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Greg Secker - Learn To Trade |
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June 19, 2017 Issue |
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CEOCFO MAGAZINE |
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Q & A with Greg Secker, Owner of Learn To Trade |
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Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse,
Senior Editor
CEOCFO: “I’m not a why guy; I’m a why not guy.” Was that always your philosophy? Greg Secker: Yes, it has been. I’ve always believed in saying yes to things and then figuring out the details along the way. Why not give something a go? It’s like my Flying Trader initiative. People asked me why I wanted to make trades while flying over Canary Wharf, and I said “Why not? I’m creating awareness for the charity, I’m giving money to those in need, and I can show people it’s possible to make money anywhere, anytime, and in any place.”
CEOCFO: You studied agriculture and food sciences in school? When did you make the leap to finance? Greg Secker: It’s a bit of a convoluted path, really. While I was studying at university, I was also building and selling computers. This gave me plenty of time to learn how to code in the older programmes, and I ended up becoming quite geeky, to the point that I built a 3D interactive model of the fluid dynamics of a follicle. I ended up going to a job fair and got talking to the guy at the Thomas Cook Financial Services stand, who was also hugely into computers. We hit it off, he invited me to an interview, and I got the job. It wasn’t long until he asked if I’d be interested in working on the currency trading floor building the Virtual Trading Desk, which would become the first online currency trading platform. That’s when I got to hang around all the traders, converting their strategies into coding that a computer programme could understand.
CEOCFO: Would you tell us about interest in Forex and your innovations to the process? Greg Secker: It was working on the Virtual Trading Desk that peaked my interest in foreign exchange trading. There can be no discrepancies when you’re coding, and because I had to code all of the functions of these trading strategies, I got to understand exactly how they all worked and why. I saw the profits that were made on those trades, and wanted a piece of the action. So, I borrowed £5,000 and managed to turn it into £60,000 in just under a year. I saw quite quickly that you needed to adopt some core principles to be successful. You need to have a very risk-managed approach to each trade, you need to be disciplined and stick to your trading plan, and that plan has to be strategy driven.
CEOCFO: How have your shared the passion and knowledge? Greg Secker: Once I’d made a decent amount from trading, I retired. But I got bored sitting at home trading on my own, so I decided I had to get out of the house. I ended up attending a lot of seminars, and once I’d seen the likes of Tony Robbins, Dr John Demartini and Jack Canfield, I thought ‘I could do that, just from a Foreign Exchange viewpoint.’ This would give people a tangible tool with which they could make money rather than only pump them up and make them feel good. I started speaking in 2003, and by now I think I’ve spoken on stage about 6,000 times. I’ve shared my passion on every stage you can imagine, from the National Achievers Congress to the Success Summit Congress, the wealth expos in the United States and all across the Pacific.
CEOCFO: What is the focus for The Greg Secker Foundation? How have you decided where to place your efforts? Greg Secker: The original mission of the foundation was to empower young people with life skills early, so that they could shape the future of their lives instead of reaching 35 and wondering how they were on their second divorce and broke. We began with the Youth Leadership Summit and managed to get some very famous names to speak pro bono on that stage about health, wealth, relationships, leadership and entrepreneurship, and we made a sizable impact on these kids’ lives. We rolled out a similar programme in South Africa, and are planning on doing the same in Australia, but right now we’re focused on helping to rebuild a community in the Philippines that was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. We’re not just building typhoon-proof houses, we’re setting them up for success – We’re making them carbon neutral, we’re giving them free electricity through wind turbines, and we’re supporting them with farms so they can feed themselves. In return, they look after their homes, their streets and their community, keeping it clean and safe. Once they’re stable, we want to empower them and give them greater access to education, the ability to sell their produce, trade currencies and learn new skills. And this will create a sustainable model to follow in the future.
CEOCFO: You were recently named to the board of Ambassadors for City Philanthropy? Where does that fit with your giving back? Greg Secker: Being an Ambassador gives me the ability to shape, direct and inform the City about causes that are going on around the UK, and to try and get more entrepreneurs and business owners participating in philanthropy. Instead of just signing a cheque and giving it to a charity, we want businesses to integrate philanthropy into their core operating model. It helps your business run better, your staff are happier, and you have a bigger impact in the world when you integrate this philanthropic spirit into your core business values. I’d like to think that in 20 years, it’ll be unheard of to have a business setting itself up without a philanthropic endeavour. There’s more to life and business than just paying a salary and cutting a profit. If you can make a profit, then why not make a difference, too? That’s the way the world is going, and we need to encourage that.
CEOCFO: Why do you share your knowledge, speaking internationally? Greg Secker: Because I believe that everyone in the world should have access to these life-changing tools. Having money isn’t necessarily important, but it allows you to do things. Money is there to make things happen. By teaching people how to generate their own cash, you’re giving them the ability to make choices. You’re also giving them back their most important commodity – Time. It’s all about empowering people and giving them options.
CEOCFO: Would you tell us about your books? Greg Secker: Financial freedom through Forex is a pragmatic, step-by-step guide on how to get started in currency markets, with two effective strategies to help people start making an immediate income. My next book project is all about integrating philanthropy into business and making it a part of each normal working day. After that, I want to follow the journey that our graduates of Learn to Trade go through. From having nothing in their trading account to making their first million, and the effect that has on them.
CEOCFO: Do you see yourself as a Renaissance Man? Greg Secker: I guess so. I’m involved in a lot of things – I own a hedge fund, I own a brokerage, I have seventeen different companies ranging from success summits to philanthropic endeavours to motivation courses. I feel that the way you do anything in life is the way you do everything. So, when I get into something, I try to make it personal and a bit special.
CEOCFO: What’s next for you? Greg Secker: I really want to help the Filipino people. When I speak in the Philippines, I generally get the feeling that many of them have low self-confidence in their abilities. They’ve been taken advantage of throughout their history, and this has impacted their image of self-worth. They don’t believe they can do stuff, can’t be successful. I want to build a programme that can show them they can be successful and can live the best life possible. I want to give people life skills, just like we have with our Youth Leadership Summits. I want to empower them and give them the tools to make their dreams a reality. Once we launch in about six months’ time, I’d then like to roll the programme out worldwide. |
“If you can make a profit, then why not make a difference, too?”- Greg Secker
Greg Secker - Learn To Trade
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Greg Secker - Learn To Trade, Q & A with Greg Secker, Owner of Learn To Trade, CEO Interviews 2017, Financial Companies, Capital Company, Education in trading, how to trade, teach me how to trade, Learn To Trade Press Releases, News |
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