Hi daytrading,
The question is not too personal. I traded from 1957 through most of 1987 strictly alone and for a living. In Sept. of 1987 I was struck down with a severe illness that almost cost me my life. I was in intensive care for 2 1/2 months barely clinging to life. In all I was in hospital for 3 months. When I came out I was too ill to trade. By way of rehabilitating myself, I began to write down what I knew. The illness was devastating, not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well.
I could not trade at all for over a year, and thought that each day was my last. During that time I began writing in case my kids would ever want to become traders. When my broker heard that I was writing down what I knew, she hounded me until I sent her what became Chapter 1 of Trading by the Book. She told others and they all wanted what I had written. They paid $750 apiece for what by then was 2 chapters of what I was writing. In all, 75 people purchased that first book for $750 each. Some of them wanted to followup with private tutoring.
I was still very weak and still unable to trade, in fact I suffered incredible and excruciating pain for 4 1/2 years before I could say I was well. During that time I began to trade again, but there was tremendous pressure on me from others to teach and write. I was amazed at how little people knew or understood about markets. Being thankful to still be alive, and feeling that there was more to life than just trading, and also because people wanted what I teaching, I decided to include both teaching and writing in my life.
To answer your question more directly, I live entirely from my trading. But my business as a trading educator bring in money to support my staff, which now amounts to 5 full-time people and 2 part-time.
I never look at the money that comes in from anything other than my trading. I have a part-time bookkeeper who issues the payroll checks and takes care of the income. All of that is my contribution to humanity, and reflects my gratitude for being alive. The most I ever made in a single year from trading was $850K, but not all years are that good to me.
My expertise comes from over 5 decades of trading stocks, future, options, forex, and futures spreads. So all of it gives me the expertise in developing trading tools. I personally tutor 3-4 people a month in addition to trading virtually every day, plus writing tons of magazine articles, newsletters, giving webinars wherever asked.
Now you know!
The question is not too personal. I traded from 1957 through most of 1987 strictly alone and for a living. In Sept. of 1987 I was struck down with a severe illness that almost cost me my life. I was in intensive care for 2 1/2 months barely clinging to life. In all I was in hospital for 3 months. When I came out I was too ill to trade. By way of rehabilitating myself, I began to write down what I knew. The illness was devastating, not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well.
I could not trade at all for over a year, and thought that each day was my last. During that time I began writing in case my kids would ever want to become traders. When my broker heard that I was writing down what I knew, she hounded me until I sent her what became Chapter 1 of Trading by the Book. She told others and they all wanted what I had written. They paid $750 apiece for what by then was 2 chapters of what I was writing. In all, 75 people purchased that first book for $750 each. Some of them wanted to followup with private tutoring.
I was still very weak and still unable to trade, in fact I suffered incredible and excruciating pain for 4 1/2 years before I could say I was well. During that time I began to trade again, but there was tremendous pressure on me from others to teach and write. I was amazed at how little people knew or understood about markets. Being thankful to still be alive, and feeling that there was more to life than just trading, and also because people wanted what I teaching, I decided to include both teaching and writing in my life.
To answer your question more directly, I live entirely from my trading. But my business as a trading educator bring in money to support my staff, which now amounts to 5 full-time people and 2 part-time.
I never look at the money that comes in from anything other than my trading. I have a part-time bookkeeper who issues the payroll checks and takes care of the income. All of that is my contribution to humanity, and reflects my gratitude for being alive. The most I ever made in a single year from trading was $850K, but not all years are that good to me.
My expertise comes from over 5 decades of trading stocks, future, options, forex, and futures spreads. So all of it gives me the expertise in developing trading tools. I personally tutor 3-4 people a month in addition to trading virtually every day, plus writing tons of magazine articles, newsletters, giving webinars wherever asked.
Now you know!
'Trade what you see, not what you think!' -JR
I Know! ... But they always now better 
