Why are You Trading?

by Curtis Faith on December 8, 2009

Renegade entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban had an interesting blog entry last week. On the reasons for making choices, he stated:

As [someone who] has been incredibly blessed, let me just tell you that the things at the top of my list are not numbers or dollars.  They are my family and the things I had fun doing.

A lot of people think Im crazy, or chasing publicity, or whatever. I don’t care what they think. Before I do any of the many things that I get asked to do, and that I think might be fun, I have one simple question i ask myself.  When I hopefully turn 90 and look back at my life , would I regret having done it, or not having done it ?

Mark’s post gets to the heart of what makes trading difficult for some and easy for others. Most of the really great traders I have known are driven by more than money, they trade because they love trading, or they view it as a grand challenge to be conquered. I have found that those who are primarily driven by the desire to get rich most often fall prey to the psychological pressures of the ups and downs of trading.

Some people start out learning about trading because of the money but then learn to love it because of the challenge. Others trade because they love the independence it affords.

How about you? Why are you trading? Has it brought you what you expected?

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Craig December 10, 2009 at 10:47 am

Hi Curtis,

I started out with trading because of the money but then I learned to love it because of the challenge. The money is nice but I honestly believe that I would still do it even if money wasn’t involved.

By the way, I ordered your new book and it shipped today. Can’t wait to read it!

SuzieQ December 10, 2009 at 11:34 am

I just received your latest book, Trading from Your Gut. It’s fantastic!

B7 December 11, 2009 at 5:34 pm

I think most people driven by money get overwhelmed by their emotions when they trade. But for people who are motivated by something else it is easy to disconnect from their emotions. It’s like the Zen thing: when we are attached to something and feel like we must have it we cannot have it; but when we are unattached we can attract it.

I am trading because it offers the leverage to create financial freedom. And we want to give everyone the tools to do the same.

Ahmet Kara December 12, 2009 at 11:59 am

I like competition and would like to deal with the most intelligent people in my job. Most of them appear to be in the financial sector chasing after the money. I think this is the most important reason for me trading, valuating financial assets continuously with the most brilliant brains of the world.


Ahmet KARA

Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/kahmet
LinkedIn profile: http://tr.linkedin.com/in/kahmet
Personal blog (on Financial Markets): http://turkishtrader.blogspot.com
Featured group (Turkish Financial Markets): http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2310128

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