Читать книгу The Guts and Glory of Day Trading - Mark Ingebretsen - Страница 8

The stories these traders have to tell are all the more remarkable when you consider that many came from very different walks of life before taking up trading. True enough Lo, Oliver Velez, Brendan DeLamielleure, and Chris Farrell served stints with brokerage houses before they began trading their own accounts full-time. But they are the exceptions. Before taking up trading, Barbara Hamilton was a classical pianist and then a software programmer, Mary Pugh worked for top-level New York ad agencies. Terry Bruce made a good living as a photographer. Over time, like civilians drafted into the Army, they became hardened market veterans. And their performance, as you’ll see, often exceeded that of Wall Street’s best money managers.

Indeed, a decade or so ago, before the advent of the Internet and the spread of deep discount online brokerages, these same people might have sought their fortune by starting their own companies. Or, they might have reached for brass rings in the entertainment industry, maybe by writing a screenplay, or waiting tables while they auditioned for acting jobs. In all likelihood, trading offers a better chance at success than any of these alternatives. Only a handful of aspiring screenwriters and entertainers ever achieve true success. Likewise, if you start a small business – even a boring business like a yogurt stand or a quick lube shop – your odds of success are pretty dismal. Roughly nine out of ten businesses fail in their first years of existence, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The successful ones hemorrhage money for years before turning a profit. And during those manic early years, small-business owners must continually scramble to find cash to pay their suppliers and employees. Besides worrying about the product and customers, small-business owners tear their hair out dealing with regulations, personnel flare-ups, irate landlords, and a plethora of other problems.