Am I Worthy of Self-Promotion? (Part 1)

Much of the background for today’s post was written here and here. Perhaps because my Dad dislikes attribution of my current professional status to luck or everyday trading strategies, casual reflection had me reviewing this idea once again. For the first time, I am starting to entertain the possibility that I am a success story worthy of self-promotion.

I have traditionally shied away from advertising or marketing my triumphs. More than shy away, even, I typically run away. I’m a believer in karma and I think arrogance is a trap to which we humans often fall prey. The moment we get too overconfident or arrogant is the moment we get stricken down—often solely a result of our own sheer folly. I may be exaggerating a bit but I do believe it happens quite often.

I believe Nassim Taleb’s Fooled by Randomness teaches some important lessons about trading. People often get lucky and have transient success. I would hate to start advertising such success at a time when harsh reality was just about to set in. I would only be able to look in the mirror and say “you got what you deserved” if I were to misjudge temporary, random success for a long period of developing skill through hard work.

Having acknowledged my caution toward arrogance and the possibility of fluke, I do believe I deserve an objective assessment just like anyone else. As I step back and take a broad perspective, what do I see?

The most significant observation is that I am currently in the ninth year of operating a successful trading business. I started out working 60+ weeks for the first few years and so far that hard work has paid off. I do all the trading and devise my own trading strategies. I supervise myself. I work from home. I have a flexible schedule. I can trade on the road while hardly missing a beat.

Perhaps anyone working as a successful entrepreneur has a story worth telling because it is such a rare occurrence. I only know a couple people who are running their own successful businesses. Many people have jobs they dislike. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. Many people are chronically burdened by job-related emotional and physical stress. None of these, thankfully, apply to me.

I will continue this in the next post.