There was a posting some time back on Seth Godin’s blog called The Reality of Digital Content. Even though the post relates to writing, not trading it made me revisit some of the reasons I decided to trade for a living instead of going out and getting a “real job” as I was advised. One of the biggest reasons was that I recognized the changing face of business, much the same that Seth recognized the changing face of the writing industry.

After the kids were old enough to be in school and I had more time on my hands I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do with that time. Not only that but I had to consider what I wanted to do as a J-O-B and also what I wanted a J-O-B to do for me. My Mom gave me the same advice her mother gave her. “Don’t take chances, get a job, be loyal to your work and your workplace will be loyal to you.” Going out and getting another J-O-B was such a simple conclusion for her…why did I struggle with it so much?

I remember explaining that it wasn’t like that at all anymore. And she capitulated a little bit, but was steadfast in her idea that working at a steady job for someone else’s gain was still the ‘safest’ way to go even though companies have no loyalty to and dwindling benefits for their employees.

A decade ago, I knew that simply didn’t hold true …or at least if it did in some corners it sure as heck wasn’t going to hold true for much longer. The more I thought about it the more I was convinced that holding onto a J-O-B was about the riskiest thing I could do.

A typical workplace is designed to pigeon hole its inhabitants, keep them only as educated as they need to be to do the work that is done, ingratiate its employees so that when cheaper, younger applicants with more education come along who don’t require the same seniority based benefits as the loyalists then the dedicated feel lucky to keep their jobs at any price, even a demeaning one. I couldn’t face having so much of my future, especially my living, being in the hands of others. Not to mention the fact that I wanted to do something that I loved doing. For me (and I’m guessing for you too)…the answer to that was trading.

So…I announced that I was going to buckle down and nail this ‘trading thing’.

If I could go back and talk to this young, naïve Triffany, I’d tell her to shut her yap. I tell her to keep that little tidbit very, very private until she really had gotten good at trading itself.

As it was…young, naïve Triffany boldly told anyone who asked that she was going to trade for a living and was immediately reputed with, “Isn’t that like gambling?” or “That’s too risky, you’ll lose everything.”

No amount of arguing worked and it only made me feel bad about myself and question my choices.

Now one thing I realized, right away, is that these little pearls came from the people who loved me the most. Tell a mere acquaintance and they’re proud of me. Tell a relative or close friend and they fear for me. So, I had to understand that it was coming from a good place.

I thought long and hard about that discrepancy. I mean, shouldn’t my loved ones be the people who support me? Shouldn’t they help me - not try to squash my dreams? It was hard, at first, to deal with this. But, I did come to realize a couple things that have helped me soldier on throughout my trading career:

  1. 1) They really do love me and they believe that they are supporting me by keeping me out of harm’s way. Once I realized this I was grateful for their honest point of view, but realized that’s all it was…their point of view. It wasn’t anything I had to buy into or believe it. I didn’t have to make it my point of view.
  2. 2) They don’t understand what trading forex is. People fear what they don’t understand. I understood it and I was getting better and better at it. Yes, I made mistakes, but I made sure I wasn’t “betting” our mortgage payment so I knew, in my heart, that I was doing well in my learning process. and (this is actually kind of big)
  3. 3) IF it was going to turn out that I was right and they were wrong, my success would completely invalidate their entire belief system about what makes a “safe” income. That’s scary for them to face. Well, that’s their demon, not mine.

Once I was able to identify that their belief systems really didn’t have to impact mine I was able to delve in and really commit myself to my learning process. As a result, long before I become consistent in my trading, I knew I’d gained far more in terms of personal growth than I ever could have imagined possible. That was enough to keep me going (or at times, keep me coming back). That is, now, enough to keep me loyal to myself by keeping loyal to my trading.

Why did you start to trade? What do you think about the naysayers? Is it hard, sometimes, to get them out of your head?