Despite all the negatives, I think we have a lot to be grateful for. I also think people take for granted the freedom the United States offers its citizens. Is it perfect? No, but is there such a thing? Maybe on some far off island in the Pacific or somewhere in New Zealand, but that is not the world we live in. Like our parents, we grew up in simpler times, or simpler than it is now at least. While there were stock market crashes and some very negative economic news, like the 2007 Credit Crisis,‘we’ seemed to come out of it alive.
Most of you that know me know I was not the best student. I did eventually get it, but even if I wanted to go to college my parents didn’t have the money to pay for it, and I was not going to inflict more financial damage on them, they had 10 kids. So, no I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so if I wanted to make things happen, I had to go to work.
My first job was at Riley Printing Company, and after that I went to the Chicago Board of Trade as a runner in the grain room making $65.00 a week. Hell, I spent my paycheck the day I got it! I know that not everyone has an easy time. Some people got sick, some people never made it to where they wanted to be, or were never able to pursue their dreams. I hate to say it, but that’s how life works. Some people are lucky that never should have made it, and others that should have made it and didn’t. Like I said, that’s how life works and it’s in God’s hands.
Through all my ups and down I have always tried to remain positive. I believe that tomorrow is a another day. We can start over if we want to. Success is not based on one thing, it’s based on who you are and how bad you want it, and how much you are willing to put yourself to test.
When I was a kid I loved to drink and fight… Why? Because I was a kid. As I got older I knew I didn’t want to sit in a bar and drink all day because that prevented me for making money and moving forward in life. Yes, I did go out and party, but I got up and went to work. I had to because no one was going to do it for me. I had to make things happen.
I always say that I would rather be lucky than smart, but in reality, I had no choice. I took what tools I had and went to work on the trading floors for 38 years. I was part of every major stock and economic event since 1985 when I went over to the CME floor and went on to open one of the world’s largest S&P 500 future operations. Instead of fighting in the bars I fought for big and small customers alike. It didn’t matter to me if it was a 1 lot or a 500 lot, it was someone’s money and I could not sit by and not fight for that. If you think it was easy… It wasn’t. I was the guy that took the hits when the shit hit the fan. That was my job, but I also got to see the world.
I was in Asia during the Asian currency crisis and I was in the Middle East during Gulf War I & II. We just got back from the Middle East and when we arrived on the floor when we saw the first jet slam into the North Tower on 9-11. I was part of the 1999-2000 tech bubble, and I was part of the 2007 credit crisis that devoured many American retirement accounts.
After working for all those years, and fighting as I did, it all got wiped away during the May 2010 Flash Crash. In less than 10 minutes, 32 years worth of work was wiped out. The loss was $5.3mil and, then went up to $8.5mil that we did not have, but that didn’t stop me.
I went back to work for pay checks and during that time I made an internet company called www.mrtopstep.com. I worked for 10 to 16 hours a day. I put the same effort I did into building the trading desk as I did into MrTopStep. I didn’t give up, I dug in. I was not going to let all my years of hard work just go down the drain. I put in a big second, third, fourth effort because I knew I had a wife and a daughter I could not let down.
I got up this morning and while I was doing the gardening, yes I am a gardener, I thought about how good things actually are. I always say that I have been to the top of the mountain and to the bottom of the mountain. Right now I am somewhere in the middle, and I am ok with that. So for those of you that are struggling or sick and don’t want to fight anymore, I say get up, push yourself, dust yourself off. The world will never get better if you don’t try.
Like I said, no one promised a rose garden, but if you want one you are going to have to work for it… Trust me, if you try hard enough, you will get one. Dig deep my friends. Start climbing and don’t look back. As my father always used to say ‘Dboy, life’s too short.’
-Danny Riley
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