Day 77
Lately I've been active in trading stocks and options, and I've learned a lot. I think one of the best lessons I've learned is this:
"It's not about how much money you can make. It's about how well you trade."
I take that advice to heart, and the result is amazing. Once I learned to get that "money making" mindset out of the way (which is not easy to do, considering trading is about money), I find myself becoming freer with a clearer focus on what I need to know and do to do the job well. The objective is not "how much money I can make" anymore, but to be able to apply what I've learned, to not make the same mistakes twice, and to be able to objectively assess my progress.
And the side effect of learning to trade well is, of course, making money in the process. So far, I've managed to make relatively small but steady profits. More important, my skills have improved and I am more apt in doing my technical analysis, identifying opportunities, finding my entry and exit points, and not letting my emotions affect my judgement (on a good day -- on a bad day, emotions still get in the way).
So, what does it have to do with my writing? Quite a lot, actually. I realize, I love writing -- I love what I do and do what I love. And the trick of success, I realize, is not to "make a lot of money and become famous" but to learn to "write well." There are no guarantees in life. You can't always predict the future. Sometimes it goes up, and sometimes it comes down. But what I can control is the way I write, and what I write. When I focus on writing well instead of being distracted by stuff such as "what sells now?" or "how could I make people buy my books?" my writing improves. And that's the most important thing.
When I learn to trade well, I increase the likelihood of making better profits. When I learn to write well, I increase the likelihood of being published.
And if I could learn to live life to the fullest, I increase the likelihood of being happy and fulfilled.
500 words, 27100 words total
288 days and 158400 words to go
"It's not about how much money you can make. It's about how well you trade."
I take that advice to heart, and the result is amazing. Once I learned to get that "money making" mindset out of the way (which is not easy to do, considering trading is about money), I find myself becoming freer with a clearer focus on what I need to know and do to do the job well. The objective is not "how much money I can make" anymore, but to be able to apply what I've learned, to not make the same mistakes twice, and to be able to objectively assess my progress.
And the side effect of learning to trade well is, of course, making money in the process. So far, I've managed to make relatively small but steady profits. More important, my skills have improved and I am more apt in doing my technical analysis, identifying opportunities, finding my entry and exit points, and not letting my emotions affect my judgement (on a good day -- on a bad day, emotions still get in the way).
So, what does it have to do with my writing? Quite a lot, actually. I realize, I love writing -- I love what I do and do what I love. And the trick of success, I realize, is not to "make a lot of money and become famous" but to learn to "write well." There are no guarantees in life. You can't always predict the future. Sometimes it goes up, and sometimes it comes down. But what I can control is the way I write, and what I write. When I focus on writing well instead of being distracted by stuff such as "what sells now?" or "how could I make people buy my books?" my writing improves. And that's the most important thing.
When I learn to trade well, I increase the likelihood of making better profits. When I learn to write well, I increase the likelihood of being published.
And if I could learn to live life to the fullest, I increase the likelihood of being happy and fulfilled.
500 words, 27100 words total
288 days and 158400 words to go
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