{"id":15276,"date":"2011-10-29T14:58:01","date_gmt":"2011-10-29T18:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=15276"},"modified":"2011-10-31T15:15:26","modified_gmt":"2011-10-31T19:15:26","slug":"where-is-my-arc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc","title":{"rendered":"Where is my arc?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Guest Post from SMB Blog Reader\u00a0Yaniv Hamo<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
One of my favorite thinking exercises is about what it means to be living as opposed to merely exist. The<\/span>
\nessence of what separates the living from the grey masses. Working 9\u20105, family and kids, watching TV<\/span>
\nand going on trips \u2013 does not make the cut. That\u2019s what the masses are doing.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nFor years I used to think that the answer is \u201cchange\u201d. If I change, then I am alive. If I keep stable, I am<\/span>
\nreduced to existing only. Biologist Jack Cohen phrased it nicely when he said \u201cThere is this special<\/span>
\nbiologist word we use for \u2019stable\u2019. It is \u2018dead\u2019.\u201d. Constantly changing, regularly getting out of one\u2019s<\/span>
\ncomfort zone, could be the key. So \u201cliving = changing\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then one day, at the annual motor show in Geneva, I saw something that has made me rethink this<\/span>
\ndefinition. What I saw was a Bugatti Veyron, completely made of blue carbon fiber, apparently<\/span>
\nmanufactured especially for that exhibition. There was also a small price tag next to one of the wheels \u2013<\/span>
\nit was to the tune of two million euros, nothing special here. What got me thinking was a small writing<\/span>
\non the tag, in black pen \u2013 \u201csold\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Someone was strolling around looking at the cars on display, liked the blue one, and then asked the<\/span>
\nattendant to please order it to go. There was one thing I could tell for sure about that someone, without<\/span>
\nknowing them \u2013 at some point in their lives, they did not work 9\u20105 and watched TV with their family.<\/span>
\nThey did something more. They could have inherited the money (although less than 10% of the multimillionaires<\/span>
\ndo), or they may have been top criminals, but if we assume for one moment they are self made,<\/span>
\nhonest people \u2013 and there are enough of these \u2013 then it becomes clear that what separates them<\/span>
\nfrom the crowd is: risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

As some point, these individuals had to assume a non\u2010trivial risk. Otherwise, anyone would have made<\/span>
\nit. Risk is the fence that keeps the grey masses from exiting the meadows. People are afraid of taking<\/span>
\nrisks, more than they are afraid to change. Afraid to put aside the safety of their 9\u20105 jobs, be it even for<\/span>
\none month. Yet achieving extraordinary things (and I am not talking about cars anymore) cannot be<\/span>
\ndone from the comfort of a safe, ordinary life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since people can change in a variety of meaningless ways, thereby walking around my first definition, I<\/span>
\nchanged it to \u201cliving = taking risks\u201d. I was happy with this definition for a while. Recently I decided to<\/span>
\nreplace it again. What bothered me the most about it, is that it implies that one needs to keep on<\/span>
\nassuming risks, otherwise they are \u201cdead\u201d. There is a better answer, one that was there in front of me<\/span>
\nthe whole time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of us study, or acquire skill, at one point in life. It takes several years, where we are going through<\/span>
\na learning curve with the help of a teacher or mentor, until we reach the end where a profession awaits<\/span>
\nus. It is this profession that is used for that dreaded 9\u20105 job. Now look around you, and count how many<\/span>
\nprofessionals you know who have assumed another 5\u2010years or longer learning curve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such individuals are becoming increasingly rare. In general, our attention span is shrinking, and just the<\/span>
\nthought of starting a 5 years path can cause some people to panic. Think about it \u2013 20 years ago it was<\/span>
\nstill common to write physical letters to one another. Multi page letters, full with colorful descriptions<\/span>
\nand decorations, text in the corners, text in diagonal, the page could take it all. Then we moved to<\/span>
\nemails. Lost the creativity in presentation, but retained most of the expressive power of the original<\/span>
\nletters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next came the SMS, and our brains started getting accustomed to splitting thoughts to 160 characters<\/span>
\nsegments. After a while, reading a mass of text started to become a challenge, our brains got used to<\/span>
\ninformation in chunks of 160 characters and would dose off reading paper letters from the past. Twitter<\/span>
\ncame with 140 character limit to relieve some of the processing pain. But it was Facebook who<\/span>
\npopularized the shortest unit of communication \u2010 \u201cLike\u201d. Now we can communicate using just one bit,<\/span>
\nwhich reduces our attention span even more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Short attention span demands immediate satisfaction, our brain is constantly seeking external<\/span>
\nstimulation to keep interested, this constant stream of small chunks of information. A study I recently<\/span>
\nread shows that while watching a video, the brain activity spikes whenever there is a new scene. While<\/span>
\nkeeping at the same scene, it gradually lessens. Producers of movies and commercials know and exploit<\/span>
\nthis fact \u2013 they use frequent cuts and fast camera movements to keep giving our brains these addictive<\/span>
\nspikes. Otherwise, we will wander off. Put on an action movie from the 80\u2019s, say \u201cThe Escape from New<\/span>
\nYork\u201d, and you\u2019ll see what I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n

To transcend from existing as a reactive entity, digesting and emitting small chunks of information, to a<\/span>
\nliving human being, we need an arc. We need to be on a learning curve, a 5+ years path in which we<\/span>
\npersist amidst the increasing background noise of modern life. When we reach the end of that curve, we<\/span>
\nneed to assume another one lest we fall into the abyss of the grey masses. There are plenty of learning<\/span>
\ncurves around, covering all disciplines. I picked the one of trading the financial markets. To paraphrase<\/span>
\non the words of Christopher from The Sopranos \u2010 where is your arc?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Post from SMB Blog Reader\u00a0Yaniv Hamo One of my favorite thinking exercises is about what it means to be living as opposed to merely exist. The essence of what separates the living from the grey masses. Working 9\u20105, family and kids, watching TV and going on trips \u2013 does not make the cut. That\u2019s what the masses are doing. … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1532],"tags":[30,1193,653,1354,1349],"class_list":["post-15276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-comments-2","category-guest-blog","tag-prop-trading","tag-trader-education","tag-trader-training","tag-trading-coach","tag-trading-mentor","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere is my arc? | SMB Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where is my arc? | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Guest Post from SMB Blog Reader\u00a0Yaniv Hamo One of my favorite thinking exercises is about what it means to be living as opposed to merely exist. The essence of what separates the living from the grey masses. Working 9\u20105, family and kids, watching TV and going on trips \u2013 does not make the cut. That\u2019s what the masses are doing. ... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SMB Training Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-10-29T18:58:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-10-31T19:15:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bella\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@smbcapital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@smbcapital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bella\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bella\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161\"},\"headline\":\"Where is my arc?\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-29T18:58:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-10-31T19:15:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\"},\"wordCount\":940,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"prop trading\",\"trader education\",\"trader training\",\"trading coach\",\"trading mentor\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General Comments\",\"Guest Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\",\"name\":\"Where is my arc? | SMB Training\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-29T18:58:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-10-31T19:15:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where is my arc?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SMB Training Blog\",\"description\":\"Lessons from the trading desk\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SMB Training\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png\",\"width\":230,\"height\":81,\"caption\":\"SMB Training\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/smbcapital\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/smbcapital\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161\",\"name\":\"Bella\",\"description\":\"Mike Bellafiore is a co-founder of SMB Capital, a day trading firm which takes great pride in its exceptional training program. SMB Capital is an equity prop trading desk that trades on 5th Avenue in New York City. Mr. Bellafiore is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. He has traded professionally for more than a decade.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/bellas-blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/author\/bella\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where is my arc? | SMB Training","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where is my arc? | SMB Training","og_description":"Guest Post from SMB Blog Reader\u00a0Yaniv Hamo One of my favorite thinking exercises is about what it means to be living as opposed to merely exist. The essence of what separates the living from the grey masses. Working 9\u20105, family and kids, watching TV and going on trips \u2013 does not make the cut. That\u2019s what the masses are doing. ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc","og_site_name":"SMB Training Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/","article_published_time":"2011-10-29T18:58:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-10-31T19:15:26+00:00","author":"Bella","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@smbcapital","twitter_site":"@smbcapital","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bella","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc"},"author":{"name":"Bella","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161"},"headline":"Where is my arc?","datePublished":"2011-10-29T18:58:01+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-31T19:15:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc"},"wordCount":940,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["prop trading","trader education","trader training","trading coach","trading mentor"],"articleSection":["General Comments","Guest Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc","name":"Where is my arc? | SMB Training","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-10-29T18:58:01+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-31T19:15:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/where-is-my-arc#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where is my arc?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/","name":"SMB Training Blog","description":"Lessons from the trading desk","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"SMB Training","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png","width":230,"height":81,"caption":"SMB Training"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/","https:\/\/x.com\/smbcapital","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/smbcapital"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161","name":"Bella","description":"Mike Bellafiore is a co-founder of SMB Capital, a day trading firm which takes great pride in its exceptional training program. SMB Capital is an equity prop trading desk that trades on 5th Avenue in New York City. Mr. Bellafiore is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. He has traded professionally for more than a decade.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/bellas-blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/author\/bella"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}