EPTThe absolute key to success is working hard. You don't need talent, you don't need gifts, contacts or luck. You need to work hard, and work your damn ass off.
So I've been wokring hard but I could really be working even harder! Thank you so much for motavating and inspiring me!Chasing my dream - Page 5
| Blogs > BrTarolg |
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TheRealNanMan
United States1471 Posts
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Dreamer.T
United States3584 Posts
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sVnteen
Germany2238 Posts
this is probably the best blog i've ever read on tl (eventhough i sadly didnt exactly understand what you were talking about since im not into trading) i really like how you are so passionate about what youre going to do and really hope youre gonna do well this thread goes so deep into your emotions which is something i really like (not necessarily that you are posting it here but that you are so honest with yourself) 5/5 | ||
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Littlemuff
United Kingdom301 Posts
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ImDrizzt
Norway427 Posts
Motivational ending too, I'll try and steal some of the enthusiasm. Although im a little torn, after started listening so much to Alan Watts, the "pyrmaid" we get put in, sounds an awful lot like what you're doing. I have to contemplate and think more lol. 5 star blog, keep owning. EDIT: Yeah I also didn't understand 60% of what I read, none of the trading made sense, but I can still relate. Since I have knowledge in a lot of areas, and when I talk to people who know stuff about those areas and people around me don't know what we're talking about, I can kinda feel what they are feeling. So felt it, even thought I had no idea what was being said. | ||
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Grettin
42381 Posts
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OgerGolg
Germany65 Posts
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Notfragile
Greece713 Posts
I should flame you for the "Nobody is ever going to hear about me, i'm not gonna become famous. I'm not gonna contribute to society. I'm going to be the scum whos gonna make my fortune from the next financial crisis and global recession". You should keep in mind that while you are creating a fortune, other people suffer because of it. Therefore you will not hear good luck from me on that. BUT, I find myself in kinda of a same spot, although on a completely different life course and field of interest. Thus I can appreciate your passion for "taking away that safety net". It is something I am "unintentionally" delaying. Being really good somewhere (and I have a few fields of interest, where I am more than decent good). It is refreshing to hear someone doing exactly that... and I wish you good luck in finding what happiness is for you. But, a couple of points on that: On November 08 2011 11:32 BrTarolg wrote: Pretty much most of my life social interactions suffered because these things were secondary compared to "getting good" at stuff. Whether that be academic, health, gaming or a whole bunch of other things. I have found that hunting for summits is a wrong way to approach life. You are never going to reach them, or even worse... you will. Then what? Choose a next summit and try to climb that as well? For how long? Until you are so tired of it that you quit, or until you burn out? Be careful about that. The climb is all that matters, not the summit itself. Have a business goal, yet try to have a social life as well. THE goal as a human (and as a living being) is to have children, have a family. Keep that always in mind. And I will leave you with a few verses of perhaps my favorite poem, Ithaka, written by Cavafy: + Show Spoiler + Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean. The whole poem translated in English is found here [http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=74&cat=1] and I believe is a must read. | ||
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nojok
France15845 Posts
Take it easy, it's not personnal but I'm surprised you get so much credits. Maybe it's because your blog is really nice. | ||
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MichaelEU
Netherlands816 Posts
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RaKooNs
United Kingdom397 Posts
* claps * Really dont appreciate you fucking the economy up more though. | ||
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101.blubb
Germany38 Posts
so, yeah i'm feeling you. (maybe i was lucky enough to have a teacher that symbolized what someone could do by being passionate about ones work. to me, he seems to have achieved pretty much everything i could wish for in my life) 5/5, awesome read. | ||
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AnachronisticAnarchy
United States2957 Posts
You have Aspergers and lead a tough social life. I can definitely relate to that, considering I too have Aspergers and have a tough social life. Too bad I'm also a perfectionist or something, because I can recall dozens of past social errors and get embarassed with the recollection. You are a baller. Steve freaking Arneil, anyone? Seems you have the same quasi-perfectionist issues I have, along with the commitment ones. Annoying as hell, aren't they? You KNOW you want to be good at this, you know you should enjoy this, but you don't and you quit. You are a baller at life. Taking control like a boss. Absolute awesome read. You gonna make an edition #2? | ||
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Tomazi
United Kingdom158 Posts
On November 08 2011 13:50 AcrossFiveJulys wrote: The difference is he's calling himself "scum" for effect. Just because the guy is going to work for a company that makes smart investments doesn't mean he's going to steal everyone's money. FFS people. OP, I don't see why you are so hard on yourself about everything. It's so much better to be optimistic about your abilities or else you form mental barriers. His passion is for an industry that contributes nothing to society. It is, in effect, stealing from people. Just with no face to blame. Commercial banking is actually better. Trading is making money from money because fuck everyone else. I am proud that my career path will be beneficial for humanity... | ||
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CursOr
United States6335 Posts
In case you cant tell, I'm bullshitting. I don't know if the OP has ever bought a house, but the banks are the ones that make the loans and it's up to the buyer to accept them. I would usually dismiss this as trolling, but you can tell this guy is 100% serious. People take mortgages based on what the bank offers. The offers from almost all banks are 95% similar based on your credit and your history. The Banks were making bullshit, speculative loans, and a lot of the crisis, as you correctly pointed out- was designed to benefit the very few. You should really thank your lucky stars that Socialist America came to the rescue with 700 billion dollars for this mockery of a financial system, and that the old-boy Federal Reserve has, under the table, cranked out another 14 trillion over the last 10 years to whichever too-big-to-fail bank was failing at the time. Not to mention, that most banks already loan out at a 9 to 1 ratio or worse, especially BofA... this shit does not work, and will eventually collapse. Not to digress, but really, all people can do is say yes or no- the banks make the loans. 95% of those Adjustable and Refinance loans should not have been made, period. | ||
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Baalzamon
Germany106 Posts
The key is to be innovative and distinctive. Only the people without imagination are working like a dog (and for less money nowadays) to increase their value. I admire your drive to chase your dream, but always remember that there are so much more things in life that are important for your happiness. | ||
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Ripps
Canada97 Posts
Are you sure you're asking yourself the right questions? I never heard you say that this is something you actually like doing. Is this really your dream? Is this something that will make your life better, or more fufilling? What is implicit in your concept of "success"? What do you really gain out of this undertaking? Is there something else that you'd rather be doing? I just want to make sure that you're not doing this because its something you're "supposed" to do based on your schooling. You seem very cynical about the whole thing. That's not a very good place to start from. | ||
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haegN
Norway533 Posts
On November 09 2011 06:08 cursor wrote: "You" caused the housing bubble/crisis. Very true. The average, low to middle income house buyer caused the crash. That is very astute. Because, I know when I bought my house, I marched right in there and told them what my APR was going to be, what my maximum loan was, what the loan period was going to be and what my down payment was. If a bank didn't accept, then in true capitalist fashion, I went to another one that would accept my terms. In case you cant tell, I'm bullshitting. I don't know if the OP has ever bought a house, but the banks are the ones that make the loans and it's up to the buyer to accept them. I would usually dismiss this as trolling, but you can tell this guy is 100% serious. People take mortgages based on what the bank offers. The offers from almost all banks are 95% similar based on your credit and your history. The Banks were making bullshit, speculative loans, and a lot of the crisis, as you correctly pointed out- was designed to benefit the very few. You should really thank your lucky stars that Socialist America came to the rescue with 700 billion dollars for this mockery of a financial system, and that the old-boy Federal Reserve has, under the table, cranked out another 14 trillion over the last 10 years to whichever too-big-to-fail bank was failing at the time. Not to mention, that most banks already loan out at a 9 to 1 ratio or worse, especially BofA... this shit does not work, and will eventually collapse. Not to digress, but really, all people can do is say yes or no- the banks make the loans. 95% of those Adjustable and Refinance loans should not have been made, period. Yeah, I would be really thankful if the government used my hard earned tax money to give money to banks that are taking too much risk , so they can continue taking risk, all the while inflating my dollar, så every fucking penny I make is worth less.. Have you ever asked yourself why there is inflation? We are getting more effective every year, yet prices go up? How does this even make sense, why is nothing getting cheaper? To OP: I know where you are coming from, all though I have do not have asbergers or anything, I've always been different than most people. I also get good at things pretty quickly (not physical activities, I have about zero strength and coordination lol). I get tired of things pretty quickly - I was getting really good at Starcraft 2 some months after release - then I plateaued, and now I am only in Diamond league. I wish someday I will find something that makes me want to get up in the morning. I am going to try poker when I get my next paycheck, I am learning fast mental arithemetic and expected values in the mean time - my dream however is to become a prop trader - a professional investor. I hope you succeed. I currently study finance and I feel like I learn almost nothing in school, the conventional finance theory that is being taught in universities across the world is so full of bullshit and nonsensical quantitative economics.. Ideally, trading stocks, bonds, derivatives etc, is to allocate resources where they are most needed, often though this simply is not the case - but what people do not realise is how much the governent is screwing them over. To the rest: Is trading contributing to the society? I would like to make the case that it is - by providing liquidity to the markets.. These people we call "speculators" are often at either the buy side, or the sell side, and companies needing funds does not care if they get money from a professional trader or their neighbour. I am not really that good at writing, if you have any questions about my post just ask! I do not pretend to know everything, but I do think people should calm down with their remarks that trading is somehow "bad" for the society. This simply is not the case. But I understand where people are coming from, as this is pretty complicated. Traders and investment bankers that make a lot of money because of the government bailouts are not to blame - the government is. I | ||
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Tomazi
United Kingdom158 Posts
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BrTarolg
United Kingdom3574 Posts
Well you all voted for "the evil trader story" so i'll give it to you, but before that a few comments. In terms of the ethics of my job, i already wrote a long post describing why (and partially how) trading exists and why it is an incredibly vital function to society. Even though it may not seem like it, the financial world is intimately linked with everything and anything to do with the modern world. Trading is the purest expression of exactly what the word means - trading of goods and services. But its OK. I understand some people don't like traders, other people don't care, other people just don't understand. That's normal. I certainly don't understand everything about trading, and neither should any of you! Though if you take out a loan you can't afford, or investing your pension money in risky assets without understanding the risks, don't blame me when your money blows up. From my perspective, im not out there to cause misery, or to steal money from anyone. I'm out there to make markets. I find it quite funny, I have a fair idea of how it works and why it works. All it really is buying things cheap and then selling them expensive. If the world is about to blow up, and it hasn't been priced in yet, that means stuff is expensive so i'm going to sell it. If the world just blew up and everyone is scared to buy things at rock bottom, things are cheap and i'm gonna buy it. A metals commodities trader will sell and buy metals, and ship them around the world, matching up people who want metal and people who want to sell metal. Can you not see why this is important? Personally i will be trading short term interest rates, or STIRs, which are often used to hedge interest rate options and hedge against interest rate movements. Note the key word, hedge. As a market maker, i'll be picking up on the little inefficiencies which the big banks and other institutions leave behind. None of this involves me viciously going after your money, causing financial crisis, or driving the price of food up with my wanton speculation. Trader's don't create direction in markets, they FIND direction in markets. Either way, you can believe me or not, but there isn't much else for me to address on the subject, so i'm going to leave it at that. ----- Ok so, back to Hanshi Steve Arniel. What a boss. And an evil trader story. Again, he spent his time teaching little kids and newbies in his own little dojo, and at our school. When asked he replied "I like teaching kids. They learn fast - they are the future. The youth are the adults of tomorrow, and it's important that we invest in you now, and teach you the right things so that you can do well in the future." So I had a trader friend, a particular one. Hes an ex goldman sachs trader, and he was one of the very best. From the age of 16 and a meager background, he convinced his mother to open up a stock trading account for him, and he rode the tech bubble like nobody's business, and got out in 1999. He made an absolute fortune in relative terms before he finished uni. Back then, trading was different, banks took big prop positions on top of their normal trading (you can't do this anymore, pretty much all the traders either went to hedge funds or became independent or something similar) So he tells me, he went to JPMorgan for his interview. They gave some wierd maths question (hes not even a maths genious), and all around him was a bunch of guys with PHD's and masters from crazy uni's around the world, and all he had was an economics degree from a normal UK university. Somehow, he was the only guy to be able to figure out the puzzles and get them right, so they took him around the floor. He described his disappointment to me "This is the traders floor? All i hear is.. typing?" He then went to Goldman Sachs for his interview. There were to be 8 rounds of interviews. Just to get to his room he described the experience as "like walking through a cowboys den" - he had to wade and push people aside through a pile of mess just to get to the room. He told me that the room was full of screaming and shouting constantly, people throwing their staplers and keyboards at each other, and constant running around. So he sat down with his interviewer, and he said "So why the fuck do you wanna work for us?" His response was - "I just came from my JPMorgan interview. When i went on that floor, i heard typing. Things were clean, boring. But wow, when i walked in here, it's like a nuclear warzone. This is the kind of trading i'm talking about!" His interviewer said "fair enough. Do you smoke? Let's go outside for a smoke" So this trader started work on the equities desk, and he covered airline stock. He has since retired, a multi millionaire in his twenties. During that time he worked on average of 16 hours a day, taking flights every weekend to business trips around the world. He got very little sleep. So I was sitting with this guy, and he told me that he was invited to some conference, where they were giving out some awards to people. And he was asked to give a speech, with the focus being on "Mentoring the Youth". He said "alright, i'll tell you why it's important to mentor the youth" So he got up on the podium, and he decided that instead of giving some wooly losers speech, he would tell people something of real substance. (I am approximating this speech btw) "So you wan't to know why it's important to mentor the youth? When i joined Goldman Sachs, they were the best traders in the world. They took me, someone who knew nothing, and taught me everything. And they taught me one thing, above anything else. That when something big happens, you have to act. Most people react to big events by standing still, staring, and watching. This has happened time and time again in history. People freeze, they freeze up and stare, unsure of what to do. But these traders, these leaders, they taught me to take action - because when something big happens, someone has to keep the wheel turning. If you don't then everything falls apart. The leaders have to take action and make sure that the world still works when everyone else is frozen still. So in the year 2001, we knew that the tech bubble had burst, and a recession was coming. All it needed was one big kick and it would come. Every single day the stock market was bleeding a little bit at a time, and we all knew the big one had to come. All of us had our big shorts on the market ready for it. Come Sept 11, 2001. The first plane crashes into the World Trade Center. Markets around the world freeze. Everyone, his bosses, his seniors, they stand up, and stare at the screen, the catastrophe that is happening. But I did something different, I acted. I picked up the phone, and shorted millions and millions of airline companies. I acted fast - because when the second plane hit, i picked my phone up again, and went shorter and shorter. Eventually the entire market froze, he was the only one left in the market. Every single trader in the world had stopped making markets, and they were watching the screens. But he kept picking up his phone, and selling more and more airline stock. Within 40 minutes, he had made 30 million dollars. His desk on that day, lost 30 million dollars to the crisis, and he saved his entire desk. Because of his action, they were breakeven and did not lose an absolutely monumental amount of money. He stood up and acted. He didn't do what a normal person would do, stare and do nothing. So you want to know why mentoring the youth is important? This is why it's important. Because if they hadn't taught him to react to big events, they would have lost 30 million dollars that day." ---- I'll use my next post to answer questions and comments people have made in the thread | ||
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