Stock Doc: The Narcissist Investor

In my performance coaching and clinical practice, I often work with professionals who feel entitled to the best things in life. These professionals want financial success, the best-looking partners, prestige, family comfort, recognition and job satisfaction. They also want all of this to come with a quality of life that is superior to that of 90% of the population.

Unfortunately, what we expect in life doesn't always materialize. Nothing speaks to this point better than the disappointment and frustration that one can experience on a typical day of trading or investing in the markets.

Trading is not for everyone, but it often attracts individuals who are overly confident, idealistic and successful in their chosen professions. Frequently, those who are successful as CEOs, lawyers or doctors make the mistake of thinking that their skills will translate into sound, quality trades when they invest.

Many top-performing traders, financial advisors and arm-chair-investors-turned-daytraders come to me for help in balancing their personal lives with the stresses of their jobs. Often they tell me that their significant others or friends tease them, calling them narcissistic, egomaniacal and selfish in thinking the world revolves around them.

It makes sense to me that on the surface, many successful individuals in powerful positions could be accused of being narcissistic, overconfident and self-centered. But are these traits all necessarily detrimental?