"When man discovered how to make fire to keep himself warm, his need of thought and effort was not ended; when he discovered how to fashion a bow and arrow, his need of thought and effort was not ended; when he discovered how to build a shelter out of stone, then out of brick, then out of glass and steel, his need of thought and effort was not ended; when he moved his life expectancy from nineteen to thirty to forty to sixty to seventy, his need of thought and effort was not ended; so long as he lives, his need of thought and effort is never ended....Life is growth; not to move forward is to fall backward; life remains life, only so long as it advances......Self-esteem, the basic, conviction that one is competent to live, can be maintained only so long as one is engaged in a process of growth, only so long as one is committed to the task of increasing one's efficacy. In living entities, nature does not permit stillness: when one ceases to grow, one proceeds to disintegrate - in the mental realm no less than in the physical."

This text is from page 142-143 in The Virtue of Selfishness, a book which consists of essays written by Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Branden. In the essay The Divine Right to Stagnation Nathaniel Branden writes about the importance of moving forward - not to stand still. His essay is a great motivation for me. I think the abstract above is highly relevant for trading - esspecially since it is a very competitive market (remember Darwins food chain). The ever changing market cycles force you to always try to find new methods to beat the market. Nothing lasts forever. Only the ones who are able to be creative to spot new opportunities will survive.

So, trader, be prepared to work hard.