This story is not true, it is a joke, but the punch line is worth the read.
Pop Quiz Hotshot:
How do you know when to spend money on LEARNING TO TRADE?
A. When it's free
B. When it's super expensive
C. When it's looks like a lot for a little
D. When it's backed by a credible source
If it's free then the rationale would be what do I have to lose? There are no free lunches - profit seekers come from all angles and the freebie is the oldest trick in the book.
If it's super expensive the thought would be it must be good if they charge that much. This doozy is called perceived value - smack a nice label on it and a big price tag and create a sense of mysterious value and before you know it you are driving a Pontiac for Rolls Royce prices!
If it looks like a lot for a little then you must be thinking that is a great value, but this little trick is called product packaging - make something seem worth more than it is then offer a big price break.
If it's backed by a credible source then the logic is to trust that source's experience and reputation. The issue with this one is well hold on, gimme a second ummm I guess it's pretty sound logic since this source knows more than me and has the success I want - then I guess I should respect and listen to what that source has to say.
Then the question becomes where can I find a credible source willing to share their secrets with me so I can learn to trade?
The Search for a Credible Futures Educator
I was watching this show towards the end of 2009 with Maria Bartiromo from CNBC fame. It was a show about giving out Asian business awards and she had a special guest on the show by the name of Jet Li. You might have heard of the name because he was a big action movie star (Lethal Weapon 4, Fist of Legend). Anyway, not too long ago he threw in the towel on his mega-million dollar movie career to start and spearhead a non-profit organization called the One Foundation. He did this (paraphrasing here) to fulfill his destiny to help the world through this charitable outlet. Now if all of us had millions of dollars I think many more people would focus their time and energy giving back, but unfortunately we spend most of our time just trying to build a comfortable life for ourselves and our family.
Larry Levin has traded for 20+ years - and whaddaya know he has actually made money! He posts his trade statements to prove it (winners, losers, losses, profits - he breaks it all down in black and white) to show everyone he is the real deal - not cocky, but just enough to say the heck with all these pretenders out there - if you got the goods, show your hand! When you have had the success that Larry has what do you do to give back? Sure, Larry can start a charity but Larry's passion, his destiny as Jet Li might put it, is to give back with his knowledge and experience. He built a big educational company in the Chicago Board of Trade building designed to educate traders - it was Larry's big giveback.
Then he spent years mentoring students and one-by-one bringing smarter traders into the S&P pit, but something was missing. Sure, he was doing a great thing for these traders but it was one trader at a time. Larry wanted to make an impact - a BIG impact and one trader at a time wasn't cutting it anymore.
Recently he stumbled upon an amazing new trading approach. Larry realized that his tricks of the trade so to speak could be applied to almost any futures market. Larry's 'secrets' now had a whole new way to help traders. This is what he was waiting for - the big one! Larry shut his office door and six months later opened it with a manual - and not just any manual. This was Larry's secret handbook to what he feels is the best approach to trading futures. He also started a monthly newsletter where Larry tells all through monthly tutorials and commentary just for members. He also threw in a free preview of his online trading room, called it a club membership and slapped a price tag a little under $2,000 on it and called it a job well done.
Larry's Meltdown
The problem was Larry couldn't sleep.
Weeks went by and Larry was catching an hour here or there, and it was really starting to affect him in the trading pit where he spends much of his time. It got so bad that Larry was literally on the verge of a complete meltdown, so he hopped on a plane and went to the one person he knew could help him figure out what was troubling him so much; the only person in his whole life that knows him inside and out and tells it to him straight: his Mom.
Larry may have made millions (not without losses or risk of loss - come on, let's be realistic here) but he will always be a big momma's boy and he isn't afraid to admit it. So Larry went to Mom and recounted everything he could think of until she stopped him dead in his tracks and said Larry, sweety, my boy - your problem is staring you straight in the eye and you are blind to it. You are a good person, a giving person and I think it is just eating you up that you are making a profit on teaching people how to trade when in your heart of hearts you want your focus to be on helping - not profiting. It was at that point Larry had an epiphany: he would re-price his course to cover his overhead and pay his hard working staff and leave just enough to get the word out about this great educational tool for traders. Larry plunged the price down to as little as $38.95 - over 97% off the ATF Club Membership!
But Mom didn't stop there.
Larry's Mom called him the other day to check on whether he was getting some sleep. She said, "Larry, I was thinking that you have a few hundred copies of that book you wrote still laying around in your old bedroom. I really want to make a nice sewing area in that room and I don't know why you have to store all this stuff here anyway. Besides, I remember when books were a nickel and I am sure people would love getting your book for a nickel. Why don't you be a good little boy and just give it away with that manual you wrote?" So Larry, being the good little boy that he is, decided to include his book entitled How I Made $1,900,336.82 Trading Commodities for a nickel to the first 341 people who buy the All the Freedom in the World Club Membership - making the total price for the membership just $39! This is a one-time charge, with no renewal fee, no hidden charges and nothing to pay later - just $39 - plain and simple it's the largest discount on a Larry Levin educational product ever offered to the public.
So thank Larry's Mom by helping her clear out her new sewing room, and help Larry get a good night's sleep by checking out the All the Freedom in the World Club Membership by clicking here.
DISCLAIMER
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss in trading commodity futures contracts can be substantial. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should be aware of the following points:
(1) You may sustain a total loss of the funds that you deposit with your broker to establish or maintain a position in the commodity futures market, and you may incur losses beyond these amounts. If the market moves against your position, you may be called upon by your broker to deposit a substantial amount of additional margin funds, on short notice, in order to maintain your position. If you do not provide the required funds within the time required by your broker, your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you will be liable for any resulting deficit in your account.
(2) Under certain market conditions, you may find it difficult or impossible to liquidate a position. This can occur, for example, when the market reaches a daily price fluctuation limit ("limit move").
(3) Placing contingent orders, such as "stop-loss" or "stop-limit" orders, will not necessarily limit your losses to the intended amounts, since market conditions on the exchange where the order is placed may make it impossible to execute such orders.
(4) All futures positions involve risk, and a "spread" position may not be less risky than an outright "long" or "short" position.
(5) The high degree of leverage (gearing) that is often obtainable in futures trading because of the small margin requirements can work against you as well as for you. Leverage (gearing) can lead to large losses as well as gains.
(6) You should consult your broker concerning the nature of the protections available to safeguard funds or property deposited for your account.
All Of the points noted above apply to all futures trading whether foreign or domestic. In addition, if you are contemplating trading foreign futures or options contracts, you should be aware of the following additional risks:
(7) Foreign futures transactions involve executing and clearing trades on a foreign exchange. This is the case even if the foreign exchange is formally "linked" to a domestic exchange, whereby a trade executed on one exchange liquidates or establishes a position on the other exchange. No domestic organization regulates the activities of a foreign exchange, including the execution, delivery, and clearing of transactions on such an exchange, and no domestic regulator has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of the foreign exchange or the laws of the foreign country. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the transaction occurs. For these reasons, customers who trade on foreign exchanges may not be afforded certain of the protections which apply to domestic transactions, including the right to use domestic alternative dispute resolution procedures. In particular, funds received from customers to margin foreign futures transactions may not be provided the same protections as funds received to margin futures transactions on domestic exchanges. Before you trade, you should familiarize yourself with the foreign rules which will apply to your particular transaction.
(8) Finally, you should be aware that the price of any foreign futures or option contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss resulting therefrom, may be affected by any fluctuation in the foreign exchange rate between the time the order is placed and the foreign futures contract is liquidated or the foreign option contract is liquidated or exercised.
This brief statement cannot, of course, disclose all the risks and other aspects of the commodity markets.
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