Staying in Perpetual Motion
You know those “deals” that seem just too good to pass up, but always end up teaching you a “lesson”?
Well, that’s how it was a couple of years ago when a brand spankin’ new fitness club opened up close to my house. Even though I am not a huge fan of gyms in general, the price was too good to pass up.
So I signed up for a membership.
At first, since it was so new, there weren’t a ton of people there. That is, until January rolled around.
Come January 1st, it was like everyone in town converged on to this gym. Suddenly people who never worked out, were waiting in line for a treadmill. Day and night, this place was packed with people who were trying to make good on their New Years Resolution to “work out”.
Fast forward about two weeks.
I walk in to the gym, and its like a virtual ghost town. No more lines for a treadmill. No more having to wait for a bench. Just a few “gym junkies” still there pumping iron, but everyone else is gone.
So naturally, I began thinking about this phenomenon.
99.9% of people who try to change everything about their fitness level right away end up giving up. They bite off more than they can chew. When they come to this realization, they throw in the towel, and resolve they just can’t do it and they casually toss their New Years Resolution in the trash as they walk out the door just a few weeks in to it.
I’ve even seen this happen to traders too. They come to me excited to add income to their household, and with a new year and increased pressure from their “day job”, they resolve to learn this new skill, with the expectation that they can quit their job in a month or two.
When they realize that there is a little more too it than that… disappointment sets in and they decide that “its just not for me”.
So, what’s the solution? Is the solution to set small goals that you know you can reach?
Hardly.
No one who has achieved monumental success has done it by setting goals they know they can achieve.
In fact, most of the time they set goals they know they can’t achieve. Or at least immediately. But they know that if they stay in a constant state of perpetual motion… constantly moving toward their goal… eventually they will reach it.
No huge New Years Resolutions that are “pie in the sky”. Just daily, consistent, and intentional steps toward what they want to achieve.
Sometimes those steps are leaps.
Sometimes they are baby steps.
Sometimes they even take a step back to evaluate the path they are on.
But they are constantly moving.
Staying in perpetual motion doesn’t mean constantly moving with no rest.
It doesn’t mean moving just for the sake of staying in motion. Never mistake activity for achievement.
It means focus on accomplishing small steps. Small steps lead to big changes. Plus accomplishing smaller goals provides confidence, motivation, and encouragement to fight for the bigger ones.
But here is the thing to remember: Perpetual Motion works in reverse as well. Just like a car stuck in neutral will roll backward on a steep hill, so do people who don’t take the time to identify where they are going and to put themselves in gear. They are stuck in a cycle of moving further and further away from what they truly want to accomplish.
We are at the start of a new decade. Don’t be like those stuck in neutral who don’t realize they are drifting down a hill. Its time to kick it in to overdrive and take steps now to make this decade the best ever.
Do me a favor, and leave a comment below. I’d love to hear what your plans are.
Happy New Year,
Jeff
3 Responses to “Staying in Perpetual Motion”
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I am working on the option thing. Part of the problem in understanding the workings of the brokerages trading platforms(it would just be to easy to have a four legged entry platform with the option chain, breakeven points, and a p/l graph(which I could probably live without). Instead we have to have everything including the kitchen sink and then some. As far as the greeks go they want to make rocket science out them-ATM options are normally 50%, OTM and ITM option delta depends on ATR of the equity(volatility)(example if the equity over time does not move in price then ITM options will be almost 100% within a strike or two of the price of the equity-OTM options will be close to 10% or less within one or two strikes of the price of the equity-this is real rocket science). If a person watches the price of an equity in relation to the price of the option you will notice that most all times as the price of the equity goes up the price of the option does not follow the increase in the price of the equity-if the price of the equity is going down then the equity price falls faster then the price of the option-this up and down motion of the equity has more to do with the decrease(increase) in the time premium in the option than the passage of time(except for the guys that do calendars and the market makers figure out when all the calendar guys due there thing and then they trash the time value in the far out purchased options(LOL)). Back to the brokerages-you push credit spreads-how many brokerages allow option traders to do risk defined credit spreads-that is new account holders-beats me how many of them have new customers. I think I only know of one that allows new customers to do level four options(thinkorswim???). The last I looked at optionhouse which is suppose to one of the best they wanted $400 up front to teach level 4. And then there is an outfit wandering around that wants to charge a person in the thousands($3000 to $4000) to teach a person level four so any option brokerage will take that person on(I did not see a guarantee on their site that an option brokerage would give one of their students a level four account). And there all kinds of other option educators out in the wild(cboe website webcasts, riskdoctor.com(have you read Cottle\’s book-he states after about the third time reading it the lights just might come on), ramdomwalktrading.com(JL Lord\’s expensive books on BWB and condors-according to the index on the BWB book I can find only one section of a few pages that might mean something-have to spend the money on my cheap chevy truck before I consider spending big bucks on a book like that) and then there is Sheridan, and some outfit in San Jose, CA(more believers in the BWB), and many more-some make sense;however how much can a person do with vertical option spreads(preferably credit spreads)that cannot be put into a simple book of short duration. Sorry I am practicing my typing and in my book writing mode!!!!! PS-I have a hard time taking anything on that involves monthly subscriptions payments-just the way it is and with any course that involves credit spreads what are my chances of getting a broker to allow me to such spreads and since I am a little person at what commission cost. Someone out there in the wild blue buy Cottle\’s book and take the meat out of it and present it in an e-book that brain dead people like me can understand at a reasonable price of course(I do have parts of his book that he has let out to the public and study what is there;however I am sure it will take the whole to understand and I am working on getting the funds together to get the book from amazon(cheaper there). In the mean time I will work on the thinkorswim platform-have not figured out yet how to get to a market order-must have something to do with that little lock(LOL)!!!!
Hey Jeff,
9 years ago my wife and I decided we wanted to be financially independent in ten years. Our ten year plan, that has to be completed by the end of this year, is to purchase a yacht and sail around the world with our two young children. This journey will take 2-5 years. During this time we must generate cashflow while living on the yacht, and our assets must continue to grow.
Education was the key to achieving this. All income must be able to be made from the deck of a yacht anywhere in the world.
This year is the final part of our 10 year plan. During the first 8 years my wife and I have accumulated a large property portfolio. This built assets but not cashflow.
Year 9, last year, was for us. At the start of last year I was a couch potato! We focused on our health and also started to learn about generating cashflow from stocks and options. I lost 55lbs in 3 months and now compete in 75 mile races, racing non stop for 24hrs.
I also learned about covered calls and then collars. This started to generate us a 2-3% cashflow each month. This has now led onto spread trading and you!
I believe that we must set huge goals. You need a strategy to follow and clearly defined tactics to help you achieve the goals. I also believe that great mentors accelerate achievements. I have teamed up with mentors for each of the steps during the past 10 years.
What is the goal after the sailing? a)to be able to charter a jet aircraft whenever I want to and b) donate $100k/year to charity.
To keep my momentum up I have a clearly defined and worthwhile goal… to spend quality time with my family.
Big goals = a big life!
Thank-you so much for sharing your knowledge Jeff.
good post jeff. if i recall correctly last year at this time you said you were determined to learn how to trade forex and perhaps would add that to your teaching platform. as a result of that i have attempted to educate myself in that area but as of yet just don’t feel comfortable in this venue. based on your success in teaching option trading do we have anything to look forward to for this year with forex?