Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Part 1: Day trader's guide to smart living

Once a day trader, always a day trader. I didn't know that back then when I day traded. I thought September 11 cured me, but apparently, two years of staring at three computer screens, 12 hours a day, five days a week left some serious brain grooves, completely changing the way I go through life. For the curious, yes, I made good money. But I also lost myself somewhere in the charts between all the technical indicators and into the vortex of endless economic news, trends, and cycles. I paid for the profits with isolation. Day trading has a dark side. Someday, I'll tell the story in writing. For now, I feel grateful for those two years for teaching me incredible discipline, toughening up my psychological skin, majorly increasing my financial knowledge, and setting me up on a path of freedom I am finally ready to take.

This post is about me breaking the golden handcuffs and taking a leap into a completely different life of writing, dancing, and traveling. I hope you'll come along for the ride. I'll be sending my Life Intelligence updates from wherever I am. Perhaps I can inspire some of you to get your act together, others to figure out what to do next, and all of you to be better humans, more skillful, much happier, and much braver. Perhaps I'll meet some of you along the way.

I can't explain where I am unless I tell you where I've been. Well, not all of it, but some critical times.