Why I Trade...

A good question, but how many of us really ask it of ourselves ?

I have, after-all, a good career and a beautiful young family. Time is far more of an issue than money, so why bother with it at all ? Who, after all, would give the common man a chance against the cleverest money on the planet ? A fool's errand, right ?

But I think that's part of the allure. I mean, we all like the satisfaction of a challenge accepted and overcome, don't we ? And when you think about it, most of us live in a very structured society; a civilization that has developed along a path specifically designed to mitigate each and every risk. Is it any wonder that some of the challenge and adventure has evaporated along the way ?

Please don't misunderstand me, this is in large part, very good news indeed. I accept, totally, the superiority of a structured society over anarchy and am not about to throw off the trappings of progress to take on mother nature,single handed and armed with nothing more than my thongs and a grimace !

But yet, a life totally devoid of risk is... well, no life at all, really. So if, as I, you subscribe to the notion that you get, in life, what you give, then it follows that without any risk there can be no reward - and that amounts to an existence.

So this, in essence, is why I trade. Because when you enter this world there are no rules and no safety net. So long as you have the money in your account, you can buy or sell whatever you want, in whatever quantity you want. You can make massive profits in a few ticks, then lose the lot in the next. And you can do this because the market place is the essence of an anarchy; every man for himself and the survival of the fittest.

Negotiating this brutal environment requires focus, meticulous planning, decisive execution, self-discipline and not a little bravery. In trading you are, uniquely, responsible for your success or otherwise. In making a trade you embrace a calculated risk; you step into the ring; you assume the responsibility. And because of this the taste of victory is sweet.

So for me, at least, trading is the juice of life... and if you are still reading I'm guessing you share this view.

JT.