That is why you are a pro. Yes it is difficult to succeed without being passionate about the game. Money will tend to color our judgement and thus the outcome.
I started getting involved after the 2008 crash which coincided with when I graduated high school. I thought the future was the great depression and I thought what f'n great timing....of having to start my "real life". I was curious to figure out why and how I could have seen the crash coming and the stories of how people struck it rich by betting on the market collapse, which made me BIASED to a direction that was looking back completely wrong. After listening to the likes of Marc Faber and Jim Rogers, I agreed with their view and was one of the gold/silver bugs thinking the fed was gonna just print print print and cause hyperinflation while the market was headed for a crash or something like that. (I distinctly remember buying 3x leveraged bear etfs before SP500 made a higher high post 2008 crash.)(I mean technically they were still correct considering we are now at QE4 and the dollar hasn't broken above key level while gold has made new highs in almost all other currencies). Looking back with the technical knowledge I have gained, I would have been buying instead in 2009, 2011 and this is what gives me confidence now that I have grown from my novice ways. Also by being highly focused on what caused the crash, I have at least been able to call every correction correctly since the 2009 lows. To sum it up, I had VERY high expectations of myself and figure I would strike it rich considering I was positioned with the people who have seen and called the crash coming. 12 years later from the initial start/expectations, I have experienced so many swings. Emotionally ,mentally its been crushing but I have NO REGRETS I still stand and by being able to stay in the game I have learned from MANY of my mistakes. Now I don't have a bias towards what the market ought to be doing, now I simply go with the flow of the market. My entries have been very fine tuned, and my exits are fast if I am proven wrong. My ego has completely dissipated and have been humbled tremendously. And as of now, I don't have any expectations of myself, only goals. I am only focused on the process of doing what needs to be done to be a successful trader. Thus to sum it up, I have learned to not have expectations, just focus on the process, doing what needs to be done to get to the goal I have set for myself. It's a matter of time when there is an ample track record of being consistent in the futures market, I just amp up the # of contracts, and start living the life I had set for myself.
That is very impressive, you profited greatly from your correct calls? How do you spot corrections? I am not challenging you, because I was surprised/blindsided by every corrections, dips since 2009.
First dabble in stocks at 16, then there was the tech bubble and it was "not terribly difficult to make money in the securities business" to quote Peter Baring. Discovered emerging market bonds and equity options and was going for 50+% pa. Pure greed. No idea what risk was. Learned that later at uni, the immutable laws pf physics (CAPM) do still hold. Back-tested the turtle rules on coffee and thought I found the holy grail. First few trades in KC wheat in my final year. terribly under-capitalised, scared the heck out of me (had delayed feed and sleepless nights) although I called the market right. Little did I know that redkite had a queeze on Minneapolis. That was many years back. Now spreading to my heart's content. My spread book has a lower risk profile than my long term equity investments, lol. Maybe I have mellowed over the years, but I have no expectation on profits in the sense to make x percent per year. I make what the market allows me, going with the flow. My expectations have changed massively over the decades: away from greed and money and all that, it's one big exciting game out there, hunting for the next good trade. Expectations met? And then some!
Yes, I traded the 2010 flash crash, 2011 correction, 2015 correction(this was the most annoying one as a lot of the bear moves happened on Asia open while US session was bullish tape), and 2018 correction all correctly on the bear side. However I didn't learn my lesson about playing both sides and traps until 2019 with the bull V reversal. Only just last year did I realize what characterizes a V bounce and the hints by the market that increases the odds of it. But most of my profits from those corrections have been charred by trying to short in a bull market. Took me a long time to learn what I was doing wrong, and I'm sure I will be humbled by the markets again soon.
%% WHY trade?? Good diversification, in time ,compared to investing/diVidends, which I sometimes like. Besides , i'm not really buying/selling grain noW. , But there is a principle/proVerb; IF you don't sell the grain, people Will curse you.................................................................................................................
I get it farmer murray t. Just like farming. Most of the year you wait for the grain to grow and be harvested. In the mean time, you play the commodity market to pass time. %%Not a prediction.
%% Better than farming, for some . That maybe why Farmer John trades/invests. NOT a prediction;+ if IBD '' promotes'' TSLA, fine, not meaning I have to buy it. NOT a stock tip or prediction..........................................................................