Читать книгу The Trader's Pendulum - Samuels Jody - Страница 19

When Fred worked for the engineering firm, he was a dedicated and responsible worker. He would turn up at his office on time every day, never missed a project deadline, and made sure he delivered quality work, even if it meant he had to work extra hours. As an employee, his manager and supervisor guided most of the steps on his career path.

But things were different after he left the corporate world and became a trader.

Fred enjoyed the freedom that trading gave him. He could start work at almost any time in the day, and had the freedom to decide how many hours he would work. Not having to turn up at an office meant that when he felt that he needed more rest, he could take a few hours off from work; having no project milestones to hit meant as long as he worked to his satisfaction, he felt fine. (He did set some earnings targets. But since he was his own boss, when the targets were not met, it was easy to tell himself to “just try harder next time.”)

To his friends and family, Fred seemed to be a dedicated trader. His trading activities took up at least 80 percent of his waking hours. He was glued to his desk, busy looking at charts and analyzing the market, busy deciding whether to enter or exit trades. And when he was not making trades, he was participating in online traders' forums to exchange tips with fellow traders, researching the markets, and visiting trading gurus' websites or blogs to get their advice and inspiration. He had practically no time for a life outside of trading – no time for a physical workout, no time for his hobbies, and no time for family and friends.

Deep down inside, Fred knew something was wrong. He was not making money consistently. His trading account was not growing, and he saw no significant progress in himself as a trader.

He started to wonder whether he was doing things right. As an intelligent young man, he soon realized that most of the hours he spent on trading were unproductive hours. He was spending his time aimlessly, not knowing where to head.

Fred was not really working most of the time. He was only slacking.