A STEP BETWEEN PENURY AND SOLVENCY
“Once you take the desire to make money out of your trading
and put in the desire to do what good traders do, your mindset shifts and
allows you to make more good decisions.”
– Craig Cobb
Alan* has reached the end of his tether. His handiwork is
not enough to feed him with staple foods, not to mention paying his rent. He’s
getting old and he needs to get married so that he can start a family, but he
can’t even afford the lowest-key wedding ceremony. He wants to gather some
money for his wedding. He applies to a chemical factory and he’s hired
immediately. It happens that anyone who applies there will be hired immediately
because no educational background is required. Besides, the strongest man in
the world can’t work in the factory for one year.
Alan discovers that the working conditions are so
ignominiously abject. Apart from the fact that you must work for a minimum of
12 hours per day (84 hours per week), with very hard labor, factory safety is
zero rating and the pungent chemical itself carries a major health hazard. If you get injured, you’ll be fired with no
first aid. The monthly salary is less than 100 USD. You’ll be penalized for
coming late to work and 3 USD would be deducted from your salary per day if
you’re absent, even if your absence is due to heath issues.
Alan likes to work hard and he’s hardy, yet he quits the job
in less than 3 weeks. The stinking chemical is taking tolls on his health.
Samson’s wife is dead, leaving 3 children for him. Samson
believes the only way to honor the memory of his dearly beloved wife is to take
good care of her children. Although his income is not that much, he manages the
money well so that the children can attend school and have access to basic
balanced diet.
Suddenly, Samson’s boss announces that the firm is no longer
making profits and all the employees would be laid off in a month’s time. The
firm folds up. Since then, Samson has been looking for a job – any job –
without success. He lives in a country where over 40% of able-bodied citizens
aren’t employed. The kids are now suffering: they’re out of school and
malnourished.
Alisa is a full-time housewife and a responsible mom. She’s
resigned from her work in order to attend to her kids, for she’s worried that
her kids may suffer some disadvantages if she and her hubby have to stay away
from home for economic reasons.
Alisa, however, perceives that her husband’s income would be
barely enough to sustain the family. Therefore, she needs to look for some
passive income to supplement the family’s income and possibly safeguard their
future.
Life is full of risk. Someone loses an election after a huge
amount of money has been spent. That doesn’t make it improper to spend money on
elections. Someone starts a transportation business and ends up running at
loss. That doesn’t mean that transportation business is bad. Someone loses his
child after spending a fortune to bring them up and educate them. That doesn’t
mean it’s wasteful to take care of one’s children. Someone purchases some
valuables that are eventually stolen, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to buy
valuables. A movie or an album is produced, but it does not sell well (a
floundering title or a crashing failure). Do we then need to tell people to
abstain from movie or album production? A dear Christian brother is ill and hospitalized.
We pray fervently for his recovery; yet he dies. Does that mean prayers are
useless? Someone’s house is destroyed in a natural disaster, but it doesn’t
mean we should be preaching against owning a home. Someone’s marriage crashes
after spending huge sums on the union. Does that mean it’s wrong to get
married? Someone has an accident with his car. Does that mean one shouldn’t buy
a car? The list could go on. Doctors jailed. Ferries capsize. Mines explode,
etc. The list of professional hazards out of trading is inexhaustible.
The fact that some people lose in trading doesn’t make it a
bad career. This is in a huge contrast to what members of the public believe.
If they see one negative trade, they start preaching to people to avoid trading
like a plague. These are the people that suffer losses in other areas of life
but they don’t see bad things in them. If you don’t know successful traders, there
are many of them.
Many people see trading as being risky. Yet, they lose
heavily in other aspects of life. Majority of people start small scale
businesses; but statistics shows that over 90% of small scale businesses fail
within their first 3 years. Think of an easy job, millions of people are also
thinking of doing that job. The economy is already glutted. Generally, the jobs
and trades that every Tom, Dick and Harry finds easy to do or start scarcely
bring financial freedom. The kinds of jobs that bring real financial freedom –
like trading the markets – are what most people abhor and find extremely
challenging.
Some educated people are suffering because they believe in
‘I beg to apply’ mentality. After all, that’s the reason why most people go to
college. One of the most difficult things one can do now is to seek and get a
good job. The number of school leavers would continue to outpace the number of
jobs created and the situation has high chances of getting worse.
I know somebody who wanted to get employed in a popular oil
company. He was told to get a master’s degree, for he’d only a bachelor’s
degree then. He enrolled in a master’s degree program. After he completed the
program, he went back to the oil company, only to be told that there was no
vacancy for him. While his degrees aren’t a disadvantage to him, must he work
for an oil company? Can you ask Deron
Wagner or Anton Kreil to go for master’s degrees before you employ them?
Without financial freedom, the future looks bleak indeed.
Most private companies don’t have retirement plans for their employees, even in
developed lands. Most companies and organizations now prefer contract
staff. Do you want to put your financial
destiny in the hands of your boss?
You may be working right now (or even self-employed), but do
you think people will still need your services at old age? If you’re a plumber
or a driver, would people still give you jobs to do at old age, when there are
numerous young men who’re also competent? Have you even saved enough money for
your old age, or do you expect your children to support you then?
Growing older is no offence:
it’s a privilege. Nevertheless, some employers wouldn’t consider you if
you’re above a certain young age. They’ll tell you: “Applicants who’re above
the age of 25 need not apply.” Can they ever say that to David Tepper or David
Harding?
Nothing ventured, nothing gained; and to do nothing is to
become nothing. If you can become a successful trader, you’ll attain financial
freedom. You aren’t going to be retired, for you’ll continue to trade at your
old age. You’ll trade leisurely and effortlessly and get rewarded. People like
Van K. Tharp and Joe Ross are elderly traders and they’re successful.
The older you become and the more the years of experience
you gain, the more valuable and the more sought-after you’ll become.
Trading is as serious business. We want you to become a
successful trader. While people complain of economic hardships, you’ll only be
smiling to you bank.
This article is ended by the quote below:
“…Trading is the art of paying the price for something
you want. It is the art of regarding
fear as the greatest sin, and giving up as the greatest mistake. It is the art of accepting failure as a step
toward victory.” - Roy
Longstreet
*Names in this article have been changed
