There are so many things we could do… it’s hard to choose which one would suit us best. It’s usually not a lack of opportunity – it’s an issue of decisiveness. What money making opportunity should you follow?
There’s property, shares, business… heck, you could start an internet business, an e-bay business, a retail business.
Sometimes it’s hard to decide. It’s especially hard to decide if you don’t have much experience in the opportunities you’re aiming to evaluate.
Any time I think of a new opportunity, I evaluate it in relation to:
ROI – Return on Investment. If I give this thing my ‘all’, will the return on my investment be significant over the next 12 months? Is it reasonable to assume that money will flow within the short term?
Well… this is bad news if you’re looking to trade. Most people over-estimate what they can achieve in the short term and under-estimate what they can achieve in the long term. I want you to know that trading is a 2 – 5 year plan. Immediate riches are more the exception, rather than the rule.
I score trading: 5/10. Unlikely to provide a good ROI over the short term if you’re just starting out.
Future Value – Is this opportunity likely to bring in significant wealth over the medium to long term?
In terms of trading… “hell, yes!”
There are very few businesses you can set up as inexpensively as trading. Plus, you get fairly immediate feedback, so you’re not going to have to wait for a decade to work out whether you’ve been a success at this.
I score trading: 10/10 in this realm. Hard to beat.
Personal Development: Will this opportunity provide self-growth opportunities, so I can master my craft, grow as a person, and improve my mindset?
Another “hell, yes!”
The markets act as a mirror. They reflect the inner you, and you get the chance to observe whether you like what you see. Your level of income in the markets will rarely exceed your level of self-development… so you have a vested interest to keep on improving your wealth mindset.
I score trading: 8/10 – only because if you don’t look for the lessons, you may miss them.
Lifestyle: Even if this opportunity can bring in untold wealth, what about its effect on the rest of your life… the people you love… the number of hours you work per week?
Crikey – this is where trading comes into its own.
You can trade a system that takes you 5 hours a day to run – or 30 minutes a week. It’s completely flexible.
I score trading 10/10.
Emotional Wellbeing: Even if the opportunity you’re looking at has great ROI, Future Value, Personal Development and Lifestyle… if it takes too much of a toll on whether you feel fulfilled, you have to pass.
How does what you’re doing impact the community around you – your family, your friends?
Trading is such an insular sport, you will only have the impact that you choose to. Many traders do more charity work, and volunteer work.
So with trading – I rate this as a 7/10. The activity isn’t in itself providing a lot of opportunities for depth and meaning. However, it frees up your time, your mind and your wallet, so you can pursue meaning elsewhere.
In my book, trading scores 8/10.
So, no… trading isn’t perfect.
You are unlikely to be an overnight success.
You will need to strive to retain the lessons the markets are teaching you.
However, when you critically assess the alternatives – and objectively work out whether trading deserves your time… I think you can only reach one conclusion.
It’s a damn heap better than being stuck in a job you despise, working for other people’s dreams and depriving your family of the life they deserve.
Traders, by their very nature, are optimistic risk takers. We believe we can make money. We say ‘Yes’ to risk.
We say ‘Yes’ to learning about how to trade effectively.
We say ‘Yes’ to a brighter future for ourselves and our family.
I’ve said ‘Yes’ to a heck of a lot of opportunities that paid off.
“Do you want to write a book?” – Geoff Wright, my first publisher – ‘Yes’.
“Should we start a business together to help traders make more money?” – Chris Tate in the late 90s – ‘Yes’. “
Do you think we should start a family?” – Chris Bedford, my husband, in the early 2000s – ‘Yes’.
The list is long.
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