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By the time this article is posted, it will be after the first day of our 2-day intermediate seminar in Singapore. So, I thought our fellow Singapore students might find it useful to have a series of articles written about the follow-up action they should consider after completing the 2-day seminar, with the eventual view toward obtaining financial freedom.

Financial freedom does not mean you have to be a millionaire or even a billionaire. Incidentally, I read with interest an article published in the New York Times (reprinted in The Business Times, Singapore on Apr 5, 2008). The writer mentioned a couple of cases showing that even if a person is very rich, he or she may still face financial insecurity. In one example, the writer said that a certain Seattle billionaire ran into trouble several years ago after his business went sour and he had no choice but to sell his private island and his yacht in order to pay off his debts. So, if you think that being rich means you are financially free, please think again.

To me, financial freedom does not necessarily mean that you are have a lot of money. It simply means that a person is able to maintain his/her current or desired lifestyle if that person chooses not to work anymore. In today’s world, a lot of us have to work because we have to pay our regular bills by drawing salaries. To some of us, we don’t have the choice of working or not working.

So, coming back to my theme of this 7-part series, the very first question I would like you to ask yourself is, "Why do I want to learn options?" I guess you should have already had the answer before you signed up for our 2-day seminar or, more ideally, before attending our free introductory workshop. Never mind if you haven’t done so. It’s never too late to take action. In any case, please spend a couple of minutes now to think about the question. I am pretty sure that not everyone who attended our 2-day seminar will continue with Optionetics’ education. I am being frank here. When I did my first 2-day seminar in Singapore in 2004, the seminar room was fully packed with more than 200 students. Eventually, some dropped out, thinking that options trading is too hard. There are also people who thought that maybe other forms of trading instruments suit them better. Perhaps it is futures. Perhaps it is forex. So, don’t be surprised if the participant sitting in front of you, behind you and next to you disappears when you attend the second day of the 2-day class. I call this “human nature.” Just accept that this is the fact of life, and that’s why you will hear our instructors talk about being in the 95% Club (those who give up) versus the 5% Club (those who stick with it). It’s simply because not everyone who has undergone the same program will end up the same.

To me, the successful Optionetics students I came across have demonstrated that they have the following credentials:

1. A strong belief in themselves (self-belief)
2. Good trader’s habits
3. “SMART” goals
4. A master plan
5. Winning strategies (notice not ‘strategy’)
6. Kaizan
7. Business protection

Pattern No.1: Strong Self-belief

In order to be successful in anything, you must believe in yourself—i.e., whether you can do it or not is not an issue. You just do it. If you procrastinate, you will never take action. Do you notice that whenever a free workshop is held, the majority of the people will walk out at the end, never to return? Why? Whatever the reason is, it''s fine. However, if you don’t take action, how do you know if you can do it or not? So, I wish to congratulate you for taking action by continuing with our 2-day class.  

Next, you have told your spouse or your relatives and friends that you have signed up for the 2-day class in order to learn options trading. If their response is something like “Oh my God, are you crazy?” Don’t despair. It is human nature to have fears, especially about the things we don’t know.  But this is exactly what the folks from the 95% Club will tell you: "Options trading is risky; you will lose a lot of money, don’t touch it."  My response to them is simply this: “Have you done options trading before? How do you know it is risky if you haven’t done it?” Better still, the probable response from the folks in the 5% Club will be, “Forget what they said. I know options trading is new to me but I must find a way to learn how to do it, and learn how to master it.” So, avoid negativity. If you don’t have faith in yourself, you will never achieve financial freedom.

The next question, "How do you define success?” I''m sure Googling the term will bring up several definitions. Nevertheless, I would like to share with you the definition I found in Wikipedia. Success is defined as being the opposite of failure. What? What is "failure" then? I know this can also be subjective. Does it mean that a trader who has a series of losing trades is a failure? If your answer is "yes," you should stop trading immediately and do something else.

I would respectfully submit to you that failure is the outcome of the inability to act. If you never try, you will never acquire the experience. But interestingly, if you do decide to try, there is no guarantee that you will achieve the desired outcome immediately, as there is no absolute certainty in life except, as they say, death and taxes. However, you will condition yourself to accept something like this: “Although I am not able to win this time, it’s a valuable learning experience. It’s okay to lose $1,000 this round, but I will learn how to avoid making this mistake again. I shall treat this $1,000 loss as a tuition fee and I promise to myself that I will take it back, and then some, from the market after this.”

Of course, I cannot force you to agree with me. But this is the first thing I notice from all successful Optionetics students. They all possess a strong belief in themselves.

This summarizes the first credential. Next week, I will continue the second credential – Good trader’s habits.

Before I put my pen down, I would like to share with you another interesting story from the Singapore Sundays Times, October 2006. A 72-year-old man was the founder of a retail business chain in the 1960''s and the business generated a sales revenue of S$300m. Unfortunately, due to the economic recession in the mid-1980''s and the arrival of several MNCs who opened their gigantic department stores in his part of the world, his business turned sour, and he owed the banks more than S$100m. Now, if you think this man is a "gone" case, please read the following: "…At 82, he sold his 17 stores and supermarkets for $4.2m, and he became a millionaire again."

So, no matter what your age may be, if you think you don’t have time or energy to achieve what you want, please think again.

Jack Wong 
Staff Writer
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site

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