A Passion for your Profession
I came across this article a while back in Forbes, “The Power of Personal Passion.” It is a list of lessons for the Entrepreneur. In short, 1) Do Something You Love, 2) Don’t be Afraid to Show it, 3) Hire for Passion and Curiosity and 4) The Power of Story (namely yours). It’s a good article and I agree with the general premise. It got me thinking about how that same entrepreneurial passion applies to trading Foreign Exchange and while there are some nuanced difference the basic idea still applies.
You need to LOVE trading. Period.
Most people come to Forex as a means to an end (make money). The people who keep coming back to Forex are after something else…maybe even a fulfillment of some kind. The people who become profitable with Forex enjoy the process and are grateful for ALL the lessons learned and insights gained, not just those directly related to trading.
I had my own fits and starts with Forex. To be honest, I’ve never known a successful trader who hasn’t. But every time I came back to it I learned something new. I was (am) being fulfilled by Forex in a way that the mundane routine of my life cannot. I’m constantly challenged. I’m continually surprised. I’m always learning. I compete with myself and drive myself through Forex in a way that nothing else has ever done for me. I love patterns and the regularity of Fibs. I’m in awe at how the markets reflect the best and worst of human behavior – especially en masse.
Simply put…I have reason, other than money, to keep coming back. After a winning streak and after a losing streak I want to be trading. I feel good when I’m putting my capital to work for me. I feel even better when I’ve learned a larger life lesson from my own experience through trading. And I feel honored and privileged that I get to work with other traders, students and teachers alike, from around the world.
I’m not saying that you can’t be good at what you do if you don’t love it, but I do believe that it is a heck of a lot easier if you do have a passion for it.
What do you believe? What keeps you coming back?
Triffany Hammond helps traders of all levels, gain the tools, resources and guidance necessary to build on their strengths and work around their weaknesses so that they can make the best possible decisions for themselves in the Forex Market. Triffany is a regular speaker and contributor at 
For sure, loving what you do is a joy…. I have been lucky to enjoy every type of work I have been doing. As a little boy, I loved selling pop at our city baseball games, because people thought it so funny that I could carry a big bucket of pop – so they gave my huge tips… My father wasn’t too happy about my job, but it was fun for me to watch the people and we all enjoyed. As an adult, I was always in the investment business, and that was fun and rewarding. Now, trading is somewhat contrary to my natural behavior’s “logical” approach, but I enjoy the challenge although it has be much more difficult to succeed consistently than I ever dreamed. Promoting successful salesmen, for example, is often a failure, because people who are good at, and like selling, are suddenly taken out of an environment they love and are placed in a leadership role, which is uncomfortable for them….
So true! I love that your comments prove, too, that just because you enjoy for one job, doesn’t mean you can’t find joy in another, either. It is much more about finding the attributes in your activities that are enjoyable and then working “jobs” that fit the bill. My list of why I loved my job before kids (computer tech for Boulder’s Public Safety departments) was very, very similar.
Who knows why we love what we love? But as long as we know that we get a kick out of it, then we’re likely to stick with it and grow from the experience.
And…you’re right…becoming profitable at trading takes SO much longer than people are willing to admit.
Hola, back from my holidays…
Just brilliant, I couldn’t have said it any better! Enjoyed both of the articles.
And your passion and enthusiasm really shines through in the way you blog, conduct webinars and even reflected in your motto/mission statement – Developing Terrific People into Terrific Traders. It’s contagious too, I might add!!
I heard a great comment by Dan Millman that really left an impression on me – find what you love and get people to pay you for it. Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it (or pips in this case ;p)? Granted, there can be a few stumbling blocks along the way, but once you find it, that something that feels almost effortless and in flow, you’re more than halfway there IMO.
I feel exactly the same way about what keeps me coming back. There’s no 1 thing. I’d always desired to work for myself, to sail my own ship instead of someone else’s and this is the ultimate scalable business and self-development course in one. Win, lose or draw, there’s always new learnings to be had and surprises around the corner. The challenge never ends and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Welcome back!
I really like Dan Millman’s books. I like the way they emphasize finding peace and play as our signposts of success.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for many people to find joy in what they do (or finding something they do that brings joy). Buddhism uses the term “hungry ghosts” to identify that lost feeling that so many suffer from.
It is odd to think that something as quantifiable and routine as trading can fill that emptiness, but looked upon with larger goals in mind it is possible to find fulfillment in anything and everything that we do.