There’s an old saying that “if you want to compare your own trading against the best, you need to play the same game they are playing by the same rules.” I share this sentiment but I’m also wary of it. It’s all well and good to take on a challenge for personal fulfillment, but if the challenge becomes an obsession, the element of personal fulfillment can, in my opinion be lost. I prefer to measure my performance against my own capabilities rather than the achievements of others.

In that sense, I’m slowly realizing “best” is more of an internal measure for me. I think that personal fulfillment is about finding and maintaining your optimal challenge/skills balance. If that measure takes me to 10 million or 50 million, so be it.

The other interesting thing about life is how many different spheres of excellence there are, and how it requires balance to address more than one. I want to be a great trader, but I also want to be a great educator. Relationships add yet another dimension to the equation. For example, a billionaire with 4 failed marriages is not a success in my book.

All that to say is, I appreciate a challenge as much as anyone but wonder if putting such a high priority on one’s measure invites the risk of letting your desires own you, instead of owning your desires.