For a middle class guy when a relative/someone asks what you do and you tell them you are a stock trader or simply tell them you do money management.
The first thing they will do is they will smile mockingly and then warn you. They will then tell how stock market trading has caused them terrible loss after which they never trade. Then say how foolish trading job is.
One of my friend even told me a story. He had a friend who used to trade and he lost 5 lacs trading. Then he inherited a lot of money in excess of 1 crore and a lot of stocks too. The first thing he did was sell off all the stocks and then put it in FD. Then he took a job in a stationary shop for only 15000Rs. He doesnt work for money since he gets manageable returns but for some activity. So any job is best but how risky trading is.
For a guy who trades and who does it reasonably well is it wrong if he feels he needs to silence his critics. I know it never matters what anyone feels but many times I am sure even you feel irritated. Or has no one ever come across something like this.
In this world unfortunately it is the money which brings respect from general people ( knowledge, experience etc are on the back seat ) . A illiterate builder or a politician will have more social respect than a trader...but do traders have lesser abilities than builders and politicians have ?
The stock market and trading is of recent origin. People have not seen wealth being created in these activities. But slowly some traders and investors are accumalating wealth which is awesome. In past people made money on investments in land, flats etc...and most of the traders have lost money and got bad name for themselves and for the business. But that should not deter a trader who is confident . He has to walk this path alone and when he succeeds he has big residence in an upmarket area, has good cars, he takes regular vacations which the success brings him....and once you have a fat bank and assets balance, it does not remain hidden, people know it.
One does not have to boast and brag to prove to the world that he is successful. In fact if we have to boast to silence our critics, it is the sign that we are still not successful or " arrived " so to say. Success speaks for itself.
I dont blame the society also for the above. When a new engineer or a doctor starts his professional life he may not have huge wealth but people know that 80 % of these will be successful ( very few may be super successful ) but for traders the success rate is too low....not even 10 %
In trading most want to make wealth in 2-3 years. So they start with no training, no experience and take large risks and fail eventually because there are no entry barriers in trading..anyone having Rs 10,000 can start trading. But imagine what will happen if people with no education and experience start doing heart or brain surgeries.....most of the operations will fail but experienced and skilled surgeons do these operations every day and with very high success rate....same with trading.
I have a big friends circle and most are very successful in their chosen fields...there are engineers, doctors, general Managers and Directors and they never look down on me because I am a trader....they say " you are lucky, you started at right time, took risks,you dont have to worry about corporate politics, labour troubles, troubles from Govt department inspectors,politicians....." In fact I was called for lunch to a very successful engineer turned businessman's home this morning and we discussed yesterdays budget...believe me we traders have much more wider view than a businessman and he remarked that "oh...you see these things from so many different angles.""
So no need of boasting....success does not remain hidden for long.
Just wrote a few lines as I feel traders should take pride that they are traders by choice and not by compulsion.
Smart_trade