Looking back on the year, I can say with certainty one thing…
This year was ripe with volatility.
Ironically within the market… and also my life.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Consider this…
It wasn’t even five years ago, that I was essentially a stay at home mom, running a photography business, trading the open and close, baking with my son, and going to the gym at lunch.
These days, I’m off to New York every three weeks, prepping for CNBC and Fox, running my own trade alert service, jumping in the trading room around 5 times a week, and starting to write my own book.
Leo and I in New York before Fast Money last week.
It’s amazing and it’s a dream come true — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t without stress. And when that stress hits, it takes me back to a simpler time.
That time when I was just a girl living on the beach, teaching elementary school, riding my bike to work, and totally fine with making $545 a month. It seems like it didn’t even really happen, and it was all in a dream. It was pretty stress free, after all.
When the stress hits (like when I buy Home Depot after earnings and it proceeds to fall another $15 before stabilizing), I like to remember why I did all of this in the first place.
What’s all of this?
It’s the reason why:
- I took 45+ classes from Simpler Trading
- I decided to quit my job and decided trading was going to work
- I moved my son down to Austin to work with John — with other traders, and doing what I ultimately love — which is teaching
- I thought it was a good idea to try out TV and radio
Number one, I do it because I love it. And this career found me, more than I found it.
But secondly, I do it for the freedom. I do it because when I lived in that small town in Costa Rica, I didn’t have any other option but to rely on someone other than myself. Plus putting a baby in a basket on a bicycle didn’t seem safe (ya think).
Great teacher friends in Costa Rica.
With trading, I’m in control of my money.
I have the ability to take what I have, and make it work for me. Both in the stock market on a long-term basis, and in my aggressive options accounts. I do it so I can buy a plane ticket when I want to see my family, and take my son to visit Rockefeller Center at Christmastime.
Leo and I in an Igloo Winery at Rockefeller last week. It was “the best trip of his life.”
And I do it so I can teach other people… so that they can do it too.
Because there’s nothing in this life more precious than the freedom to do what you want. That’s a privilege I didn’t have 5 years ago — that I have now. And I’m so glad you’re with me on this ride.
What’s something you’ve had more freedom to do since picking up trading?
