What is success? and how do you achieve it? If there is one, what’s the secret to getting what you want?
I’ve had a little over the last few years, although I believe the best is still to come. But I attribute it to a few re-occurring factors. The more I do them, the more I seem to succeed.
Today was a pretty good day for me in particular, so I thought I’d share a few key thoughts in a slightly more personal update than usual….
Managing Your Downside:
It looks like this campaign from Nike is pretty old now, but I’d never seen it before. The message is powerful, but it goes way beyond the setting shared in the short clip below.
For me, it sums up success perfectly, I’ll explain why after but for now take a peek…
On the surface, it’s just a fat kid jogging, but depending on how you think (and your life experiences) it’s a lot more. To me this short clip is everything you’ll ever need to know about success – hidden in plain sight for some.
The contrast of the young lad being severely overweight just adds to the mix.
It’s my belief that succeeding, no matter what you’re doing, isn’t reserved for the ‘special’ people. It’s just a result, that’s often been carved out by unfaltering persistence. Nothing more.
Like the fat kid jogging, it’s not so easy – but the more you do it the easier it gets. Like trading, the ability to re-apply and re-apply yourself to the market (even when probability sucker-punches you in the mouth from time to time). Just manage the downside and keep going.
Of course, there’s the need to be smart. Being smart always beats working hard in the end, but being smart and working hard (being persistent or whatever you want to call it) is the money-shot. This also reminds me of a podcast I watched earlier in the week; JoeRogan – where Elon musk started smoking a joint.
Of the whole episode, one line really stood out to me – Elon’s emphasis when stating he just likes to get stuff done.
But it’s not easy, which is probably why so many don’t manage it. But that’s a matter of perspective too; if everyone else is more likely to give up, surely it’s a reason to carry on and push harder?
Either way, the key points to succeeding for me would be:
- Unfaltering Persistence – especially in the face of outsiders’ negativity.
- Intense Focus – particularly in this distraction-filled modern world.
- Happiness – because if your life’s not balanced, succeeding is harder.
- Good Relationships – the wrong people cause success resistance.
- Structured Routine – to assist consistency, especially in times of weakness.
…we’re not just talking about money here either – because some other things are more important.
Trading Saturday Arvo!
Philosophical out of the way, a little bit about today’s successes!
As you may expect, those previous points certainly come in handy… I started the day off with a quick 5k run and a healthy breakfast outside. A structured start that puts me in a great mood.
This was rewarded shortly after in the first at Chelmsford where Daphinia shot off on a real drift, going from around 1.88 to 2.28 in about 30 seconds. Tension had been building on the favourite for a few minutes leading into the live show… once the second ladder took a flurry of support the scales were tipped (see the chart to the right).
The lay money paid off for someone; Daphinia lost.
Disaster Strikes…
Yup. Then Betfair decides to pull their Saturday afternoon party trick.
If you weren’t active on Betfair today, the short version is – exchange problems once more.
It’s quite sad to see, given that Betfair has been such a large part of my life for so long. In the past, they were quick to exclaim that premium charge hikes were to re-invest within the exchange infrastructure. Recent glitches and problems don’t seem to indicate this though.
Fortunately, it was a good day on the whole for me with things working out well, although it could have gone horribly wrong if exchange problems had caught me.
When there are problems like this there are comments asking what to do if the exchange goes down whilst trading.
….sadly, there isn’t a straight answer. If any, it’s being cautious and consider alternatives while there are ongoing problems reported.
Reading: Betfair Trading Made Simple (Ultimate Starter Guide)
7 thoughts on “Finding Greatness? the Secret to Succeeding…”
You are wise beyond your years caan. A fair running pace I see of facebook also.
Graham
Thanks! Nice to hear, hopefully it pays off in the long run.
Success is different for each person. Success to me is doing something l enjoy to earn the money so l can live a life without stress, the amount of money is relative to what you earn now, everyone has a different income in their head, someone taking home £10,000 a year would feel their money problems could be solved by earning £20,000 a year.
Caan you seem to have that work life balance pretty much sorted apart from Betfair’s API.
Just keep posting every piece of information you give is important to me.
Thanks for what you have shared so far.
100% agree Mike. I see quality time with the family as success too… hence its not all about money! Thanks.
Great post Caan. Can really relate to your philosophies you wrote above (probably the hardest thing for most people, especially those who don’t understand their own emotions).
Cheers!
Hey Joshua, sure, emotion is often a contributor to value, winning and or losing. If they’re not in check, you’re just waiting to get blind-sided 🙂
Hi Caan,
I am a taxi driver working 60 hours a week(not a hard job just time consuming). On the emotional side of trading, l have noticed something in my job which must be in the subconscious of most humans and why people find it difficult to trade successful, l call it the boredom gene . It occurs at pedestrian crossing, l am sitting on a red light waiting for the change . The Red man is on so the person stops, they look at the red man they look at me, they look at the red man , they look at me , the subconscious tells them don’t just stand here do something and they cross the road just as my light goes green. I found myself doing a similar thing coming to a red light , l would hold the clutch down and engage first ready for a quick getaway, l would get bored holding the clutch down just as l take it out of gear the light would change. This boredom gene is what l have been fighting when opening up a market, the little devil on my shoulder saying don’t just sit there do something , do anything you are going to miss that move.
Thanks Caan for making me more self aware, l am not there yet but getting there. The book Trading in the Zone has been a great help thanks for the recommend.
Cheers,
Mike