The Rev

Even on a shitty day, where I face losing serious money and I'm stressing bad, I still have to say that trading stocks has, ironically enough, turned out to be one of the most spiritual pursuits of my life. Here's why:

- You must remain objective, in spite of intense emotions like fear and excitement that can cloud your judgement. Your very survival in the markets depends on it. I liken it to what the Samurai attempted to acheive in "no mind", the ability to act without reacting. Of course, loss of life and limb are not in the stakes, but where money is concerned, things can still get a little hairy.

- You have to trust your judgement, which builds faith; faith in oneself in this case. You learn to let go and ride out the turbulence. With a thousand voices in the financial press shouting out various opinions ranging from "it's the end of the world" to "good times are here to stay", it's easy to let uncertainty sway you. The markets, however, are a good place to turn uncertainty into failure. You gotta be strong, and believe in yourself.

- You can't get caught up in the moment. You have to be able to step back and view the financial landscape from the standpoint of the bigger picture. You have to hold to a philosophy, a economic theory and technical analysis of the longer term, and not get distracted by momentary gyrations in the market, brought on by psychological noise and the ebb and flow of sell orders hitting the floor. You have to be like a general, looking over the battle from above, yet you are the soldier, face to face with the realities of the front line. It requires great mental discipline.

I've gained alot, spiritually, from my time trading. I've made a few bucks, too, but in the long run, it's the way it has forced me to grow as a person that has been the greatest benefit. It's like throwing yourself into a confrontation with your fears, with no place to run. You must grow, and grow I have.



The Rev

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Kompressor

I'm the opposite. Since entering the insurance industry i'm putting my income in tax shelter annuities and tax deferred whole life. Sure it won't have the possible quick gain of stock trading, but I believe in a guaranteed steady growth over time.

If anything I'll diversify into index funds, but straight trading doesn't really appeal to me.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

msicidron

wtf does that mean

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Kompressor

They are pretty much retirement plans, putting money away now so my present taxable income is smaller and is invested in a wide mutual fund and annuity portfolio. Normally tax sheltered annuities are reserved for teachers and non-profit employees but in illinois agents are allowed to qualify for it as well.

The whole life insurance is my death/life insurance plan, which collects dividends/equity which i can either take the cash or use it to increase my insurance for larger dividends later on.

This gives me my 'peace of mind,' though I can sympathize with Rev's faithful/educated guesses. The stock market to me is like legalized gambling. High risk, high reward potential with lots of fast-paced decision-making while still thinking about the long term.

I'm happy with my long term plans developing slow and steady though.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

The Rev

I think alot of people treat the market like a casino, and it's a mistake. There are economic principles at work behind the pricing of any good or service, and equities are no different. Unfortunately, most people's economic research ends at buying what Cramer suggests, or following some other "hot tips" they got. There's a beauty and elegance to the ebb and flow of prices; it's like music. Emotional expression based deeply in pattern and logic. You just have to be able to keep a clear head in the fog of fear over losing money, or losing opportunity.



The Rev

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Kompressor

Like music, or counting cards.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson