Are People REALLY Getting Money Via Internet Marketing?

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you will notice that I've been exposing a lot of BS in the self-help, "how to make money" fields as of late. But I wanna take this time to relate a real life experience of my own.

All around the internet and on various online business forums, I've seen people ask a question similar to the one posed in the title. Of course most people would answer yes, but they'd reference what someone else is doing as proof. So I'm gonna tell you why I know there's money to be made in Internet Marketing (IM). By Internet Marketing, I'm referring to the practice of selling products (digital and/or physical) via the internet. Internet Marketing isn't an industry itself, just a platform to conduct business. Now let's  begin....

Around mid to late 2010,  I'd hit rock bottom financially after I'd mismanaged money I made in a different business. I had literally $2 in the bank, my car had just gotten repossessed and a lot more crazy things. Fortunately, the rent in my apartment was paid up for the remainder of my lease. I even began working odd jobs to earn money for my expenses. I'd been down before, but never to this degree. It really began to bother me, almost to the point of depression. At this time, I was blogging and this entire ordeal was so devastating that I shut my blog down. Why? Because I felt that I had no business blogging about business and money if I wasn't able to keep the money I'd made. Therefore, I closed my blog and began to work on making a comeback. On a side note: Some of my readers may remember when I abruptly shut my blog down in late 2010. This is the first time that I've revealed my reason.

During the time which I was plotting my comeback, I again began blogging about issues in which I felt strongly. I stayed away from talking about money. This time, blogging was more so to let loose...a way to express myself. During my stint as a blogger this go round, I'd developed a pretty loyal following in a short amount of time. I'd refer certain books and other products and people would go out and buy them. Then one day, I received an email from someone who'd read my content. This person advised me that I could make money off the products I referred. I didn't know anything about that. He was referring to the Amazon affiliate program. Needless to say, I took his advice and began to continue to refer people to products I liked. I didn't think of it as me being an affiliate, I just thought of it as...why not receive a referral fee since they're buying off of my recommendation?

After learning of the possibilities of making money online, I setup another self-hosted blog through the Wordpress platform and used my other free hosted blogs to link to my self-hosted site. I setup a steady stream of income through the Amazon affiliate program, a few Clickbank products, my own self-created products on matters in which I had experience and an affiliate network setup by a friend of mine. After a few short months, I was earning a little over $2,000 a month. Not a great deal of money, but its good for someone who started with $2 in the bank. The money I was making allowed me to buy another car w/ cash, get ahead on my expenses, amass a decent amount of savings and even buy a few luxuries. Most of all, it allowed me to save enough money to get started in my current business.

Although I was desperate when I started started blogging, I wasn't doing it to make money until I got a taste of the Amazon affiliate program. I didn't know anything about IM coming into this. All I'd heard about IM was that people were making millions overnight, and since I'd been involved in other businesses of my own, I knew better than to buy into that. I was just blogging as a way to vent and monetized my readers over time. I also saw my writings as me trying to help others through my own experience. Of course when the money did come, I had to first experiment with different methods of monetizing traffic until I found a system that worked. It wasn't a straight shot at all.

I said all of that to say this: There's money to be made. But what are you going to do? Are you going to be one of those people who read a get rich quick manual and get in the game based on what they told you? You know what I mean, one of those people who want it all at once. Or, are you going to be one of those people who put in the necessary work (both working on your business and constantly learning) and are fine w/ moderate growth? The way you answer that question makes a big difference as to whether you make money in any endeavor you undertake.

Thanks for reading!

Sean Tudor Carter

“We live in deeds, not years. In thoughts not breaths, in feelings, not in figures on a dial.”

Sean Tudor Carter is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, research and writer for the Young & Opulent Group, a company formed to serve the needs of up and coming entrepreneurs, investors, and scholars who wish to reach opulent goals and stay consciously afloat in these fast changing times. 

Exposing The Self-Help Industry

The foregoing article was originally written in October of 2012:

“Those Who Can, Do; Those Who Can’t, Teach” – Unknown Author

I know that this article is going to ruffle some feathers but the points on which I'm about to hit just have to be made. I don't doubt that there will be opposition but one thing is for certain and that is: none of the opposition of the foregoing content will be successful people....just individuals who hope to achieve success through wishful thinking.

Here’s a basic rundown of how the self-help industry works: You have a guy who’s read all the various self-help books of the past and has attempted to run several businesses of his own that have been failures. After failing enough times, he figures that the only way to make money is to publish books/courses/audios/coaching/etc. which aims to teach people how to make money and be successful. That’s the gist of it. If I had to estimate, I’d say that 99% of self-help authors fall into that category. I remember seeing a guy (several guys actually), who was a nobody w/ no proven track record of success selling coaching for $5,000! When you research the guy, the only thing that comes up is his coaching services...nothing which indicates that he's run a successful business in the past.

There is that rare occasion where you’ll have someone who’s achieved success in business write a book about their journey to the top. You probably won’t find too many of these because those people are too busy actually making money to write books. But if you’d notice, these people’s work differ a whole lot from that of self-help authors who have never achieved any success. Take for example T. Harv Eker, author of “Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind.” Mr. Eker was a successful businessman before he decided to write about it. I’ve read Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind several times and to me, its one of the most pragmatic books on success. One thing the author emphasizes is hard work. In no way, shape or form does he make it seem easy to become successful. But on the flip side, the majority of self-help authors will make becoming successful sound like a walk in the park.

So now you may be wondering, “how do you know whether or not these authors have achieved success before writing about it?” One thing about me — if I’m looking to learn something from somebody, I am going to research that person to check their credentials. And that’s what exactly what I’ve done with a lot of the big names in self-help. I haven’t been able to find a history of success in business for 99% of them. Of course they tell you their stories of building companies and so forth, but in today’s digital age, I’d imagine that it would be easy to verify these claims. Yet, no one ever gives any verifiable information to back up their claims. Take someone like Charles F. Haanel, author of The Master Key System (TMKS), who was a successful businessmen BEFORE writing TMKS. I was able to verify that he did in fact build several successful companies. Mind you, Mr. Haanel built his companies in the late 1800′s. So if I was able to verify the legitimacy of claim made over 100 years ago before today's digital age, why is it so hard to verify the claims of these guys in today’s time?

I remember being part of a really popular Internet Marketing forum (not gonna mention their name). This forum is NOTORIOUS for allowing and even encouraging fraudsters to sell BS products to unsuspecting people. Many of the members portray themselves as being really successful businesspeople, but when you do a little digging, you find that they also fit my description of 99% of self-help gurus. When I browsed this forum, I noticed that almost all the products being sold which taught people how to make money in Internet Marketing, taught them to do so by creating their own product teaching people how to make money.

If you’re a sensible person, you may now be asking, “but how are they going to create a product teaching people how to make money if they haven’t made any money in Internet Marketing?” Here’s your answer: they hire “research teams” to research methods to make money who then ghostwrites an eBook for them (if they can’t afford these teams, they do the research and writing themselves), they then package and brand the product with their name and a phony story of how they came across this “revolutionary money making secret.” One of the most infamous tricks they’d use is a fake PaypPal and/or Clickbank screen shot which shows lots of money in their accounts as a result of using their methods. They create these fake screenshots by typing a javascript code into their browser, which then allows them to edit the numbers on the screen. After editing the numbers, they take the screenshot. I’ve seen this scenario play out with my own eyes hundreds of times on this forum. This method of creating BS products doesn’t only pertain to the forum in question, that’s how the overall “self-help/how to make money” industry works.

So now we’ve come to The Law of Attraction (The LoA for short). The LoA is something that self-help authors have referred to for quite some time now. During the early 1900′s, guys like Napoleon Hill, Charles F. Haanel, Wallace Wattles, Claude Bristol, William Walter Atkinson, and many others wrote about The LoA…from a pragmatic standpoint. The LoA is real BUT the way in which its taught today is false. Today, self-help authors teach you that The LoA is a short cut to success…a universal law to assist you in avoiding having to work. According to them, if you just think about it and believe, it’ll come to you. That is a load of bullshit. Yes, we do create our circumstances through our thoughts. And yes, we can create favorable opportunities through our thoughts. But what good is it going to do if you don’t take action? More on that later in my closing paragraph.

Many self-help authors teach The LoA in a way that causes the reader to desire to fulfill only selfish purposes. In ancient times, when people wrote about these Universal Laws, they used these laws for the purpose of bettering themselves and society as a whole. But now, self-help “gurus” teach you to use The LoA in expectation of something for nothing (which doesn’t exist). That, by the way, is why the vast majority of people who read these books never achieve anything, because they’re focused only on themselves. Nothing good comes to the person who isn’t willing to put in the work. I remember seeing several of these guys advise readers to act only if their actions feel good. Again, more bullshit. From my experience, its the actions you don’t feel like taking but that you take anyways that makes the most difference. I have never known a successful person who acted only when it felt good. One part of being successful is having to do things you don’t want to do…period. Do you see how these people are misleading you?

Your best bet, in my opinion, would be to leave the self-help stuff alone. Chances are, you already know what you need to do in order to succeed, you just haven’t realized it. 99% of these guys haven’t made any money outside of pitching products on how to make money and be successful. I would never tell you not to read any books on the subject. The books you read should be by people that have actually done it themselves. Some people may say, “what’s wrong with them providing motivation to others, even though they haven’t done it themselves?” The problem is that they’re providing misleading information to their audience. How can you teach someone how to do something you haven’t done yourself? People listen to these guys, apply their teachings and never become successful. Only person who makes money is the author. With the economy being in such a state of uncertainty at the time, these guys are going to be targeting the unsuspecting even harder because they know that everyone is looking for a way to make more money, looking for security, etc. And here they are ready to play the role of savior.

In closing, all I have to say is this: there is no substitute for hard work and accurate thought. Anyone who tells you otherwise usually has something to sell you. The Law of Attraction and other universal laws are important, BUT, they don’t take the place of plain ole hard work. You can attract opportunity to you through your thoughts, but you should be constantly putting in work. And you better be ready to work like a motherfucker when that opportunity comes. If you have to work 20 hours a day, so be it. I’m sure anyone who’s great at something worked their ass off to acquire those skills. Majority of self-help authors take advantage of people’s nativity. Lets be for real. A lot of people would choose easy success over having to work hard if there was such a choice (if you don’t believe me, look at how many people play the lottery). And these people prey on that desire people have of receiving something for almost nothing.

Don’t be fooled, people. Keep working hard, keep being motivated, keep your mind on your goal and DO NOT get tempted by claims of easy riches.

Is Taking The Easy Route Truly Worth It?

The foregoing article was originally written in September of 2012:

The year 2012 has been one in which I’ve been hearing a lot of people cry “SCAM!” It’s natural to be sympathetic towards those that have gotten themselves caught up in a fraudulent situation. But at the same time, we’ve got to use the word that a lot of people seem be afraid of. What’s that word? It is: RESPONSIBILITY. We can sit here all day and talk about scam artists, but in a lot of the cases I’ve heard, some people just need to admit that it was their own failure to employ logic and critical thinking that made them victims in the first place. Many individuals are looking for the easy way out. Personally, I’ve come to realize that there are some things setup in this world to punish those who try to take the easy way out.

I always tell people…there’s no substitute for hard work and accurate knowledge. Going along with these so-called pre-built systems is a recipe for disaster. I actually feel like a lot of this “easy success” stuff is created to punish people who try to skip having to do the work. Not just in business, but in practically every facet of life. In our society, a lot of people have made a lot of money selling products that promises easy results with little or no work. At one point in time, I used to be mad at those people. But now, I have no issues with them. They’re simply filling a need — a need that people have to avoid hard work and look for the easy way. In my opinion, they’re giving people exactly what they want. Should people fail when using their products, its their own fault, in my opinion. Maybe then they’ll see that there are no shortcuts to the top.

Right now, there’s a huge story taking place concerning a group called “The Global Information Network (GIN),” which was founded by TV Pitchman Kevin Trudeau. I'd written previous about that falling out. In that particular situation, lots of people are mad at Kevin Trudeau and their anger is justified. BUT…the GIN scheme would not have been possible if it weren’t for people looking for a shortcut to the top. GIN promised its members that they could use the Law of Attraction to manifest their wishes. GIN promised to put them in contact with prominent members of societies who’d help them build their fortunes. GIN promised them access to all the “secrets” of building wealth that no one else supposedly had access to. None of which was actually delivered. A lot of people were burned by this organization, but I hope they learned their lesson…a very expensive lesson at that. I hope they learned that there are no shortcuts to the top! The kinds of money some people invested in GIN (reaching $75k-100k in some cases), could have been used to launch a few successful enterprises. But instead, they used that money looking for a shortcut.

In my field, Derivatives Trading, some people suffer from the same state of mind…that of trying to go the easy route. Thankfully, I never got caught up in the hype when learning to trade. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that I was brought into the game by a successful trader who provided an extensive book list to me that recommended nothing but information-based books. That, by the way, is really key. None of the books offered a pre-made system. They were instead information-based. The combination of books provided explained how the markets, the economy and human psychology works from an objective viewpoint, which would enable me to absorb the information and create my own system. There would be plenty of trial and error in the process though. But that’s the thing! If you aren’t willing to get your hands dirty and make a few mistakes, then you aren’t serious about wanting to succeed in whatever you’re attempting to do. They have products for people like that (those that want to avoid mistakes)….those products we described earlier. The funny thing about those kind of products is this — people buy them, attempt to use them, fall flat on their face and repeat the process a few times until they finally realize there are no shortcuts (unfortunately, some people never realize it). They then spend more time trying to undo the damage done by trying to take the shortcut.

Make no mistake about it — the same type of fraudulent schemes are present in trading as well (as I alluded to in the previous paragraph). There are lots of fly by night companies who set themselves up as Proprietary Trading firms, offering to teach individuals how to trade profitably. Not only do they claim to teach you how to trade profitably, they claim to let you use their money to do it! I’ve seen people spends thousands of dollars on those types of programs, sometimes even tens of thousands, only for the program to either run off with their money or provide them with some useless information. Think about this — trading is hard work! If a person has come up with a highly profitable system, they aren’t going to share it with you. That’s their punishment for not reading a few books on trading, which I can assure you would have cost a hell of a lot less than they paid for these programs. They could have bought a few books, downloading a paper trading software and had some money left over to actually trade, which had the potential to make them money. But instead, they got burned looking for the easy way.

I’ve talked primarily about looking for shortcuts when it comes to making money, but make no mistake about it, the same thing rings true all across the board. People look for shortcuts for their health, their intellectual studies…practically anything that requires learning and effort. When I was dealing with my weight issues and made it through that successfully, it amazed me how many people would ask me for advice and would get upset with me because the system I used wouldn’t provide the results they sought overnight. Some people even accused me of lying to them when I’d tell them that I followed a restricted eating plan for almost 6 months that required strong discipline. What’s crazy is that these people SAW me do it and still don’t believe that its not an overnight process.

Conclusion: Nothing in this world that is worth having comes easy nor are there any guarantees. If you’re looking for a quick fix with a guaranteed outcome, there are plenty of people who’d love to provide one, but at a cost. That’s the price you pay when trying to avoid doing the work. I’ve seen lots of “how to” programs over the years that have claimed to provide a fast and easy method to success, and I’ve seen people praise these programs. But not once have I ever saw any of the praisers state that they’ve USED any of those programs and got what was promised.

Thanks for reading!

Sean Tudor Carter

“We live in deeds, not years. In thoughts not breaths, in feelings, not in figures on a dial.”

Sean Tudor Carter is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, research and writer for the Young & Opulent Group, a company formed to serve the needs of up and coming entrepreneurs, investors, and scholars who wish to reach opulent goals and stay consciously afloat in these fast changing times. 

This Is Why You're Single: Black Woman Edition

The foregoing article was originally written in October of 2012:

"QUESTION: How do you cure a disease? Answer -- By first, diagnosing the problem and then applying the proper remedy. Which is exactly what I'm about to do.

Why target black women? Here's why: For the past 30 years, black women have used every media outlet to perpetuate the negative stereotype of black men. They've told the world we're all in jail, deadbeat dads, gay, uneducated, dogs, etc. They've said these things to anyone who'd listen. But a black man is viciously maligned if he criticizes a black woman in any way. He's maligned not only by black women, but by soft, weak, effeminate black men who seek to gain favor with black women. And a black man who dates interracial is also viciously maligned. So what's a black man to do!? This is where I tell the side of the story that isn't being told. A lot of what I say can be said for women of any race. BUT, the combination of these things make up black women.

Everyone wonders why black women are single, but if the answer given isn't "because there are no good black men," they don't want to hear it. This is where the nonsense ends. So, if you're an open-minded black woman who wants the truth, continue reading and I won't tell you anything wrong. I expect for a black woman to attempt to change the subject to what black men and/or women of other races do...when this about THEM. I also expect ad hominem attacks. I know, I know....y'all are gonna say that I hate myself, my mother's black, accuse me of being gay, say that someone must have hurt me, it's just some and not all (not once did I say ALL), etc. We've heard this all before and none of it deals with the merits of my argument.

Now....you've had your chance to speak and on a much bigger platform I might add, now it’s our turn.

Reason #1 -- Superficiality and Unrealistic Preferences

Talk to your average black woman about her dating preferences and I guarantee you she will have a long list of things she wants a man to possess while not possessing even 25% of the things she requires the man to have. Let's face facts. Your average black woman isn't going to date a man who's less than 6 ft. tall, who doesn't make a certain amount of money or live a certain lifestyle. When they find the man whom they desire, but that isn't willing to lower his standards for her, they get upset and try to guilt him into being with them. That's like going to an upscale restaurant and asking them to lower their prices because you can't afford to eat there. A lot of these types think being pretty and great sex equates to being a good catch, but that's false. No man in his right mind with a lot going for him will settle for the complete opposite.

In other words, you want too much. When I say that you ask for too much, that simply means that most of you are delusional. I blame the media, love novels, romance films, etc. for this phenomenon. A lot of you are entirely too materialistic. You won't even let a guy take you on a date unless it involves money being spent. Some of you are convinced that love and money are somehow tied into each other, which isn't true. Like, how a lot of these women are looking for a man to put them in a mansion, where she can be lazy and shop all day. Again, too much TV.

Some black women will point out the fact that a few generations ago, women used to stay at home while the man worked and brought home the money. But allow me to deconstruct their position. First off, when the woman stayed at home, she was WORKING in the home. She was cooking, cleaning, tending to the children, even managing the family's finances in some cases, etc., all of which are not easy tasks. Women today who claim they want to stay at home will not do any of those things. It's not uncommon for a black man to come home and have to do the cooking and cleaning after his wife or girlfriend has been sitting around the house all day doing nothing but watching TV and keeping up drama on social media. Only thing they want to do is sit on their butt and expect a man to take care of them.

While we're on the subject of black women of prior generations, allow me to state this: black women of today need to quit trying to take credit for what their grandparents and generations before them did. Those are a completely different group of women. I don't know about other guys, but I'm not going to respect today's black women for what generations before them did because today's black women are NOTHING like those respectable generations of the past.

Reason #2 -- The Way You Present Yourself

You can't dress and act like a slut, and expect to attract Mr. Right. I browse social networks and see women in pics half-naked in sexually provocative poses, then when degenerate men leave sexual comments, they will say "deez niggas beez thirzty." I've seen the same thing in public as well. It is totally unrealistic to expect to be treated like a lady when you look and behave like a slut. It doesn't work that way. You might impress those lowlife guys by behaving in such a manner, but a real man isn't impressed. Let me rephrase that...a real man who wants a woman with whom he can become serious isn't impressed. They'll gladly have sex with you, but that's about it.

Reason #3 -- Material Possessions Can't Supplement a Lack of Substance

You've got your college degrees, own place, a car, good paying job, etc. But what else? Where's the character? That's why guys will take a broke woman who's a great person over a financially successful woman with a funky attitude. I've heard on numerous occasions, black women scold another black woman who doesn't have money or material items because she was able to find a good man while she struggled to do so. That shows how blind the so-called successful black woman truly is. She's unable to see that the seemingly unsuccessful black woman has found a good man because she understands the importance of having something to offer as a person.

I encourage you to be able to support yourself, but the attitude that's the problem. Material possessions can't take the place of great character. No real man is "threatened by your success" (the losers typically are). Guys aren't dating you because material possessions are the only thing you have going for you. 

Reason #4: You Sought Independence, Now You Have It

Just as the title said --- you sought independence, now you have it. During the rise of feminism, black women embraced these feminist views and turned their back on black men. Feminism convinced black women that they don't need black men. Before this brainwashing occurred, the black family was well in tact....and there's documentation to prove this. The black woman hasn't looked back ever since because til this very day, they still embrace the idea of being "strong, independent and not needing a man."

What's amazing is that black women today will desire a pre-feminist movement lifestyle when it's beneficial to them, but will still wanna hold on to feminist views when it's beneficial.

I'm gonna hit you with the truth --- no man wants to be with a woman who feels she doesn't need him. If you're so independent and don't need a man, then why are you complaining about not being able to find anyone? Surely, if you're as independent as you claim to be, then being single shouldn't be a problem.

Reason #5 -- You Look Like Precious But You Want LL Cool J

This is so easy that I'm not gonna get deep into it. A lot of black women have weight issues, and they usually want a man who's tall, thin and/or has muscles. If you're big and find a thin man that likes you, congratulations. But if you can't find that thin/muscular man (because those men usually don't like big women), you need to either lose weight or find a man that likes big women. It's a simple solution. There's no need for lay guilty on thin guys who don't find you attractive.

Reason #6 -- Black Women Mistake Antagonism For Strength

This is one of the most important factors of everything listed so far. Black women have taken on this antagonistic attitude that they call being a "strong black woman." If you want a visual image of a truly strong black woman, look at your grandmothers and those before them. Look at the difference between your grandmothers and yourself and you'll see a huge difference. The women of your grandmother's generation were labeled strong because they managed to survive and stand by their man in a world where black men were being oppressed. They knew how hard it was for black men during those times, but they did everything they could to be supportive of their men. They allowed their men to lead, take charge and be the head of the household. They weren't labeled strong for having bad attitudes. The bad attitudes don't make you a strong woman. In fact, it makes you weak because, ultimately, you'll end up by yourself.

You label a guy weak if he doesn't want to constantly argue and deal with the drama. And you wonder why guys choose to date interracial. You even scorn them for it and say they're taking "the easy way out." That's a pretty stupid thing to say. Think about it --- if you can date a woman of a different race who's goal is to have mutual happiness with you instead of making your life hell, you'd be a fool to pass that up. But for some reason, black women are convinced that NOT sticking around and putting up with their foolishness is a sign of weakness. Black women actually believe that it takes a real man to put up with their dysfunctional foolishness. That's fiction. A real man is gonna run away from you as fast as he can. Whatever you've been through to cause you to be scorned, that's no man's fault except the man who wronged you. You can't expect to take your frustrations out on future mates. A relationship is supposed to produce happiness, not constant misery and that's what black women seek to offer the black man...a life of headache, misery, etc.

Call it what you want, but no sensible person will deal with that. Respect others and treat them as you wish to be treated. You're not gonna find a man of substance until you lose this "strong black woman" attitude.

Reason #7 -- Christianity Doesn't Make Him A Good Man

Me being southern, being religious is a requirement if you want a southern black woman. I've seen black women reject good men for not being a christian, despite being a great guy. But they'll deal with a bad guy just because he goes to church with her. I've dealt with women whom I had great chemistry with, but it was over when they found out I don't believe in god. To most southern black women, it's not what you do that makes you a good or bad guy. It's all about whether or not you're a christian. Notice that those type of black women are always single and waiting for "god" to send them a perfect man. Whether black women know it or not, that book (the bible) keeps them single. In fact, Christianity contributes largely to the decline of the black race, but that's another article.

Let me digress and point something out. In my last point, I spoke of how black women seek to antagonize black men. I'm gonna show you how hypocritical black women are. They claim to be so much into the bible (despite never having read it), but they ignore the part of the bible which states that the man is the leader of the household. Like most black Christians, they skip that part because it doesn't fit what they want to believe. I will admit that a lot of black men don't know how to lead because they're raised by single mothers, but we're not talking about those types of men. Besides, if you're a real woman, you shouldn't deal with a man who lacks leadership skills. Now let's get back to the main point....

These type of women usually can't deal with the fact that an intelligent black man like myself who studies isn't gonna buy into religion. Let's be real --- only three types of black men attend church: gay men, pimps who seek to exploit the congregation's ignorance and old men. That's it. You're not going to find any logical, critically thinking black men in church.


Reason #8 -- You Want Respect For WHAT You Are, Instead of WHO You Are

I blame the feminist movement for what I'm about to discuss here. Black women actually believe they deserve to be treated like royalty just for being a woman. They fail to realize that respect is given based on who you are and what you do, not on your gender. I see many black women commit some of the most despicable acts, but they expect you to ignore what they do and respect them just for being a woman. And if you call them out on their nasty behavior, first thing they do is point to the fact your mother and the women in your family are black. Typical.....

To make matters worse, black women don't believe that they have to respect people in return and this behavior carries over into the relationship. To illustrate my point, here's what I want you to do: browse any social media site, preferably Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Browse through the photos and status updates of black females and I guarantee you that you will eventually stumble upon a photo meme or status update which goes on and on about what they believe a real man is supposed to do for a woman. Pay close attention and you'll also notice that they will NEVER entertain the fact that a woman has to deserve the things for which she asks from her ideal man. And THAT is the insanity that is black women...they expect to always take and never give. Ladies and gentlemen, that is what we call a parasite.

It is because of this phenomenon that we have so many weak, effeminate black men. You know...the type of men that you single mothers are raising. As you're raising these boys by yourselves and teaching them to put women on a pedestal and to, at the same time devalue themselves, they develop the desire to become a woman. But that's another discussion....

Reason #9 - You've Made Yourself Immune To Criticism

As I correctly stated in the opening of this article....if a black man criticizes a black woman in any way, shape or form, he's viciously maligned. He's told that he can't criticize black women because his mother is black, he's accused of hating himself, he's called gay, he's called bitter, etc. If this black man's critique of black women is correct, he's then told "you shouldn't say those things, you should say something positive in order to uplift us!" In translation: the black woman is seeking undue praise.

But here's my thing: if a group of women are having the type of problems that black women are having, at what point are they willing to accept the possibility that THEY could be contributing to their own downfall? After all, blaming black men for the last 30 years has only gotten them in worse and worse conditions but yet they still aren't ready to accept responsibility for their actions. It's amazing because I hear black women admit to engaging in countless acts that are destructive to their well-being, but they'll never admit that what they're doing is the root cause of their problems.

In all actuality, black men are expected to accept 100% of the blame for all of the troubles in the black community, especially the troubles concerning dating, relationships and marriage. In fact, you can criticize a black man all day long and even say some of the most despicable things about him and no black woman will correct you or come to the black man's defense. But if a black man criticizes a black woman, even in the kindest, most sincere way possible, he's subject to vicious attacks. You are to never imply that a black woman can be anything less than perfect.

Yet....with all of their self-proclaimed perfection and "black queen" status, black women have more problems than all other groups of women on earth combined. And those problems will persist until they are ready to accept to accept constructive criticism and quit blaming others for their problems.

Reason #10: You Don't Respect The Black Men You Claim To Want

You hear black women talk endlessly about their desire for a "REAL BLACK MAN." But in truth, black women see non-stereotypical black man as weak, soft, lame, etc. A black man who's well spoken, educated, career and family oriented, who's an overall standup guy, is looked down upon UNLESS he's rich. When a black woman wants those qualities in a man, they usually go after white men or non-black men, as if only non-black men are supposed to possess real man qualities. The few black women I've met who will date a black man with those qualities will say, "he still has to have some thug in him." But don't require white men to have any thug in them. Because of that, women are actually encouraging black men to play into the negative stereotype because those are the only kind of black men to which they'll give any attention. If they do give good black men the time of day, he's told that he can only be a friend.

As a black man, you're going to attract a black woman only if you're a lowlife degenerate who has no direction in life. You most likely have to be the type of guy who seeks to live off of her, in and out of jail and so on. Or, you have to be a guy who doesn't live off of her but make your money illegally. It's a sad truth that majority of black women hold in higher esteem a man who's spent 5 years in prison than they do a man who's spent 4 years in college.

Reason #11 -- Your Dating Priorities Are Backwards

This last passage is going to tie into the last. It is again a sad truth that black women continuously and purposely pass up good men because they'd rather be with the "bad boys." They want a "real nigga" instead of a real man. They purposely choose the bad boys because they believe they can change him (again, too much TV). When that doesn't work, she gets pregnant by the guy hoping that's gonna change him. That fails, now she's a single parent. She repeats this 3 more times with other guys. At this point, she has 4 kids with 4 different deadbeats as the fathers. That scenario also explains why black women are single parents. For some odd reason, they actually take pride in being single parents. They say things like "I'm the mother and the father." But any sensible person will see that as the woman boasting of her inability to pick decent, respectable men.

After she's been promiscuous with every deadbeat loser around, and has realized that none of them will ever settle down with her, NOW she wants a good guy --- the same kind of good guy she passed up for the bad boys and caused lots of heartache. If the good guy's smart, he knows that a woman who's dealt with losers for all that time only wants a good guy NOW because its convenient. After a few good guys have seen through the woman's bullshit, and have chosen not to be the sucker, she then says that there are no good men.

This could've been avoided had she not PURPOSELY chosen guys who she knew were trouble. It happens everyday and it could be YOU. How many times have you ignored a guy's respectful approach, but responded to a negative approach? How many times has a nice guy had to resort to calling you a bitch or some other derogatory term just to get your attention? Probably lots of times. Just go for Mr. Right the first time --- not after you've amassed baggage (that's if you truly want a good guy. Many women only say they do because its the right thing to say --- which is wrong because guys get hurt in the process). The good guys are tired of being a last resort and tired of being blamed for black women being single.

Let me digress for a moment and say this: A lot of good black men don't mind being the last resort because they were raised by single mothers who conditioned them to believe that it is his role as a man to be successful so that he can save a single black mother someday. It's amazing how a lot of the good black men don't even have their own family legacy because of this...just them raising someone else's kids without ever having any children of their own.

Conclusion: The only way to fix these issues is by first admitting that they exist and then working to correct them. Even if you've made some of the mistakes that I've mentioned, its not too late. I tell you this because I want to see an improvement in relations between black men and women, but that can't happen until we're honest with ourselves."

Is Self-Help Actually Detrimental?

The foregoing article was originally written in October of 2012:

You've all heard phrases like "Law of Attraction, Goal Setting, Visualizations, Affirmations, Positive Thinking," and on and on and on. Anyone who's been reading my material for any great length of time, they'd tell you that at one point, I used to sing the praises of the self-help industry, but that has all changed. For the past year and some change, I've been pondering over the idea of self-help being complete bullshit pretty heavily. It took me a while, but I've finally been able to admit to myself that self-help is indeed more of a hindrance than a help. I'll outline why....

The first thing I'd like to point out is that a lot of people that are into self-help have a cult-like mentality. You're advised to recite chants, affirmations, incantations, perform rituals, meditations, etc. You're also advised not to listen to anyone who says anything that doesn't line up with your goals/beliefs. I'd wake up every morning and recite my affirmations, and do the same before going to sleep. After a while I asked myself, "Why does this feel like I'm part of some cult? Besides, what the hell does any of this have to do with being successful in business?" The apparent answer is that performing those tasks influences the subconscious mind, which leads to the desired outcome. However, that's not all the way true. Those tasks CAN influence the mind, but they usually don't. In fact, psychological studies have shown that reciting "positive" affirmations leads to lower self-esteem. That is because while the person is reciting the thing they wish to see realized, their subconscious mind knows that what they're saying isn't true. So we're back to square one. If you don't believe self-help is like a cult, try presenting a logical, reasonable argument to someone who's caught up in the hype and see what happens.

Speaking of which --- what about these spiritual/metaphysical principles that self-help books usually outline as the keys to success? You know...like Law of Attraction. Are those things the real deal? Yes, they are but not the way self-help gurus tell it. (Digression: I'll credit self-help with one thing. It opened a lot of doors for me. I've been on a mission to learn as much as I can since I discovered the self-help industry) After reading countless books which discussed the metaphysics behind success, I decided to research metaphysics for myself from a scientific (non self-help guru) perspective. My studies lead me Ancient Egyptian studies of astrology/astronomy, Hermetics, and other ancient bodies of knowledge. I'm not gonna get into all the details, but I will say that metaphysical laws, mind creations, etc., is all very real. However, the modus operandi presented by the gurus is highly fallacious. They actually border on pseudo-science.

I've met plenty of wealthy people and I can't recall not one of them ever telling me they achieved their success as a result of what they read in a self-help book. I remember a conversation I was having with a guy who's net worth was $500 Million. We chatted for about an hour. I asked him if he could tell me how he'd gotten to where he is now. He made no mention of reading any self-help books, so I asked him about some of the most well known ones. To my surprise, he had no clue what I was talking about. The state of mind I was in at that time, I couldn't comprehend how someone could do so well without studying self-help. I've talked to several millionaires who had read most of the well known self-help books but they didn't attribute the reading of those to their success. Mind you, some of these millionaires were people from the streets who'd never read a book in their life, yet they were really successful.

Personally, things didn't start working out for me until I put the self-help books away and started studying my craft specifically. I knew I wanted to be a successful Financier, so I began to read books on finance, economics, the financial markets, technical analysis, fundamental analysis, psychology, behavioral finance, market history, etc. I never felt sharper intellectually in my life. According to some self-help books I've read, me studying the field I wish to work in specifically violates the rules. According to them, I'm supposed to just think about what I want and eventually everything I need will come. Well, I tried that approach (as well as watching others apply it) for a short time and it didn't work, so I decided to be a go-getter instead.

When speaking about the self-help industry, there's one word I overlooked and that was the word INDUSTRY. Which means that its a business that is designed to sell. When I factored all of this in, it became apparent why myself and others like me would read a self-help book, listen to an audio, etc., feel a burst of motivation for a short period and end up right back where we were looking for another fix. By a fix, I mean looking for the next book that contains that "secret" we're seeking to get another short burst of motivation. The industry is setup to make money, not to help you make money. I used to get upset with people who'd tell me that but now I realize they were right. I've met people in their 50's and 60's who'd been reading self-help books since they were young adults, and they haven't gotten rich yet. I'm not sure whether to congratulate them for their persistence or encourage them to find a different route. The industry is set up for you to be dependent on the materials (the books, audios, coaching, seminars) which keeps you coming back for more of the same stuff. Think about this --- if that stuff worked, then why do we have so many different success books on the market? That's because it's 99.9% bullshit. The self-help industry is a hustle. Only people making money are the authors. You'd be hard-pressed to find a self-help guru who's made any money outside of teaching self-help.

Self-help isn't the key to becoming successful. The real key is self-mastery. There's a difference. Self-mastery is the highest form of discipline there is, usually based on pragmatic principles. It doesn't mean being perfect (as self-help implies). Self-help lays an unrealistic burden on the follower, practically suggesting that you have to be in full internal peace to attain success. That's not true. Self-mastery is simply being able to be disciplined enough to do what needs to be done. You don't have to be adept in spirituality to become a master of yourself. As long as you can bring yourself to do what needs to be done, you can become a master of yourself. There are lots of people (myself included at one point) who knew all the basic principles of self-help, all the spiritual magical thinking techniques, but yet we couldn't bring ourselves to take action and do what needed to be done. But we'd be left wondering how come the next guy who knows nothing about these magical thought processes is getting such great results. That's because that guy has practiced self-mastery. That guy is a self-starter. He does what needs to be done without procrastinating. So, you can think all the pretty thoughts you want (as self-help implies), but if you don't have the discipline to get up and do it, the result will be nothingness.

Conclusion: In the end, it all comes down to a few basic principles. The best book I ever read on self-mastery is The Law of Success. I hold that book in such high regards because the principles which it outlines are pragmatic. It took me a while to accept that book as being the absolute truth. But real world experiences always lines up with something discussed in the Law of Success. I believe that's because of how Andrew Carnegie set it up. But anyways --- succeeding is more so about hard work than looking for answers in a book, an audio or a seminar. If they had the "secrets," they wouldn't share them. The self-help industry will continue to create failures and rake in billions because of people's naivety. I know some of you are gonna read this and are gonna want to say a mean word or two to me. But before you do that, ask yourself this --- are you any better now than you were before you got into self-help? Better yet, have you achieved your goal(s)? I don't care how much you "believe" you WILL achieve your goals. If you haven't done it, then you don't have shit to say to me.

Thanks for reading!

Sean Tudor Carter

“We live in deeds, not years. In thoughts not breaths, in feelings, not in figures on a dial.”

Sean Tudor Carter is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, research and writer for the Young & Opulent Group, a company formed to serve the needs of up and coming entrepreneurs, investors, and scholars who wish to reach opulent goals and stay consciously afloat in these fast changing times. 

Who Are The Wealthiest People In The World?

This discussion comes up a lot between aspiring entrepreneurs, that of "Who are the wealthiest people in the world?" I often find myself overly curious about this as well. After doing a little bit of research, I'm gonna present my findings here. But first, let me start by saying.....

Contrary to what many people believe, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Carlos Slim Helu, are not the wealthiest people on the planet. There is a point where your assets can hardly be measured in currency. When some of the royals and financiers legal wealth is calculated, its towers over the net worth's of people like Bill Gates and Buffet. One example is the Queen of England:

Who Owns the World » Largest Landowner:
http://www.whoownstheworld.com/about-the-book/largest-landowner/

There are also powerful families that go way beyond some mis-info published Illuminati theory, the Illuminati was started by a group of ancient European Black-a-Moors with roots in Spain, Portugal, and France, the group was originally called Alumbrado (this name is still used in Royal Congo circles in system like Palo Judia [and Mayombe]).

They were later expelled and their estates and allodial titles were taken over by the Vatican, Saudi Royals, Dutch Princes, other Royals (Like the King of Thailand), and old Roman families like the Farnes, Maximus, Aldobradini, and Breakspears. These people have no legal obligation make public their financial records or any information regarding their holdings.

Even lower level financiers and bankers have more money than people you see on the Forbes’ list. It was noted that the Rothschild's family wealth was estimated at over $6 billion US in 1850. This is documented in the book, "House of Rothschild". Compound that amount in U.S. dollars, and current time (2013), and you get a staggering figure. I don't have the data at the moment, but it wouldn't be farfetched to say that in today's money (inflation-adjusted), you'd get a figure in the trillions.

If one wants to know what companies are ruling the world, simply research holding companies, and learn which holding companies own the largest corporations around the world. As an investor in the stock market, I've seen most of the larger companies are bought out or cornered by the same very large holding companies and sovereign wealth funds. You should already know the world is ruled by a few, those with the money have the power, and the power distrubution is the same as it was during any other time in history.

Yet, its been like this forever, its called the 80/20 principle or Pareto's Law, no matter what you do, or how equal the society claims to be, the wealth will always fall in the hands of a few. The mass are simply not responsible enough to handle being free or sovereign, and accumulating true wealth.


Thanks for reading!

Sean Tudor Carter

“We live in deeds, not years. In thoughts not breaths, in feelings, not in figures on a dial.”

Sean Tudor Carter is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, research and writer for the Young & Opulent Group, a company formed to serve the needs of up and coming entrepreneurs, investors, and scholars who wish to reach opulent goals and stay consciously afloat in these fast changing times.

To Reap The Rewards, Work Must Be Done

The foregoing article was originally written October 2012:

By now, I would think that this simple point would be a well known fact which everyone is familiar with. But it saddens me to see that the majority of our society doesn't understand that principle; that of doing the work in order to reap the rewards. But we're gonna try to instill that sense of hard work into people starting here, by discussing not just the physical reasons for putting in work, but also the metaphysical.

There are no handouts in this world. Even what appears to be a handout always comes at a cost. In order to have anything in this world, you've got to do the work. Not only the physical work, but also the mental work (the hardest work there is). A person who's done the work can ask for anything to which they are entitled and receive it without resistance. But a person who hasn't done the work doesn't have that luxury. Ironically, those that haven't done the work are those who feel the most entitled. Those are the ones that are mad at the world and trying to force the world to give them something, but they haven't done anything to earn what they're asking for. It doesn't work that way in the physical world. Most importantly, it doesn't work that way in the metaphysical realm either.

What exactly is "the work?" By the work, I mean anything that contributes to the greater good of society. If what you're doing is making the world a better place, even in the smallest sense, then you're sure to be rewarded many times over. Don't think that's true? Consider this: what happens when a farmer plants ONE apple seed in the ground and properly cares for it? That one seed produces a whole tree of apples, not just one. Between the time the farmer plants the seed and harvest time, he must wait patiently for the seed to blossom into a full grown tree. But while he waits, he continues to care for the crop, essentially still doing the work. The same goes for the constructive work you perform. Call it The Law of Increasing Returns. Under this law, a person performs a duty and their returns are returned in a proportion greater than the service that was rendered.

Another thing about doing the work is knowing that you aren't going to be rewarded immediately, and you most likely won't be rewarded by the source whom you rendered the service to. But, The Law of Compensation says that you have to be rewarded. Remember the old saying, "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished?" That saying is based on the operation of The Law of Compensation. That's another reason why a lot of people won't do the work. We're all guilty of falling into that way of thinking at times. We want to see immediate results instead of sitting patiently and knowing that The Law of Compensation will take care of things. 

When you've done the work and your compensation is being withheld, interest on that compensation is being compounded! Those that are familiar with finance know the power of compound interest, which is basically interest accumulating on top of interest, leading to exponential growth. That's what happened with the Farmer from our earlier example! Because he waited so long for his crop to harvest, compound interest via The Law of Increasing Returns lead to the farmer receiving far more crops than he planted. And so it goes in every other area of life. When you look at it this way --- you should never again feel bad for not receiving compensation immediately for work performed since you know its gonna come back to you multiplied. But since I'm human, I know its not possible to follow this line of reasoning all the time.

Now that we know about The Law of Increasing Returns and The Law of Compensation, I must also add that these laws work to a person's detriment just as effectively as it does to their benefit. There's another old saying, "You Reap What You Sow." It doesn't say "You reap what you sow only if what you've sown is positive." There's no addendum. Knowing what you know now, let me ask you something. In our present day society, one in which people are adamantly opposed to doing the work, but expecting to receive the rewards, what do you think is being sown? When you look at what is occurring in the world, and you're honest with yourself, you'd admit that the law is operating perfectly. People aren't doing the work, so they're reaping what they're sowing --- which is nothing. Because of The Law of Increasing Returns, if you're engaging in negative, nonconstructive behavior, you will receive, negative results many times over. That is why our society is in the predicament it is in now.

Forget what anyone else told you. The truth is that the ONLY way to reap the reward is by doing the work. Anyone who tells you differently either has something to tell you, haven't done anything with their lives or they're involved in some dishonest activity. Time and time again, it has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that laziness will get you nowhere. For some reason, our society insists on believing they can get be lazy and force the laws of the universe to give them what they want. These people might get what they want for a while through force, but since the law always works, they'll eventually have to face the consequences of their actions.

But you might ask, "What about people that are wealthy who don't do hardly any work?" The answer is: Those people spent so much time putting in work, probably 16-20 hours a day, for so many years that the world is indebted to them and paying them nicely because of it. They're living off of compound interest payments that accumulated from the time that seemed like their hard work was in vain! When you're working extra hard and it seems as if its not paying off right then, the world becomes indebted to you and will eventually pay you back many times over...that's The Law of Compensation and The Law of Increasing Returns. You could also look at it this way --- if you're performing the work but aren't seeing immediate results, work even harder because you KNOW for a fact that you're going to be rewarded in a big way. By law, it has to happen. That is how the wealthy person can spend their life in leisure if they so choose. By the way, when I say that the world is indebted to you, I'm speaking strictly metaphysically.

Finally, A Simple Explanation of Derivatives

The foregoing article was originally written in November of 2012:

Since the bursting of the housing bubble in 2008, derivatives have become a hot topic OUTSIDE of the financial community. Following the '08 crash, lots of people tuned in as the financial media talked endlessly about derivatives being to blame for the entire mess the economy was in (which is only a half-truth). The endless drivel prompted the public to become curious about financial derivatives, but the public has come up short because hardly anyone seems able to explain what derivatives are and their function in a simplistic manner. I'm gonna attempt to do just that.

In recent years, you've heard terms like CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligation), CDS (Credit Default Swaps), MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities), Futures, Options, and on and on. Those are all derivatives with different functions. But in this article, we're only gonna be explaining Futures, Options and MBS. But first, let's define and explain a derivative.

A derivative is a contract whose value is derived from an underlying asset. Let's take a futures contract for example. A future is a contract in which a buyer and a seller agree on a price of an item (a commodity, currency, fixed income security, interest rates, etc) that is set to be delivered at a future date. Let's use a commodity, crude oil, as an example. By locking in a price, buyer and seller are both protecting themselves against price swings (hedging) in the oil market. Until delivery is made, the value of that futures contract can either rise or fall. But since buyer and seller have already locked in a price, neither will pay any more or sell for any less. How does the value rise or fall? That depends on whether crude oil itself appreciates or depreciates in value. It is now obvious that the value of the contract is derived from the physical Crude Oil. By the way, given that explanation of a futures contract, you should also understand that a lot of companies use futures contracts to hedge against price swings in the raw materials which they use for the manufacturing of their products. Some also use futures contracts to hedge against the rise or decline of a country's currency, but that's beyond the scope of this article.

Another form of derivatives are options. To make it simple, I'll explain options this way: options are a contract to that gives a buyer the OPTION (but not the right) to buy an item by a certain expiration date. Vice versa with selling an option. For example, Apple is currently trading at 596.54. You think that Apple is going to $625 within the next month. You buy an out of the money call option on 100 Apple shares with a strike price of $600. If Apple reaches $600 and above, your option is now in the money...making it profitable. To buy those shares outright would cost you $59,654.00 plus commissions. But with a call option, you'd be controlling 100 shares for a premium of around $400. That's nearly 150:1 leverage. The value in that option derives from the price of the Apple shares.

Now we're gonna discuss the derivative instrument that's usually on the forefront of those discussing the '08 meltdown --- Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS). A MBS is a security in which an underwriter packages a bunch of mortgages into a sellable security. When an investor buys a MBS, the interest income the investor receives is derived from the mortgages of the homeowners who's mortgages have been packaged into the security he owns.

So, how did derivatives play a role in the 2008 meltdown? When homeowners began to default on their mortgages, that sent the mortgage-backed securities market in a tailspin. The value of MBS' plummeted damn near overnight. Because investors (or should I say speculators) were losing so much money and so fast, it was also hard to get out of those toxic investments; no buyers! Many investors had no choice but to watch their net worth melt away. In the derivatives market, if an investor isn't able to close their position, they stand to not only lose their entire investment, but they can also end up owing heavily. That's what ended up happening. Because so many investors were highly leveraged to purchase MBS, they ended up losing more than they invested; which is how a few bulge bracket banks ended up going under --- Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, etc.

Losing money in a derivative position is not like losing money in stocks. If you own 100 shares of stock at $25 a share, you paid $2,500 worth if you bought those shares at $25. If the stock's value declines to $23, you've lost $200. But with derivatives, its not that simple. Back to our Crude Oil future as an example. One crude oil future allows the trader to control 1,000 barrels of crude with only a small margin payment of around 5%. If crude is trading at $86, that would mean that a futures contract on crude is worth $86,000. But, you can buy one contract and control that deal for $4,300. That's 20:1 leverage.

If you have a position of one Crude Oil future, each whole dollar Crude Oil moves up is worth $1,000. So, if Crude Oil goes up or down a dollar, you've made or lost $1000. If you've paid a margin of $4,300, imagine oil moving $5 against your position, you're not only lost your margin investment, but you now owe $700. Imagine someone with a position of 10 Crude Oil contracts! That would be $10,000 lost or made for every dollar crude oil moves. If the trade goes against the trader, he could end up owing tens of thousands of dollars (a smart player would cut his losses short anyways). Keep in mind that the numbers could change depending on how much leverage you're using. The higher the leverage, the bigger the numbers. That is why a lot of investors are deathly afraid of derivatives and won't touch them with a 10 ft. pole. But on the flip side, a lot of people have gotten really rich trading derivatives.

Derivatives are attractive to many because of the amount of leverage they offer and the huge profit potential if the trade is successful. A trader (or investor) can control a very expensive deal with only a small amount of money (as explained above). Not only that, derivatives are also a great tool for hedging (as also explained above). But if a person is looking to profit from the price moves of derivatives, that person is a speculator.

Don't get the impress that derivatives are a new instrument. Derivatives have been around since the days that the Dutch ruled the East-West trade, which was during the 1600s. Actually, derivatives were around before then. But we can actually trace them to that time period.

Since derivatives are a contract who's value is derived from an underlying asset and are usually highly volatile, that's why is you often hear people refer to today's wealthy as being rich only on paper. I can't endorse that point of view in its entirety, but I do understand why they would say that...mainly because a portfolio with derivatives can earn a person a net worth millions, but a with a violent price swing, those millions could vanish even faster than they came. But, in closing, the point is this: Despite the bad rap some market participants try to give derivatives, they're here to stay. A lot of money can be made or loss trading derivatives, that's why it pays to know what you're doing.