In my opinion the best way to judge where the market is going -- is by reading berkshire hathaway's quarterly report. The old man tells enough about where the market will head. I'll be looking forward to read the report summary...even during recession, there were companies that were up..so it all depends on what company we end up picking....and of course, finding the right company is not enough..finding the right price is what counts..good luck with your ambition of achieving your goal..

options are fun...one thing that I have quickly learned is....options need to be diversified. and try to pay as minimum in 'premium' as possible..force yourself to pay the least premium...if you have 10 different call options where you put 200 bucks on each...you only need 2 or 3 winners and they should be obviously big winners....and rest can expire worthless..you'll still be up...i'm going to work on figuring out ...how to best approach...no book is a good book..your mind is the best book..is what I have learned..no matter what you read..if you don't put things in a disciplined way, whatever you read --becomes worthless knowledge like those worthless options that expire..