I’D JUST FINISHED presenting. A roar of applause. I glided towards the edge of the stage to make my carefully timed exit.
High heels. Professional. A new flowing dress. And then… on the first step down from the stage, I stumbled.
Not a graceful little skip, like you see in the soap operas. No, no, no.
A full missed step. Heavy footed. And down I went. Clunk, clunk, clunk… down the 4 steps leading up to the stage. I lay in a crumpled heap of sprawling arms and legs on the floor.
The audience gave a collective gasp of horror.
“Are you OK?” came the cries of concern. “Have you hurt yourself?”
I paused. Wiggled my toes… my new dress flipped up around my waist, in the most unflattering of manners. Yes, I was OK. Every part of me, except my ego.
The silence at that moment was heavy.
Struck with inspiration – I leaped to my feet, threw my arms in the air and yelled “Ta-da!”
Everyone laughed as I gamely staggered off to the back room.
You see… the markets are a great training ground. They teach you strength. They teach you resilience. They teach you to think fast and not take yourself so seriously.
Will you fall down as a trader?
Why, yes… yes you will.
(Hopefully not as dramatically and publicly as my little feat though!).
However… always remember, it’s not what happens to you as a trader. It’s how you handle it.
