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Eventually I set up an online brokerage account with the last of my meager savings and I started to trade. My primary focus was to think about the market in a totally different way from what I had been taught in school, and to trade the other traders rather than the stock itself.

When they were highly emotional and feeling good, I ran with the crowd. When they despaired about the lousy market, I was sitting on the sidelines in cash.

I read everything I could about the stock market and studied it constantly. I was slowly developing my approach and seemed to have a knack for picking stocks. My little account was starting to grow, and I worked even harder at teaching myself the nuances of the market.

The late 1990s until 2000 was an ideal time for a fast-moving, momentum-style trader, and that is exactly what I was. My account doubled and tripled, and I soon was making many multiples of what I had made when I practiced law.

Perhaps it was the insecurity I felt from the experience of suddenly losing my hearing, but I was tenacious in protecting my capital while I tried to grow it. That wasn't always the best approach when the market was going nuts to the upside, but it sure served me well when we finally topped out in early 2000 and the plunge began. I not only held on to my gains but profited well by staying patient and playing some of the subsequent bounces.