Enough of this job, I will do full time trading

A few days ago, I was chatting with a friend who’s been seriously considering quitting his job to get into full-time trading. We got into the usual questions how much does the index return, what’s realistic to expect from trading, how long can drawdowns last, that sort of thing.

His response? “So long as I don’t lose anything by the end of the year, I should be fine.” I told him, “Look, it’s quite possible that you lose a chunk of your capital by the end of the year.” He didn’t want to even consider that possibility.

So I asked him, “Do you want to only trade or invest, or are you open to other adjacent opportunities like becoming a mutual fund distributor, or maybe taking a research analyst license down the line?”
Again, he said, “If I can make 20% from my capital, I’m good.”

At that point, I’ll admit I lost it a bit. I told him bluntly, “Better to trade part-time for a year and then decide.” He didn’t like that recommendation very much.

But this kind of thinking isn’t rare. It’s quite common, actually. A lot of people looking to get into trading (or any business, really) are focused on the possible return ROI, profits, 20% a year, etc. without actually taking time to understand the ‘space’ they’re stepping into. They don’t understand the terrain, the environment, or the real nature of the risks involved.

It’s like trying to play a competitive sport without knowing where the field begins and ends.

That brings me to an idea that really shifted the way I approach not just trading, but most things in life and business:

“The map is not the territory.”

The phrase comes from Alfred Korzybski, and it basically means that the models we build in our heads what we think something is are just that, models, mental shortcuts and abstractions.
What we know about the world, including trading and business, is just our map of it. But the territory, the actual world out there is messy, unpredictable, and often very different from our internal version.

And just like Google Maps sometimes shows a road where there isn’t one, or doesn’t show a road that’s newly built, our mental maps often miss the real paths, blockages, and possibilities.

The Soldier vs. the Scout: Two Lenses for Seeing the World

In her TED Talk and “Rationally Speaking” podcast, Julia Galef introduces a compelling metaphor: the Soldier mindset versus the Scout mindset. These represent two distinct ways we gather information and make decisions something we all do constantly, may be without being aware.

The Soldier vs. the Scout: Two Mindsets for Decision-Making

The Soldier Mindset

The Soldier is always either attacking or defending. This mindset is rooted in emotion. It’s what psychologists call motivated reasoning. Basically, you form beliefs and then try to defend them no matter what the evidence says.

In trading and investing , this shows up all the time. You’ll see people on Twitter or YouTube saying things like, “The market is rigged,” or “Smart money is always out to take your stop losses.” And they say this with such conviction that even when you show them evidence to the contrary, they would ignore.

That’s the trap of the Soldier mindset it creates blind spots. It shuts you off from reality and stops you from adapting. And in markets as in life, if you can’t adapt, you don’t last.

The Scout Mindset

The Scout, on the other hand, is out there to figure out what’s actually going on. No defending, no attacking. Just observing.

In the business world, this means asking:

Who’s making money here? are they doing differently? What issues exist in this space that I might not be seeing yet?

Scouts enjoy being proven wrong, because it gives them a clearer picture of reality. They aren’t tied to their ideas in the same emotional way. Their self-worth isn’t about being right – it’s about getting it, in the sense understanding it right.

What Julia Galef also points out is really important: this mindset has nothing to do with intelligence. You can be super smart and still have a Soldier mindset. And you can be average in IQ but deeply curious and open-minded and that makes you a better decision-maker over time.

The Map is Not the Territory

So let’s come back to the main idea: “The map is not the territory.”

The stuff in your head the models, the expectations, the belief that “I’ll make 20% if I just focus on trading” – that’s a map. It might be useful in the beginning. It might give you direction. But it’s not reality.

Reality is messy. The territory is full of unexpected obstacles, delays, and turns. Your strategy might not work. Your drawdowns might be deeper and longer than expected. Your “edge” might not hold up in live markets.

The only way to deal with that is to keep updating your map. Check it against reality. Rebuild it when needed.

It’s uncomfortable – but that’s the job. The job, whether you’re trading or building any business, is to be more of a Scout. Map the landscape. See what’s actually happening. Understand the space. Then, if you have to go to battle – be it a market move, a business bet, or a new venture – you go in like a Soldier, with your plan ready.

But always scout first.

Final Thoughts

A lot of people underestimate how complex the space really is – whether it’s trading, investing, or starting a business. They want simple maps. Simple returns. Simple stories.

But life, and markets, don’t work like that.

You need to stay flexible. Be curious. And accept that your current model of how things work might need to change often.

Because the map is not the territory.

Lastly a Book Recommendation: The Scout Mindset : Why Some People See Things Clearly And Others Don’t – by Julia Galef

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