trading success is that it only comes by leveraging what we have already been successful at, because that is where we find our talents and passions. We cannot trade to become successful. We can become successful at trading by drawing upon our previous successes. But, of course, not all of life's talents translate into trading prowess. It's interesting that most people would readily recognize that not everyone can make a living from sports performance or artistic activity. They have trouble accepting that with respect to trading, however.
A desperate need to be successful is not a passion for an activity. The ones with real passion and talent are just as motivated to study and understand markets as they are to trade them. One of most important questions we face is: What do I do superlatively well, and how can I express those talents in my relationships, in my career, in my personal pursuits? Life's goal is to grow into the very best version of who you already are.
So we'll let little Nomi, the six-week old kitten, figure out what she loves doing and then structure her environment so that she can do lots and lots of what she loves. As the saying goes, "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!" Our enlightenment--our path--is to be found within, not by following would-be gurus. Your talents are your trail and will lead you to mentors who can teach you skills. When we pursue our talents, we'll always have a positive life P/L.
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