How To Find Time To Improve Your Wealth & Health With Options The mantra at OptionSIZZLE is wealth, freedom and options. Now, wealth doesn’t just mean financial gain, it also refers to richness in health. You see, many members of our community are middle-aged professionals. They spend a majority of their time balancing their work and family life. Of course, this can be an extremely difficult responsibility to manage, at times. They know that no one is going to care more about their financial future than them. It’s proven, time and time again that you can’t rely on a “financial professional” to help you achieve the freedom that you deserve. After all, their main focus is fattening their pockets, collecting fees, while constantly underperforming the market. For whatever reason, investors believe that taking control of their financial future is going to be too time consuming and hence, decide to never give it a go. In many aspects, they treat their health the same way. “Where am I going to find the time to workout?” or “I would love to workout but I have too much on my plate to even think about it” . Let’s face it, anyone could come up with a number of different of excuses on why they can’t do something that benefits their well being. Maybe, it’s the belief that you need to be 1000%
committed in order to achieve positive results. Sort of like that puritan mind set, the harder you work… the better the results will be. I remember when I was on the floor of the CME, the open outcry pits were buzzing with energy. I would have to be on the floor an hour before the market opened and stay till 3:15 PM CST, the time that the S&P futures pit closed. It seemed like such a long day, however, it wasn’t like that for everyone. You see, some traders would only come in for a few hours in the morning…sometimes in the afternoon…and call it a day. When I first started OptionSIZZLE in 2008, I was glued to the computer screen, managing money for clients, day trading during market hours and developing OptionSIZZLE.com in the evenings. I was becoming a slave to the market, stressed out and out of shape. It’s not that I wasn’t working hard…I just wasn’t working intelligently. Trying to do too much all at once was causing so much inefficiency in professional and personal life. It didn’t help that I was entering one of the most difficult periods that the market had seen in decades. Working hard and not seeing the results can be frustrating to anyone. I recall spending hours doing research, educating myself on options and technical analysis…all in hopes of turning the corner, getting both my clients and myself back on track. However, I drained out my batteries…and burned myself out. This forced me to reevaluate my process…go back to what worked in the past and what worked for the successful traders I learned from. I knew that the options firms that typically made the most consistent profits in the financial industry were the firms that took the other side of the market. It wasn’t about spending your whole day staring at the screens. It became more about trading strategically, leveraging probability and odds to your favor. The same could be said about a fitness and nutrition routine. The more you workout, the more stress you put on the body, if you don’t rest, you’ll eventually break down and possibly get injured. Again, it’s about being smart with your time in the gym vs. devoting hours and hours that we simply don’t have. After all, our time on earth is precious. Over the last three years, I’ve lost my mother and both grandmas to cancer. It’s important for me, that my time is managed wisely. Believe me, it’s not always easy…trading options, managing businesses, spending time with loved ones, exercising and maintaining good health. However, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned and how I’m making it work. Be economical with your time
As you might already know, I’m a big proponent of selling option premium. More specifically, finding options with an unjustified high implied volatility. Typically selling them with around 45 days to expiration. The exit strategy is simple, I look to take profits at 50% of the original premium collected. This provides the best framework for success, without being chained to the computer all day. By sizing the position correctly, it makes managing the trade a lot less of a hassle. Given my other responsibilities, this type of trading not only gives me a competitive edge but allows me to stay efficient with my time. Best of all, I’m still in control of my finances, but I have time allotted to focus on other ventures. Now, my other business is completely unrelated to the markets. In fact, it involves selling our own fitness products on Amazon and our own website. Again, to make it work I have to be economical with my time because I have to balance my time with OptionSIZZLE and personal life. I’m often asked, how much time do I really need to spend trading options? It’s a tough question to answer. After all, the markets go through periods of extreme volatility to little or no action at all. However, gaining access to the markets easier, due to the enhancement in technologies. With that said, spending at least and hour a day should cut it. But it really depends on what you’re trading and how you’re going about it. Also, setting up price alerts can help minimize the time you spend on trading. In my new book, Fearless Investing With Options, I mention that starting off slow, putting real money at risk is a solid introduction to the options market. Just like one’s fitness level, you’ve got build yourself up first. If you follow the framework outlined in my book, you’ll have an approach to trading options that is not only effective…but also time efficient. Even in my SPX Method Course, one of the strategies I teach is a trade once a week, using the SPX or SPY options…simple and easy. This is the same way I approach my workout routine. How do I maximize results in the shortest amount of time? First, let me say, I’m no fitness expert. However, I’ve done my fair share of research on exercise and nutrition. Not only that, I’ve tried several different routines and diets. I even experimented with going vegan for 18 months, about three years ago. One thing that’s helped me dramatically…was ditching the gym. Even though I live in Chicago, getting to the gym was a hassle. The commute along with waiting around for equipment and machines was becoming too much of a time suck. That’s
why two years ago…I decided to put my energy towards home based workouts, focusing on cardio and body weight exercises. Two of my favorite workout programs right now take 30 minutes each day, that’s it! According to the American Heart Association, they recommend an average of 40 minutes of moderateto vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, 3 to 4 times per week. By doing this type of activity, you’ll put yourself in a position to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol level. The routines I do, involve cardio and resistance training. Nothing exotic at all. In fact, you’ve probably heard of them, they are variations of the popular P90X and Insanity programs. Now, I’m a relatively fit guy…if you haven’t been active for a while…then you’ll obviously need to consult with a physician before attempting to do any type of fitness routine. The beauty behind these type of home based workouts is that it limits your excuses. You can practically do them from anywhere…you’re not dependent on the gym, weather, transportation etc. For some, working out for such a short duration might be a new revelation…it goes against the grain…the puritan mind set…that you’ve got to live in the gym in order to see results. This is simply not true…just like it’s not true that you’ve got to be glued to the markets all day to make money. With all the things going on in our work and family life, it’s important more than ever that we take control of our finances and health. No one else is going to care about our well-being more than us. With that said, I’ve learned to make adjustments and fit these two important aspects of life into my schedule. You can still be productive in both areas in life and still have time for your other responsibilities. Having a plan and process will help you in getting closer to achieving the results you desire. Are you still you making excuses on why you haven’t taken the steps to secure your wealth? It’s not easy to get started, but we owe it to ourselves and families to make it happen. If you’re struggling or don’t know how to get started, we’re here to help and hopefully get you to where you need to be. To your wealth, freedom & options!
P.S. Are you interested in hearing more about the home based workout programs I’m doing? If so, make sure to comment below
Hi I’m Josh, and I’m a finance guy. I cut my teeth in the markets on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, so I saw firsthand how the “sausage was made” – and it usually wasn’t pretty. Because I quickly realized that fund managers only care about getting their fee's first even though 95% of them underperform the overall market. That didn’t sit right with me, so I left that world – And I discovered how to use my financial know-how to empower the little guy by using high-powered investing techniques – including the only “real time” market indicator the pro’s use to spot future price direction. Now I’ve shared my message with over 129,000 people like you, and everyday investors have suddenly started making money in the market for the first time. Make sure you visit http://www.OptionSIZZLE to access your FREE report and eBook that will teach you how to trade options successfully to help you create wealth, freedom & options for you and your family.