Charging Through Life

I went back to visit the family farm two weeks ago. One of the things I was hesitant to discuss with the parentals was the fact that I got fired from my job. But I controlled the message by sticking to my talking-points and delivering the news with my own spin (good thing I got that PR degree college). Part of the spin I threw on the message was how I wanted to make some extra money in stocks. You see, whenever I'm home, there are a very select number of topics Dad and I can bond over. The stock market is one of those topics. So for five days I went through Stock Market Boot Camp with Dad.

The thing is this... I get it. I can look at a chart and understand the patterns and why a price moves the way it does. I understand some of the study indicators used in technical analysis and why a fundamental annalists of a company is important. The chart and the market doesn't scare me.... when I'm on the farm in Indiana, that is. Now that I'm back here in California on my own I feel completely dumbfounded. I'm all like, "what stocks should I be looking at? What time-frame should I set my chart to? Which indicators should I be including? And when should I make a buy?" Basically, I feel like a Vally Girl exclaiming that, "OMG this is hard!"

OK, first, I need to give myself a little credit for being smart both in IN and CA. Just because Dad's not feeding me the questions and guiding me through the lessons doesn't mean I don't understand. Remember the first thing you wrote on the plane home, Sam, "You are smart and do understand this stuff."

But the reason for this freak out today is because I've gotten it into my head that I can make money trading in the market... like the sort of money that would sustain my lifestyle and not require me to go get some crappy real job. I've gotten it into my head that if I learn a few basics then I can have a career in investing that I dictate, that pays me based on my efforts, and that ends each day by 1PM (PST). Not bad, eh?

But there is a LOT to understand and a LOT of opinion out there on how to invest correctly. I've got half a dozen books that I'm reading simultaneously and an online course that I took which is now asking for money to move onto the next steps in my education. Like any good scam, I'm being asked to pay up-front for someone's "education" before I even know if this crazy notion of mine is going to work.

If I'm going to do this, there is a pressure to do it the right way. And the right way is by studding and practicing first. It's as if I've sent myself back to college to get a whole new degree. Hell, I even have a course outline that I wrote on the plane back from Indiana when I was all jazzed about making this work. But, just like when I actually was in college, my initial enthusiasm is starting to fade with all this f'ing 'classroom work.' "You guys, why is learning so hard!"

Alright, I am going to chalk this up to just a case of information overload. I'm looking down a path of a lot of information that needs to be absorbed when you consider all the different ways you can make money in the market: options, futures, forex (which I don't even know what is). I need to just take a step back and learn the way I know how to learn which is by trial and error. But, unlike learning a casino game in Vegas, the stock market lets you learn with play money before you start risking your own cash savings. So I'm going to stop thinking like this is my business for which I need all the correct answers right now or I will suffer poverty. Instead I'm going to start thinking like this is my entertainment. Stop freaking the fuck out and go, "like, take a chill-pill or something you spaz."