Trading Beginnings
It’s been over a decade since I began my trading journey. Initially, I didn’t have a roadmap that told me where I should start or showed me what steps I could take.
The first time I took any kind of class about the stock market was a random Saturday morning after I had my firstborn, Leo. My dad was always working and trading, and he was spending his Saturday afternoon listening to this guy named John Carter. He was teaching a class online, and my dad suggested I sit in on it.
I had no idea what to expect, and I understood about 10% of what John was saying.
“Options?!”
“Selling spreads?!”
“The Squeeze?!”
Most everything flew directly over my head. I can’t say I liked or particularly enjoyed any of the content (sorry John!), but I loved his energy and passion, and most of all, I was looking for an out. An out of the life that I saw, working as a teacher, trying to find any work-from-home opportunity that paid more than $10 an hour where I could stay home with my son.
I’m still not sure why I kept going after that day. I could have easily thrown my hands up and walked away. Who knows what things would be like now if I had?
I know I had a reason why, which was my driving force. At that time, working from home online was not a thing. And I had Leo, who I was determined not to leave in a daycare.
Why Did It Stick?
I have always been pretty academically inclined. I love a good challenge! I always strived to get good grades and excel. But, my attention is generally fleeting, so I’ve always gotten bored quickly once I meet a goal.
I think these are some reasons why I ended up sticking with trading. While patterns are the key to the game, no day is ever the same. Mr. Market always has something else up his sleeve!
But I can’t tell you how long it took me to understand the concepts. But, at that time, there weren’t anywhere near as many online resources as today. John was talking to an intermediate crowd, which certainly wasn’t me. So, I had to go about working backward and fill in the blanks.
I drove my dad nuts printing slideshows (you’re using all the ink!). I treated options trading like another course in college that I had to put together myself.
I took bits and pieces from different places and had John on rewind and repeat to create what I couldn’t find. I put it in order and figured it out. I learned completely online.
My New Creation
Of course, now all of this seems like it was in another lifetime. Was it really me? Was I that single mom living at home, just trying to survive? Thinking about it now, it seems like somebody else’s life.
That’s just because things have changed so much. It almost doesn’t seem real.
And now, all these years later, I’m still working from home, and I would not have it any other way. I’m so grateful I stuck it out; believe me, I know exactly where the pain points are. I have been through every single one of them. I couldn’t believe the first time somebody wanted me to talk on TV.
“What?! Me?! Seriously?!” They liked it because now that’s how I feel my days and weeks!
I’ve put together everything I wish I had when I began.
I am a teacher, after all. I wrote the curriculum, created the order, and asked my top teammates to fill in where I knew they’d shine. That project is called Simpler Essentials, and I’m debuting it tonight…
If you want to check it out, click the image below, sign up for the webinar, and join me at 7 p.m. CT.
I look forward to seeing you there!
