When was the last time that you were working on something and you were so immersed in it that you have forgotten about the hours that gone by? That feeling of timelessness while doing something for hours. Not the type that you're stressed and feel that you don't have enough time to do a job. I am talking about the other kind of feeling. The positive one. The feeling that is serene and content. If you know what I'm talking about, then congratulations! You have found what you're born to do. There are a handful of activities that I am passionate about. I sometimes get that zen-like feeling when I am cycling through a mountain path or snowboarding down a hill. But what I truly like to do is problem solving. In particular, I find that programming quantitative trading systems is a perfect outlet for this side of my personality. Programming is one of the few ways in which you can create something out of nothing. Very much like a composer or a poet. But unlike those trades, you can solve practical problems with just your sheer mental capacity by programming your thoughts into codes. To problem solve, you also need a source of inspiration. And what better field can there be than the capital markets. It is basically an ever-changing chess game in which you are playing against the entire world. Talk about setting a bar high. As you may have read, I've run into a few obstacles with my trading lately. I need to develop a new trading program to let me regain my edge. So I got up early this Saturday to program my new trading software. Next thing I know, it was 4pm already. It was a blissful day. And that, is my reason for wanting to trade for a living.