Jesse Livermore on Being Clear on the Trade-offs to Reach Your Goals

  • An earnest young newsman went up to Jesse Livermore one day and asked if he felt it was worthwhile to become a millionaire, considering all the strife and struggle one had to go through to get there. Livermore responded that he liked money a lot, so it was certainly worthwhile to him. But aren’t there nights when a stock trader can’t sleep? the reporter pursued. Is life worth living when you’re worried all the time?
  • “Well now, kid, I’ll tell you,” Livermore said. “Every occupation has its aches and pains. If you keep bees, you get stung. Me, I get worried. It’s either that or stay poor. If I’ve got a choice between worried and poor, I’ll take worried anytime.”
  • Livermore admitted that he worried about his speculations all the time, even in his sleep. But hen he said that was all right by him. “It’s the way I want it,” he said. “I don’t think I’d enjoy life half as much if I always knew how rich I was going to be tomorrow.”21 Lessons From Jesse Livermore: Trader Case Study | Zen & The Art of  Trading