If you have the, “Why,” we have the, “How.” Traders who have a reason to do what they do trade and invest better, much better, than folks who haven’t quite defined their, “Why,” yet. Trading and investing is not for everyone. It may be that it’s not for you, or it may be that it’s just simply not the right time for you.

I began learning to be an active investor in 2003. Prior to that, I was busy running businesses, investing in real estate and simply dollar-cost-averaging into the markets. My dad had taught me to diligently set aside money every month and put that money to work in the stock market. I had followed that instruction beginning in 1987; I was a buy and hold investor.

For me, the decision to become an active investor opposed to a dollar-cost-averaging buy-and-hold investor, was on the heels of a phone call I placed to my broker in 1999. I had been following the market; I had been tracking with the moves. Since 1987, when I opened my account, stocks had been trending upward in an incredibly strong bull market. Remember the dot-coms? If you do, you know exactly what I’m talking about and where this is going.

I got my broker and the phone and explained how I wanted to take my entire portfolio and go to cash. If you’ve ever made such a phone call, it will come as no surprise the call took an immediate uncomfortable turn as he vehemently defended staying fully invested in stocks despite the parabolic move that I had determined unsustainable. He successfully talked me out of transitioning my portfolio to cash during this phone call.

I slept on that decision for two nights as I recall; two rather sleepless nights. On the third day I called my broker again and clearly expressed, “I don’t want to hear your opinions or your suggestions, I want to take my entire portfolio to cash today.” That was a very good decision. If you were invested in the markets from 2000 through 2003 you know there was a tremendous amount of carnage and many people lost a lot of money. I never spoke with my broker again.

By March 2003, I had made a decision that I was going to take responsibility for my own portfolio. A few short years later, in 2006, I met Patrick Walker. Today, I have the luxury of trading under his tutelage every day. You can too… if you like.

Last year, I received a call from my brother; he wanted to know more about this business called, “Mission Winners,” that I had been talking about in recent years.

My brother and I are less alike than we have things in common. It stems from core beliefs: He has always had a job while on the contrary, I’ve never had a job. It’s not that I believe jobs are bad; they are simply not for me. I’m unemployable.

As for the things we have in common… Dad taught us each to save money and invest in the market. I began investing by dollar-cost-averaging into mutual funds at the age of 23. I’m sure my brother has done the same, riding the ups ‘n downs until now he’s had enough of what happens to him and has decided to take control.