The World Awaits

For some reason, despite The Sultan announcing his retirement from the blogging world in February, I kept his blog on my blog roll. I now think that was a mistake. He wrote in a post titled Goodbye Traders:

So I've come to the conclusion that this is the perfect moment to end my blogging. I know it's not the first time I've said this but I'm certain this time! I had planned to continue through 2014. I felt I might still have a bit left to contribute because my tennis trading academy had given me a new lease of life in terms of material to blog about. But recent events have finalised in my mind that the online trading world is a place I no longer wish to be part of.

The retirement held for five and a half months, before he was back with "Sultan Tennis Trading Academy: Hot News!" (His exclamation point, not mine). Then earlier this month, we get this:

I've lived on the edge for a few years now and have come through it but things can change. I think more and more about what I'm going to do with the money I've accumulated and how I'm going to invest it in future.

Perhaps my memory fails me but I thought there was a Sultan pleading for investment because he had no funds of his own to invest. Didn't he write something like this in 2013?

I want to make some serious cash or I'm really not that bothered. I always thought that was going to happen one day and I'm almost certain that it would if I could only compound my profits. But that isn't going to happen this year and I don't know if I can continue treading water for another year, when I could be doing something else. Without investment, I'm stuck and although I've been doing well, everything I earn goes straight back out.

I was not far away from quitting trading completely back in February. I remember being very frustrated at the fact I could not afford to compound my profit and would not be able to do so for the foreseeable future.

It was only about a year ago when The Sultan reminisced about his days of trading for one of the court-siding syndicates:

I was asked to trade on behalf of a syndicate. I would love to have that kind of opportunity again (it was pulled after a month, despite me making a good profit) but until that happens, I will continue to slog away on the ladders every week and see where it gets me.

Well somewhere along the way, The Sultan has hit the big time - apparently. He now muses about his strolls on the golf course, and his fear of ending up collecting lost golf balls like one gentleman he sees there:

I presume he sells them back to the course owners in exchange for a few pennies. I suppose it's not the worst job in the world. You spend all day outdoors in a picturesque environment. But I always feel a sense of anxiety whenever I see him - because I'm scared that I'll end up the same as him.

That's some presumption for a start. As someone whose parents' back garden adjoins a golf course, I can tell you that many people, including my Dad, actually enjoy finding lost golf balls, and happily give them away to anyone interested in them. And as for looking scruffy, well it's not typically an activity that requires a suit and tie, and best shiny shoes - although having said that, my Dad is of a generation where he does feel improperly dressed if he goes to Morrison's without a jacket and tie!

But what's this about a sense of anxiety? How could that be?

...even though my debt worries are long gone and I will be comfortable for years to come - barring a disaster. But what happens if there is a disaster? I've lived on the edge for a few years now and have come through it but things can change. I think more and more about what I'm going to do with the money I've accumulated and how I'm going to invest it in future.

Well something changed in a hurry. We've gone from being stuck, with anything earned being spent, to being comfortable for years to come, and "which ISA should I invest in?" all in the space of a few months. Having never made more than £10,000 in a month until October last year, and despite not having reached the Super Premium Charge threshold yet, he is somehow comfortable for years to come - still renting mind you - and something just doesn't add up.

Comfortable is a relative term for sure - to some it means having no debt, to others it means that income from your investments covers living expenses. One person suggested:

Financially Comfortable: To me, this means that you have a sizeable portfolio, you own a reasonably successful business or you’ve got a very stable job, and you either own your home outright or have a very manageable mortgage. You could go out and buy a new car without needing a loan. You could afford to take a year off from work to pursue a dream and not return mired in debt. If you’re half of a couple, you could live well enough if either of you stopped working.

It's all very curious, although quite possibly intended to inspire naïve readers into signing up for the "email only" academy and achieve their dreams of living the high-life like him. Usually these ads are accompanied by pictures of the seller in his Ferrari parked in the driveway of his palatial home as his private jet takes off in the background.

I enjoy my own company (I really am delightful companionship) but for the first time in a long time, I have started to crave some real-life interaction.

But I think I am now reaching the stage where perhaps solo trading is actually starting to turn me a tad insane.

Modest and mad, an irresistible combination.

Finally, yesterday we had this vomit inducing paragraph:

I know I have a lot to offer the world in some capacity but at the same time, I'd be stupid to throw away the incredible income stream I have fought so hard to generate. It's a real conundrum.

He IS the messiah! As Hejik wrote in his excellent and detailed look at The Sultan earlier this year:

Unfortunately, his head is now stuck so far up his own backside that he can no longer see things in a clear light.