Do Traders Actually Contribute Anything Meaningful to the World?

At the end of the classic movie Wall Street, Bud Fox's Father tells him:

“Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life.  Create, instead of living off the buying and selling of others.”

So that naturally raises the question…do we, as individual retail Forex Traders, actually contribute anything valuable for the world by trading?

If I’m honest, I would say…

NO.

We are, in fact, just making money off buying and selling.  Some might say that we are greedy.

Yes, you could argue that we provide liquidity for efficient markets to function…and that would be partially true (at least on a very, very small scale).  But at the end of the day, how does that really help anyone?

We are not curing cancer, saving the rainforest or disarming nuclear weapons.  But should you care?

That is up to you.

However, wouldn't it be great to make money AND serve a greater good?  That might bother you and could be the deciding factor in why you stick out the learning curve in Forex trading or not.

So, if you are someone who views trading as a completely selfish activity, then consider the following points.  Although I do not think that trading directly contributes anything to the world, I sincerely believe that successful trading can drastically improve your life and the lives of others.

Happy people make the world better

No, I'm not smoking anything as I write this.

Even though entering buy and sell orders will not save a single manatee, it can be some of the most fun you have with your clothes on.  Unless you trade naked, of course.

If you truly enjoy trading (which you should) and get to the point where you consistently make money, then you have the ability to do something that most people only dream of: create financial abundance while doing something fun.

This may not seem like something huge, but I think it is.  You will probably treat people better because you aren't so stressed about your bills, you may have more free time to do other activities that you love and you can spend more time with your spouse/kids/friends.

What if more people in the world were just a little bit happier?

The more you have, the more you can give

There are some people who go through life being literally appalled by the amount of money others make.  I once heard someone say:

“Why do CEOs have to make so much money? They should just donate it all to charity because there are people who need it more than them.”

That is one if the most retarded things that I have ever heard.  

If they donated all their money to charity, then they would have nothing left to build more wealth, create jobs, produce products the world needs and all that good stuff.  Sure, some CEOs only care about embezzling money for lap dances (ahem, Enron), but I feel that is the exception, rather than the rule.

When you work hard to build a business that makes money consistently (aka trading well), you create a stream of income that you can use to help causes that you believe in…with time, money, or both.

Be the change you want to see.

For example, I donate a portion of the proceeds from this website to Kiva.  They loan money to small businesses in developing areas.  I believe that helping these businesses is a great way to leverage my income to help people become more independent.

If you are interested in how my Kiva loans are doing, you can read the next couple of paragraphs.  If not, just skip down to the next section.

Kiva update: Back in February of last year, I chose Kiva as the charity partner of this website and a portion of all income generated from Trading Heroes goes to them.  Since then, I have made 11 loans.

Two have been completely repaid and the rest are being repaid on time.  I have also made one donation directly to Kiva to support their efforts.  If you would also like to get involved, you can get started here.

You can teach others to create abundance

I wholeheartedly believe that trading is the cleanest and most direct path to wealth manifestation, in the universe.  Well, at least in the world.  You come up with a trading plan, you see an opportunity, you click your mouse.

You don't have to build website traffic, expose yourself on a live cam, rent a warehouse or make cheesy YouTube videos.

Of course, direct manifestation is a double edged machete.  But the point is: wealth is nothing more than an idea.

That concept alone, properly communicated, can be a powerful mental shift in the lives of many.  It doesn't have to just be in trading.  Every global company, revolution and useful invention started with a simple idea…that was acted upon.

If you can teach others how to nurture their ideas, test them and act on them…then you can help move people towards creating more abundance in their lives and bringing cool ideas to the world.

What do you think?

So…even though I do not believe that trading itself does any direct good, it can make a huge difference in your life, the lives of people close to you and the people you choose to help.

Now I would like to hear your opinion…

Is trading a completely selfish act or do you think it can really make the world a better place?  Did I miss anything?