The Tycoon Report

Revisiting the past!

Thursday, March 2, 2006 | Chris Rowe

A lot of people ask me how I got into the trading game.

Well, I have to say that becoming confined to a wheelchair at the age of 15 changed my frame of mind for life.

As the saying goes: "If you are given lemons, make lemonade" (or something like that -- right?)

But it’s not as simple as just taking pent up anger and redirecting the energy in a positive way.

I just didn't listen to anyone who told me that something can't be done.

The reason?

How much fun can a broke kid from Queens have staying inside and doing nothing?

Before the freak accident, I was really atheletic, always running around the neighborhood with my friends, always Mr. Cool and Mr. Popularity.

Try to take that away from a 15-year-old without a fight.

It doesn't take a very long time for 90% of your teenage friends to stop calling the guy who can't do 90% of what they can.

(Don't get me wrong, the upside of that is weeding the garden of friends and quickly recognizing the true friends at a young age.)

Someone once said: "There are a number of solutions to any given problem."

I'll never forget that.

It's out there. You just have to find it.

So I constantly fought an uphill battle through my adolescent years.

It wasn't a very hard decision to make considering my alternatives.

I had to make something of myself or die trying.

So I started reading more than anyone I knew, and all I read about was investing in the stock market.

It started out as a hobby, and turned into a massive money-making machine.

I was always forced to find an advantage, or the way around a problem or obstacle that the average person wasn't "forced" to find.

I found lots of untapped gems as a result, and that is just what I became "programmed" to do.

I had to constantly find life's "Achilles tendon" if you will.

How does that relate to the stock market??

Knowing how to trade options is one major advantage that anyone with motivation and half a brain can use.

It wasn’t long before I was recognizing patterns.

By the time I was seventeen, I was making successful “phantom” trades on paper.

My father didn’t take me too seriously at first; he thought I was more lucky than good.

Looking back after all these years, I see that he was right.

But I also knew in my gut that I was good.

So good, in fact, that at a family barbeque one Saturday, a business associate of my father’s was so stunned with my trades that he offered me a job at his Wall Street brokerage firm right on the spot.

As you know, starting a new career is never easy.

Long commutes using public transportation, hard-nosed bosses and late nights burning the midnight oil are just some of the battles we have to deal with when we jump into a new career.

But those battles were nothing compared to the adrenaline rush I felt every time I made my way onto the trading floor.

I knew I had found my calling.

Nothing on earth could have stopped me from making a name for myself.

One day I was on the trading floor when I got a gentle tap on my back.

When I turned around, I was shocked to see the richest, most powerful trader at the firm motion for me to follow him.

His name was Mark Rosenberg, and it was well known that he was a man of few words.

Why this mysterious trader wanted to speak to me at that moment I didn’t know, but I followed him into the conference room.

What I learned next truly astounded me.

Starting from humble beginnings in the same Queens neighborhood where I grew up, Mark had amassed a fortune of close to 100 million dollars.

Recognizing my burning passion to succeed, he offered me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be his apprentice.

I jumped at the chance.

The next five years of my life were the most grueling and painful years I have ever worked.

There were many ups and downs; many good days and many bad days.

Through it all, though, I counted my blessings and thanked God that I had a Wall Street legend to teach me the ropes.

To this day, I fight for everything I get.

My latest battle is teaching options strategies to individual investors in a very simplistic way.

Since I've dealt with both individual and institutional investors for a decade, I have a good idea of who our readers are and where you are coming from.

I have mentioned that we are working an a series of options lessons that I will offer to all of you soon.

Here's an update for you:

It has been another uphill battle because I want to be sure to give everyone the framework to make profitable options trading decisions on your own.

After all, why should the savvy Wall Street guys have all of the advantages?

Thank you all for your patience.

I'm looking forward to doing something positive for the underdogs!


“Profit from the Trend”

Chris Rowe
Chief Investment Officer
The Trend Rider