Sunday 8/23 Memo: Trader's Psych Part 3

Each morning, I write a 420-word memo because writing is one of the best way to focus your thinking & effect some change you desire. It is a physicalized version of what is going on inside your mental environment.

Confronting Inadequacy, Profession

In founding Sound Money Financials, my first step was to take a moral, mental, and emotional inventory. My feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and shame are daily obstacles. Inadequacy is the biggest one for me.

I am committing an increasingly larger portion of my daily mental energy to undergo this process of repairing residual psychological damage, unlearning inappropriate habits, and acquiring more appropriate skills.

The first step for me, which was absolutely critical and necessary to the launch of Sound Money Financials, was to get my mind right—sober up. I quit drinking on April 20th. The fact that is was 4/20 is just a coincidence. I quit drinking because alcohol was tied to my feeling of inadequacy, which was tied to hockey. Simply put: I thought I was good enough to go to the NHL, but I wasn’t.

I spent a lot of years drinking to alleviate the that inadequacy instead of facing & accepting it.

So, I wanted to write this post as a touchstone, flagship-type of post. Who I am, what I stand for, what I am writing this (other than for myself).

I haven’t used Facebook in years, since early 2017 really. I have mostly severed ties with all social media, but I want to share what I’ve learned & what I’m learning. I want to provide a platform of resources, build a name for myself in the investment community.

I was a hockey player, and then a disgruntled former hockey player, before I became a teacher and coach and established a profession. But just as I realized my dream job, finally started generating returns on a lifelong investment in the public education system, I quit. I want more from the world, from my life, at 31. I would rather work more, make more money, and be my own boss, instead of babysitting for 9 months, getting summers off, and trading 30 years for happy retirement years. I’m still curious, investigating & exploring.

I read 100 books in 2019, for example. I was curious to see whether or not I could do it, and curious about enough subjects & genres & authors to find acceptable reading material. It started on January 1st as a New Year’s Resolution, and I did it. In hindsight, it was the first step (a behind-the-scenes, foundation-building type of step) in my transition out of teaching and into finance. Attending the 2019 Bali Financial Summit (more to come on that) was the second step, and sobering up & launching SMF was the third step.

New Year’s has always been a very special & significant period for me, anyway. I know for many, it’s just not that special, maybe nothing more than a social gathering, a fun party. But it’s my progress update, my check-in on my goals. In the wake of Christmas loving spirit, it can be a perfect parlay for the soul.

I had a 9am meeting with my accountability partner on January 1, 2020. We have both accomplished many of the goals we stated back then. And the past 9 months have been historic in scale. Now is always the time to start repairing residual psychological damage. Taking your emotional, mental, and spiritual temperature is the first step. Assess your tendency to respond emotionally where an intellectual response would better serve you. And go from there.