Over the last few years, I’ve gotten this question soooooooooo many times, I thought it would be best to write an article about it so people can understand and make their own conclusions about such a poignant topic.
The general question is one below someone recently emailed me;
If you can make money from your systems, why would you take the trouble to teach it, or teach at all when you can just make money trading?
I’m sure you as someone in the trading and learning process at one point thought of this question, or wondered about it yourself.
For the record, it’s a legitimate question as a whole, depending upon how it’s being asked which I will explain shortly, but here is my answer below;
About 12+ years ago, I decided I would only do that (for work) which I was passionate about. Â If I am going to spend 1/3 or 1/2 of my life working, then it better be something I am seriously passionate about. Although I have a lot of little passions, there are only a few I feel intensely passionate and think about daily. They are listed below;
-Trading
-Teaching/Training Traders
-Yoga/Meditation
-Philanthropy
-Zen Archery/Iaido
Beyond this, I cannot imagine doing anything else in my life as my daily work. Â Does that mean something new couldn’t come down the line which I would not do? Â Of course not as I’m always open to what life presents.
But, if I was stuck on a deserted island, with food, shelter, a laptop and internet connection, I would still be trading, and still training traders.
Why?
Because I am that passionate about it and love it to death. Passion is a fire that ignites something inside others.
It is the same thing John Coltrane had when he played till 4am (after doing a 3hr set earlier).
It is the same thing Michael Jordan had when he went back to the gym just 2 days after winning the NCAA championship (as a freshman).
If you have this, it will be what helps you overcome some of the greatest obstacles for your success – and trust me, you will face them in trading.
Retirement and Passion
I was once asked by a deca-millionare businessman who still worked 45+hrs a week at 50yrs of age – what is retirement?
Doing what you want everyday when you want? Â If so, then I am retired because I love what I do. Â
This is what he told me a long time ago and it stuck with me ever since. Â Today, I feel the same and understand what he meant.
I realized a long time ago, when I’m doing something I am passionate about, I put my whole being and 110% into it. Â When things get tough, I see the big picture. Â When things are going well, I remain focused and keep my head down. Â When things are boring and sometimes rote, I find enjoyment in doing it and perfecting my skills.
Simply put – when I do things I am highly passionate about – I am more apt to put my entire being into it then something which I have no real interest in – regardless of the money.
Life is short. Â I have no idea how long I’ll be here on this planet, so I only want to be doing the things I am totally passionate about. Â It would be torture for me to do some office job where I hate my boss and my work, just for the money, even if it was 10x more than what I make now. Â I cannot tell you how many business opportunities I have passed up which had the potential for a lot of money. Â But they didn’t excite me at all.
I feel very connected and in touch with who I am, and to do something just for the money (even though I hated it) would be torture for me. Â It would be disrespecting my being and who I am. Â I learned a long time ago not to care about the money, and just do what I love 110%. Â When I do that, the results will come, and even if the money didn’t come, I’d still be happy doing what I love everyday.
Money
It is always really sad to me people seem to think the sole motivation for doing something/anything should be money. Â More than likely, the person asking this question is NOT doing what they love right now – and likely doing something just for money. Â Most people ask and think, ‘if you can make more money trading than teaching (which is true – my comment), then why teach?‘
If money was the SOLE or TOP motivation in my life for doing something, then I would just trade. Â But its not.
So why do you teach/train traders?
Three simple reasons;
1) I do not want to spend 8hrs a day just pushing buttons to make money – that is the equivalent of being a human ATM machine
2) My energy is most creative / involved / expressed when I have a very dynamic day in terms of activities. Â Just doing one thing doesn’t help me to activate all my creative ideas
3) I have a vision of training 10,000 traders to become profitable. Â If the success rates are as stated (about 25%), I want to break them all. Â I want to help others find a method to become abundant so they can do what they want in life, and have the time they want to spend it with whom they can. Â I treasure the lifestyle and choices I have. Â If I can give a tool which can help others have this – then I’ve done some good work
It’s as simple as that. Â This is why I teach and I am passionate about it. Â When I’m doing something I’m passionate about, it helps to activate my entire being along with all my creative energies and natural intelligence. Â Not activating these day in day out is torture to me or falling backward. Â I feel like I am cheating myself (and others).
Trading, archery, yoga, meditation, philanthropy and training traders helps me to bring these things forward. Â Trading is one of the top things on my list, but it just so happens teaching others to trade successfully is also on that list.
Now just because someone wants to push buttons all day for 8+hrs a day trading, doesn’t mean its a bad thing. Â If that is what they are passionate about, then fire away.
But for me, I have a different vision of my lifestyle and my time. Â Time to me is more precious than money, and you will find that with most wealthy/abundant people. Â So if I can make a lot of money trading with less time, while getting to do a bunch of other creative activities, then why not?
It’s sad people think if you can trade, then you would not teach. Â They use this old saying;
Those who teach don’t know, and those who know, don’t teach.
Most don’t even understand where that came from or what it means. Â It came from the Tao Te Ching and was based on their philosophy of teaching through your natural being and actions, part of their wu-wei principle. Â Then it got applied to martial arts as many taoist things did, but was misrepresented. Â If there were no teachers in martial arts, how would we ever learn martial arts? Â Channeling? Â Good luck with that!
Eventually, it got applied to trading, likely through some distrust of people who teach but with no real understanding of the actual saying.
Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and many other athletes (from other sports) who make millions from playing basketball, teach training camps (and get paid for it). Â Does their pay from these camps = what they make playing their sport? Â No. Â So why do they do it?
Because they want to help others learn their craft, share their joy and what they know. Â Would you ever tell them they are a fake because they teach kids how to play basketball? Â No. Â Do you think they are only teaching little kids to play because they are only motivated by money or cannot play? Â No, so why is this the same with trading?
Sure, there are some suspect people out there who likely cannot trade, who are more marketers than traders, are scammers, or can only trade marginally. Â But some can and still like to help others for their own reasons.
Eventually, you get to a point in your life where the money comes in more than you expected, and then you face a fork in the road;
-You either keep working just to make more and more money (path of the ego)
-Or you try to figure out what good you want to do with your life and skills
I chose the latter, although less to do with the money, and moreso because I have no choice at this point – I have to do what i’m passionate about. Â Anything less would be disrespecting my being, my skills, my natural intelligence and would not help me manifest these latent energies I feel inside.
So hopefully this answers the questions once and for all, but even moreso, gives you an understanding of who I am, why I do this and an inside to what makes me tick.
All the best.
Chris Capre
2ndSkiesForex.com
Other Related Articles:
Trading Rule #1 – Know Thyself
Mindset of A Successful Forex Trader
7 Signs You Know You’re Maturing As A Trader
46 thoughts on “Why I Do This”
Comments are closed.
Thank you. I’m researching who I want to learn from and this helps.
Hello Oz,
Glad to hear. Hope to be working with you soon.
Kind Regards,
Chris
Hola Chris
I’ve got one thing to say, your a fucking LEGEND.
Hola David,
Thanks amigo – much appreciated.
Good points, sir 🙂 definitely answered the questions.
Hey Chris, just admit you are teaching this for the money as you can’t earn enough using your crappy trading methods. I’ll have more respect for you if you have the courage to admit that. Stop lying from now on. Otherwise, you simply persist in being a great fucker who only knows how to fuck a pussy!
Just found this site. I think I love you. Definitely signing up in future.
Welcome Lola. Hope to be working with you soon.
Hello Chris.
Yup, that’s what I asked for. Live trading and some explanation behind the price action. Thank you thank you.
Glad I could help and hope to be working with you soon.
Chris,
Good day to you. I am new to trading. I had read many articles about trading, have lots of information, like what you mentioned. However, I lack practice. I don’t have anyone to guide me. This is especially true as I still don’t have any idea how to enter the market. Most of the articles show what already happened in the past. I don’t really know how to go from that.
So what I am asking is that if I joined this course, will there be a live trading example of how to place entry point? I don’t want you guys to fetch me fish, I want to learn the method of fishing myself. However, for a starter, I still need to see how you guys give me fish. Lol..what a lousy analogy I know
Thank you.
Hello Klien,
I’m not entirely sure what you are asking for, but I’ll give it a shot.
First off, regarding my Price Action Course, I have several live videos in my course showing me trading using the methods in real time.
Secondly, my market commentary briefly covers what happened, but then we share our bias, analysis and what we are looking to do with that instrument going forward.
Thirdly, before you can even consider an ‘entry point’, you have to understand the price action context first, which is what determines the potential for any entry point.
When you learn the core components about price action context first, the ‘entry points’ become more clear. We teach these core models in our first section in the course so you have the basis for how we read, trade, and approach price action on any instrument, time frame or environment.
Next, we also have members in there sharing their live trade setups in real time (before, during and after) all using our methods.
Lastly, I’m building new videos for the course as we speak, and we already have about 8-10 live trade setup videos, meaning I show in real time how I’m entering the market, placing my SL, my TP, and what methods I’m using from the course to trade with.
So what you are asking for is provided.
Hopefully this answers your questions.
Thoughts?
True to the teachings of Buddhism. The self satisfaction from being able to help another being achieve success or become a better person or trader out weight anything else in the world. My goal is similar yet different as my ultimate goal is to build a school for the less fortunate in the third world. Sadly I loss 1/2 million trading in the dark in pursuit of my goal. Hopefully I’ll be able to master your teachings and put myself back on track in time to come.
You’re my idol Chris Carpe and will leave behind a legacy for others to follow.
Hello Candi,
Pleasure to meet another working to help others.
I’ve actually helped to build a school recently as I was the largest donor for one in India for orphaned boys and girls. I’m set to go visit them in 2017 on a trip there, and am really looking forward to meeting them all and seeing how they are doing.
Education is empowering and it certainly was for me, so hopefully it can be for them.
But glad to hear you are interested in pursuing such an endeavor to be a positive impact for others.
Kind Regards,
Chris Capre
Hello Chris,
I see your point and love your work. Can you just clarify this: If you are teaching for the reasons stated in the article, why do you charge money for your courses? Why not just post them for free so that everybody can benefit from it? Wouldn’t that help much more people than having them paid?
Best regards
Hello Ingrid,
You mean like how Oprah charges for her work, like Richard Branson charges for his work, like all people who are passionate about what they do and provide a service charge for their work?
There seems to be this misunderstanding here about being passionate about one’s work, providing a service, and getting paid for it.
Being passionate about this doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get paid for my time, especially if it is benefiting people.
RE: Posting Them for Free
Besides the fact this site, developers, management of it, legal/accounting expenses all cost money (more than most think), when people pay for something, they take it way more seriously than when it’s given for free.
If I’m paying for a training, I’m using the money I’ve worked for to pay for said training. That is time, energy and an investment on my part. Because of that, I’m going to make sure I get every ounce of it.
Most people don’t value something, or take it with the same degree of seriousness or intensity if they pay for it out of their own money.
And because of that investment, they are more committed to working with me and the learning process.
When it’s for free, people can come and go as they please as they have no skin in the game.
I want people who are committed, will work for it, and have invested in this training.
Those that do are grateful for this training, not just how it’s changed the way they trade, but also how it’s helped their life.
Hopefully that clarifies it further.
Kind Regards,
Chris Capre
Awesome article. I will soon be one of the 10,000 students you envision of training to be profitable.
Glad you liked the article David.
Would be happy to see you be the next one to turn the corner.
Kind Regards,
Chris Capre
If you’re so passionate about teaching, why not for free? 😀 Clearly you are not ‘retired’.
Hello Homer,
Hmmm, clearly you misunderstand the article and quote.
The underlying principle and point about the quote of being ‘retired’ is ‘doing what one loves every day, when they want’. By that definition, I am ‘retired’.
Second, about my charging for teaching, being passionate about something does not = one should do it for free.
My service has a ‘value’, and it’s completely appropriate to charge for offering a valuable service.
If you don’t understand this, then you simply don’t understand the value of services.
Kind Regards,
Chris Capre
Coach: It gladdens my heart to meet you via your posts. I been trading forex for five years. Got swindled by some brokers. I was really doing good so much so that some bankers got me to train them. However, I got discouraged when my live account with about 8000 dollars got blown off by Fxdd about 2years ago. Something within me keep telling me I can bounce back. While doing research on forexpeacearmy, I stumbled on your site.Even though I had paid 2500 dollars to another scam fxboom , I decided to read through your posts. I have been praying fervently to my God ,sign up for the Price action class. I knw very soon I will get connected to you by signing up. My prayer for you is that The almighty God will continue give you more wisdom to teach. Until I get signed up, Keep doing the good work. You are uncontainable. You will finish strong
Hi Chris
I have been with you for 3 years now. The courses are very informative and it depends on each person and to get the mindset to succeed.You have been adding on videos and lots of material which shows that you want your students to succeed. The price for the courses are of very very good value as you don’t want to put money into a trading account without knowledge of trading or having a mentor and loose all the money. For me i would rather spend the money for learning at school from the teachers before going to an exam and failing.
Your passionate to help us students is shown by the fact that you are there 25 hrs a day answering emails and in the forum.Your passion to help after a certain period of wealth abundance has taught me value in life. That is the reason i am on this journey and i know you will always be there to pull me out of the quicksand as long as i raise my hand.
Thanks for being there and please chris take care of the health.
another small thought: if i am trading to make money then there must be someone out there trading to lose money so i can make money from him. so if we get the mind set right we are on the way to progress
with health we can make wealth.
take care my friend
regards
student sahajblessed
Much respect for you. Even more so after reading these words. Your work has actually given me the drive to succeed in this business (which I am also very passionate about) and to pay it forward when I reach a successfull level. Even If I can only help one other person reach their (trading) goals. Kind regards, be well.
Thank you Chris. Your courses have helped me enormously and I am remain truely grateful to time you have devoted helping new traders like myself.
Keep it up Chris you are doing great job of teaching. “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Siddhartha Gautama.
Dear Chris
The More I read your posts and articles the more I respect you and be glad that I was Lucky enough to find this Blog and meet you here ,
Thank you so much
Regards
Rona
Hello Ro,
Thank you for the positive comments – they are much appreciated as I take great pride in my work.
Kind Regards,
Chris
Hey Chris, I have gone through your Blog and It states you are good human being.
I am from poor family in India and I have being trading since last 6 months and have no success. I really want my family to get what they deserve and my children to study in good school. In short iam struggling to meet ends.
So My question is can you help me to get successful in trading? I don’t have money to buy your course but promise when i will earn from forex i will pay for your course. Can you help me?
Hello Mark,
I thank you for your kind words and can understand your situation.
However, I do not offer courses for free, or to people who promise to pay at a later date as I have no protection if you do not.
Plus there is no way for you to guarantee you will trade the systems as is, or make money.
It would also be disrespectful to my other course members who also were low on funds, yet paid the full amount with what little they had.
In terms of getting successful in trading, you are always welcome to study my free content as much as possible which by itself can help improve your trading.
I have a free video which may be of use to you called ‘The Laws and Mindset of Abundance’ which you can find here;
http://www.fxstreet.com/webinars/sessions/session.aspx?id=b9a5028a-1d3e-4d45-acb1-2b3e6589efd3
I think that would be a useful place to start and hopefully help you attract more abundance to you.
I hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
Chris
HI Chris,
Thanks for Abundance video 🙂
I Will Save money for your course and get back to you, but one question can you suggest me which course i should take of yours to start making money and what will be the fees for it.
If possible can i get installment facility for paying fees?
Thank you and God bless you all 🙂
Hello Mark,
I’d recommend starting with the price action course which will give you rule based systems for reading/trading price action – a critical skill you can use in any environment. On the page it says the price but all the courses are the same which are $399 USD.
I don’t offer installment plans for the course.
Hope this helps
Kind Regards,
Chris
hi Chris
i don’t know anything about Forex and little about price action and still a fresh trader but all i know is from reading most of your articles that what made my decision that i choose you as a teacher to learn from is … YOU!! YOU SOLD ME ON YOU! your knowledge and wisdom expand WAY beyond just trading , you know the brain and im pretty sure you understand the mind witch is were it all starts, you know philosophies of life and prosperity, abundance and wealth witch are GREAT!! and from this article showed passion and dedication that earned the credentials of a true teacher and does it for all the right reasons …… i dont have the money NOW but i will soon and when that day come i know i will be taking giant leap forward towards my pursuit of becoming a great trader when i acquire your teaching. with my last words i hope to meet and hear from you soon, …. i asked a stranger one time “i desire to gave alot to the world ,but wouldn’t that mean i would have to receive alot” he said ” god knows you heart and your intentions, and for that he will give you everything you need and more” and i believe your heart and your intentions are in the right place and for that i hope you receive happiness , health and wealth including everything you desire in life and more!
Carlos Macias
Hi Chris,
An absolutely top article. Spoken straight from the heart. Almost without knowing it, some of this is starting to rub off on me (I am one of Chris’ Price Action Course students, and have been a member since Dec 2011). I have found myself moving from asking numerous questions, which Chris patiently answers each and every time, to now answering other member’s questions when I feel my knowledge allows and its a great feeling helping people. This can only lead to good Karma for all parties, and furthermore encourage confidence and success in all course members.
This is what Chris promotes, if you are not part of the community yet, it really is lifechanging, trust me.
Well done Chris!
Hi
chris nice to hear from you.
Nice reply to the person who has asked this sort of question to you and every mentor.
we learn from you and you help us in make us understand markets and trading better day by day from your valued articles and experiences.
let the dogs bark ….
we appreciate you.
regards
rocky
You could have chosen to ignore the question but it is your passion and commitment to improving others which makes you bare yourself to others. Your example is very inspirational and I particularly liked the Retirement quote and Michael Jordan’s training example.
Thanks once again for a thoughtful article
Definitely a stronger reason ‘why’ you do what you do, it is clearly an internal driver not an external one… Who you are, not based on materials widgets (noise)
I think the same way although have not reached the financial point yet where I can do the same
Nice post Chris
I believe that some of the most complicated inquires in life have a simple answer. Been able to make a living doing that which one feels passionate about is a key ingredient to happiness. I recently joined the community of Forex traders and still find myself in the early stages of the learning curve. Your contribution has been extremely helpful. I/we would always be grateful for the integrity, hard work and dedication of your service. Passion is a key ingredient to success and St Clemens of Alexandra remind us in one of his most famous quotes that If we do not hope, we will not find what is beyond our hopes. Education and Training, dedication, discipline, persistence will follow hope. Once again thank you for your contribution.
There is one more thing that passing on know how or wisdom does for you: You can only explain well what you understand well. So a good teachers has to make the effort of understanding how it`s done right, how he/she himself/herself does whatever it is they do and want to teach.
It is obvious that the teacher has an enormous benefit by increasing their level of understanding of their field. In other words: Skill becomes solid expertise.
Hi there Chris././thanks a lot…yeah…heard something interesting..and it goes like this..”repetition strengthens and confirms..and faith comes naturally”..
take it easy / regards/ colin
Hola Colin,
I like this saying you mentioned as repetition definitely strengthens neural connections in us which lead to automaticity and it is there that our true intelligence and skills come through.
Glad you liked it.
Kind Regards,
Chris
Chris, this is not a typical article, this is a deposit of soul, a manifestation of your life choices. It touches sensitive strings deeply within me (all of us?) and proves that you are not merely a trainer or a coach but a true MENTOR. People like you are the oasis in the desert of fx trading and prove that the fx training industry is not entirely impersonal to say the least… After reading your write-up I feel that I’m a couple of steps closer to enroll to your Adv Price Action course. Kind regards, Tasos
Thank you Chris
Cheers – thanks amigo.
Kind Regards,
Chris
Chris, I believe in coaching and training. It not only benefits the student but equally the coach / trainer. If we did not have people like your self dedicated to coaching and training knowledge would not be passed on and new things, ways and methods would not get developed as quickly as they do. Ask any Olympian or athlete where they would be if it was not for their coach or trainer.
I am thankful you are willing to teach and train. Your training and insights have made me better in forex and my life away from forex. Please continue to share your knowledge. Thank You!
PS, many super star Athletes and teams have more than one coach and or trainer. Why because they know the importance of coaches.
Nazaar
Great article Chris!
I try to live by similar principles that you stated so I really appreciate you putting it into words like this.
You’ve made me rethink some of my life decisions.
Kind regards,
Tino
Hello Tino,
Am glad to hear this article help you to re-think some things which is something I hoped it would for all.
Kind Regards,
Chris