The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

Ever heard of the K.I.S.S. method? "Keep-It-Simple-Stupid".... I'm a big believer in it as I've learned that not only with trading, but many areas in life, the more simple it is, the more likely it is to happen. With that being said, when it comes to approaches to the market and trading strategy, we may have a new winner when it comes to keeping it simple. My guest from our community, Andre, shares with us his strategy and quite frankly, it caught me off guard. You'll notice I go into a bit of "CIA question mode" as I try to pick apart exactly what is going on. Am I successful? Are there some flaws that Andre is overlooking and needs to correct? At this point in my podcast career, I'm pretty confident in my ability to be "in control" of the discussions, but I admit, for a bit I was taken by surprise at how straight-forward Andre approaches the market. Ready for a "simple" ride? Let's get to it!

Talk about a good problem to have! Finding yourself in a position where your career is doing extremely well, but, still wanting to trade. That's the exact position long time member, Diego, is experiencing. This is Diego's third appearance on the podcast and a whole lot has changed since his last appearance. His career continues to bloom and because of that he's needed to make some changes within his trading. You may be thinking, "why bother trading?" since he's doing so well in his career, which is a fair question on your part. Diego is a hustler and grinder and he wants (like any wealthy person you will study) multiple streams of income. He's an extremely motivating guy, so if you are looking for someone with a "no excuses" mentality, then look no further. Diego shares with us how he works a full time job, yet, is still finding the time to make trades and earn additional income. Let's get to it!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but passion alone is not going to be enough when it comes to becoming a successful trader. In this solo episode, I want to share with you what I've learned to be a very powerful way to identify opportunities to give yourself an advantage of overs. I realize that can sound a bit cutthroat and savage; however, let's keep things real, the world of trading is a competition against other human beings. Like any competition in life, the more advantages you can give yourself, the better the chances are that you find success. Let's focus on some pain and how it can actually help you become a better trader and beat out the competition you face!

For this episode we head overseas to talk with a British member of our community, Jason. I always enjoy these discussions as it does a fantastic job illustrating the fact there is no holy grail. What do I mean? Jason is in a completely different country using different brokers than what we here in the USA are using. Yet, as you'll see, he still deals with the same struggles and traps that everyone else done. Point being, it doesn't matter where in the world you are, at the primal level of trading, we can all relate. Trading has nothing to do with what country you live in, it has to do with the fact you are a human being who has emotions. Jason's willingness to share his journey opens up the doors to someone who I would say is doing things the right way. Is it massively flashy? Nope! But it shouldn't be. Trading is a marathon and not a sprint and when you understand this, it will allow you to approach your journey in a much wiser and controlled way. I would say Jason is a fantastic example of exactly this. Let's get to it with this fine gentleman from the UK!

In this day and age, you would get a funny look if you told someone you tried to learn a new skill without using YouTube. No one is stupid or being irrational for choosing to use YouTube as a learning tool for whatever skill they are trying to understand and master. For some skills, YouTube is a quick and effective way to add in a new skill to your productivity toolbelt. In other areas though, YouTube can bit a whole lot more tricky. To better illustrate this, we have a guest who has chosen to take that path. Jose, while being a member of my trading community, is not a member of my structured learning program. As he admits, he's watched a whole lot of YouTube videos, including mine; however, he's still experiencing quite a few bumps and bruises. I'll be the first to admit that even my YouTube videos have flaws. The two major flaws being they are very surface deep (especially the live trading ones) and they are random. Meaning, there is no structure behind them. When you combine these two, well, you're going to have journey similar to Jose. I applaud Jose for his dedication and willingness to be honest about his journey as it showcases the deep dark rabbit hole known as YouTube.

I understand. I really do. The financial markets and world of trading and investing is awesome and offers so much potential! It seems like any direction you look, you can see an opportunity that could put extra money into your pocket. Splash in the fact you can do all this from anywhere with an internet connection and the temptation to "get going now!" becomes even more of a real thing. You're not alone in that feeling. In fact, as ambitious people, it's extremely normal to feel that way; however, DO NOT do it! Do not rush into this! You need to take it slow. Our guest this episode, Matt (community alias, 'brigbills') is a shining example of this. As you'll see, he has multiple streams of income and has a great work ethic toward life; but he's also taking things slow, as hard as it may be. In doing so, he's been able to expose himself to several pitfalls in safe ways. He's learned quite a bit (and continues to learn) about the proper ways to make all this work. At this point, he has not transitioned to real money, so there is a whole lot to talk about! Let's get to it!

If I were forced to guess some of the more competitive industries you can participate in, the New York City real estate market would be one of my guesses. Huge deals, huge competition and money pouring in from all over the world. It takes a unique individual to be able to survive in that kind of environment. This is the type of individual we have on this episode! Fellow member, Christian, is a long time real estate broker in New York City who has now begun a journey within the world of the stock market. My favorite part about Christian was he could have shown up with a big ego, but he didn't. He was completely humble and transparent about his journey so far, including the challenges that have taken some swings at him. We all have hurdles and adjustments that need to be made in life to maneuver through it, and Christian has been doing a great job with it. Let's do some iron sharpening and hear about his journey!

One of the great things about being a human is that we can relate to other humans. Sure, we are not all the exact same; however, there are some general tendencies that seem to be very common from one person to another. Because of this, we can develop general rules of thumb to help us be aware of these potential pitfalls that we set for ourselves (with good intentions of course). One of these heuristic dynamics we tend to use can be summarized as Hanlon's Razor. This can (and should) be used to many different areas of life, but for us as traders, as far as I'm concerned, it is an improvement tool that must be used. Hanlon's Razor offers benefits for the two different groups of traders. Those that are beginners and just getting started in their trading ambitions and those that already have quite a bit of experience. It is our job as traders to use and leverage as many bits of data as possible in order to give ourselves an edge in the market, and I firmly believe that using the trader improvement tool of Hanlon's Razor will assist in this quest. Let's talk more about it!

Have you ever been there? One single trade turns into a train wreck and demolishes your overall gains, or worse yet, your entire trading account. Maybe it has never happened to you, but putting all drama and hyperbole aside, understand the train is lurking around every corner just waiting for the right chance to steamroll you! In this episode I talk with fellow member John who is extremely transparent about his journey. In particular, he's very open about a single trade that steamrolled him and left him with only $600 remaining in his trading account. This can be a totally demoralizing situation to find yourself in, but that's exactly where John was. What did he do from that point forward? What changes did he make? How has his trading gone since that moment? This is a great discussion filled with horror, but also, moments of motivation and inspiration. So let's get to it!

We go international once again and talk with a Ukrainian member, Illia. The backdrop to this discussion was his willingness to volunteer to talk about his journey AFTER things got pretty rough. I have nothing but respect for him to be willing to share his journey even though he knew what he would eventually need to disclose. He's the type of guest that I believe is what makes this show enjoyable. I'm very confident many of you will be able to relate to his story. He had lots of great results and was feeling fantastic about his skills and outcomes, but then... well, a spoiler alert, things got rough. What happened? What are his plans now to get back on track? What are the learning lessons found within his stumbling? We get into that and a whole lot more. This is an episode that should be a requirement for traders, whether new or old. What happened to Illia can happen to us all, regardless of experience level, so it's a topic and concept that can never get "too old" in terms of being discussed. Let's get to it!

It would be so great and super convenient if I could sit here and proclaim to you that there is a "one size fits all" trading strategy... but, I can't. Sure, there absolutely are universal principles that all traders need to follow in order to stay consistent and survive within the markets; however, when you get down to the finer tuning of a trading strategy, that's where it gets trickier. In this episode, I talk with Lance (community chatroom alias, 'LanceC') about this very topic. In fact, as you'll notice it is an underlying theme to his journey so far. He has tried several strategies since he first began and we talk about each of them and how they factored into his journey as a whole and where he now currently sits. There is a very fine line between "strategy hopping" and sticking with a strategy long enough to give it an honest chance to work. Lance has done a good job with this and offers some solid experiential insight into what he's learned along the way. Let's get to it!

Yes! I have myself another awesome data point that proves I am justified in my crabbiness of not liking when people make excuses. On that note, a fair warning to you. If you are someone who likes to make excuses and are constantly picking up victim cards as they fall out of your pocket, you will not like this episode's guest. Long time member, Faysal, shares his journey with us and wow, it sure is motivating. He is truly a "man of action" and his attitude and focus on "the solution" is pure inspiration. He started off driving a taxi in New York City but wanted more from life. He learned about the market and did many stupid things; however, he always was focused on the "how" instead of the "can not". Although English is not his first language, he did a fantastic job of explaining his attitude and journey and it's something that anyone with hopes and dreams can (and will) be inspired by. Let's get to it!

I 100% your thought process is wanting all kinds of trading tools and functionality within your trading platform. I am with you in thinking that trading computers with several monitors and dozens of technical charts look awesome! However, is having all kinds of choices and options as a trader as productive and freeing as it may seem? This is a very common bridge that many traders fail to cross (myself included when I was starting) in a safe way. You would think that in order to have success as a trader you should be operating at maximum flexibility and freedom in terms of choices available, but what does the world of psychology think about this? Believe it or not, jam can help us gain insight into this world of decision making and human psychology. If you are struggling as a trader and just can't quite seem to pinpoint what the problem is, you better be considering what science has to say about this topic of "choice". Let's get to it!

Lots of emotions are bad for trading results. But when I stop and think about it, that feeling of anxiety has got to be one of the worst out there to deal with. It can cause you to miss out on trades, to exit a trade to early, or maybe to eventually just "FOMO" into a trade at a terrible location because you're so upset you watched several others "would have been a winner" trades pass you by because of the anxiety in the first place. Fellow member of our community, Marty ("2Madrids" in chatroom), struggled with anxiety and finally reached the point of being sick and tired of it. She decided to make some changes and redo how she was going about her trading journey. I give her credit for relatively quickly realizing that the emotion of anxiety can be crippling and for taking matters into her own hands. She has now reached a point where yes, she still has much to learn, but she has now essentially eliminated her anxiety. Lots to learn here so let's get to it!

I state the obvious when I say we all want to succeed as traders. The issue here is that "saying" such things is a million times easier than "doing" such things. While I understand social media and message boards may portray trading as a source of income that causes money to rain from the sky, that's all an illusion. Trading is an ongoing challenge and battle with a variety of defense strategies needed to succeed. Fellow member of the community, Evan, shares his journey thus far and it is filled with some epic quotes. Seriously, one of his quotes I plan on using over and over again in the foreseeable future. Evan held nothing back. He was fully transparent with his personal numbers and gives us all real world insight into the pitfalls (and benefits) of being a trader. Evan has made some huge strides within his trading and he shares all the exact decisions and behaviors he has implemented to make it happen. Let's go!

I welcome back long time member Jeremy (better known as RemytheRookie in the chatroom) for his fourth appearance on the show. I have nothing but respect for Jeremy and that has only grown over the years of us knowing each other. He recently accomplished a huge milestone in hitting just shy of six figures in trading profits last year! Not too shabby when you consider trading is only used as a part time side hustle! What could you do with $100,000 that you made "on the side"? Pretty crazy stuff if you ask me! How did this happen? What adjustments has Jeremy made over the years to bring him to a point where he can confidently trade and make money? We talk about that and a whole lot more. Jeremey is a great dude and he's someone I would consider a friend, so I bring you this conversation with great pride! Let's get to it!

Bad habits. Ugh! Regardless of where they show up in life, they're called "bad" for a reason! When you introduce them into a setting such as trading and investing where money can be lost, they take on a whole new dynamic. The odd thing though is as obvious as it may sound to say, "bad habits need to be avoided", it's amazing how many traders continue to stare directly at them, yet, don't seem them. When you're new and you don't know what you don't know, one of those areas includes bad habits. This is why anytime I can talk to someone who quickly realizes the danger of bad habits and why they need to be avoided, I get excited. It offers up a great learning opportunity. Thanks for our community member John, we all get to hear some really silly things he did; however, to his credit, he quickly realized the danger (unlike many others) and began to take steps to correct and avoid future problems. John held nothing back and offered up many different rabbit holes of educational opportunity, so let's get to it!

It is our job as traders to find as many variables as possible to leverage in our favor. I'm not suggesting we do anything illegal, but what I am suggesting is the best way to make a trade NOT a gamble is to put the odds in your favor. At the core, trading is a game of probabilities and odds so our focus needs to be on educating ourselves as much as possible, including within the realm of science and psychology. In this particular case, by understanding a very basic concept in psychology, you can better understand a type of trading that is easier. Now just because the trading style/strategy may be easier does not make it guaranteed; however, it again goes back to the point of it allowing you to leverage probabilities in your favor. I don't want to be a gambler. I don't want to view the stock market as my casino. I want to view this all as a methodical plan of attack where I can find myself "most likely" outcomes. The topic I talk about in this episode perfectly illustrates why you need to understand and leverage this human emotion within your personal trading.

Over 300 episodes, yet this was the first time I've spoken to a medical doctor in regards to his trading journey. I think we can all agree that becoming a doctor does not happen overnight and requires a whole lot of hard work and dedication. So, how does this ability to stay focused and dedicate a whole lot of effort to achieve something such as a medical degree carry over into the markets and trading? That's what we'll discover as I talk with community member Steve. I admired his humility in not trying to act like he's got trading and life figured out. He was very transparent and upfront about his journey and because of that, there are some valuable talking points that we can all learn from (or at least be reminded of). The markets demand respect, and that includes from those people who are extremely qualified such as doctors. You'll see what I mean...

For those of you who have been around awhile, you know I'm no fan of excuses. In the vast majority of cases, they are simply "cover ups" for some other core issue. With that being said, I can also fully admit that at times, there are situations where I would not call something an "excuse", but rather, a "reality". That's what we have with fellow community member Jacob. He has had a very rough time with some personal health issues that are just "fact of the matter". Here's the crazy part though, never once during our discussion did he play the victim card or hop on the excuse train. Like I said, in this situation I would have fully understand him feeling a bit bad for himself, but he didn't! He has now turned to the markets to help him overcome some rough circumstances and he's been learning a whole lot! He's done some very stupid things (as we all have!); however, he's also made some huge strides as you'll see near the end of our conversation. There is a whole lot for everyone to learn and quite frankly, just be inspired. Let's get to it!

Buckle up! That's really all I can say. I think the title says enough. I welcome back a long time member of my community for an update on his journey, and as the title reveals, it's a wild ride!

This is a common spot I've seen many of my current students in: they are overall profitable, but still wanting more. While this may sound a bit greedy on the surface, it's actually not (in some cases that is). Fellow member and student of my program Jeremy, is doing a great job of learning and keeping his account profitable, but as you'll see, he wants more in terms of figuring out where he truly belongs in the world of the financial markets. This is a very common place to find yourself especially when you consider just how massive the markets are. Stock market, Futures market, Forex market, Crypto market, Options market, and the list goes on. Should you be day trading or swing trading? What if you have a full time job that requires lots of your attention? Can you relate to this? You are not alone. Jeremy is in the same situation you are, but the nice thing about him was he is willing to share everything with you, publicly! It was a fun conversation filled with several fantastic talking points that, new or veteran, traders should hear! Let's get to it!

Thanks for a recently viral Facebook post I made (over 88,000 Likes and 66,000 Shares), I've gathered quite a bit of insight into a topic that I believe is severely misunderstood and viewed from an impractical angle. I totally understand why people view this topic the way they do; however, I want to talk about the view I take and one that I believe can help you be successful. To be fair, odds are you are already doing very well in this area of life, but I still think that by using my personal viewpoint, you can improve upon the good things you already have going. I mean come on, an improvement in efficiency is always a good thing, right? The fact of the matter is this, whether you like it or not, you are a business owner. There is no way you can get around it, there is no way you can escape it. Let's talk about this business and the types of choices you can make to create opportunity and make the most of it!

Sometimes one of the healthiest things we can do as traders is to ask another trader to "poke holes" in general though process, or in a strategy itself. I'll be the first to admit it is not always the most pleasant thing to hear criticism (even if it is constructive); however, when you take a step back from the situation, it's easy to see how beneficial it can be. I welcome back long time member of the community Chad and spend a good part of the conversation trying to poke holes and expose flaws in this current strategy. Does Chad's strategy hold up? Has he thought through the various areas of the market that can change and prove to be troublesome? I won't tell you that part, but what I can say is that Chad has a true passion for the markets and he is approaching trading exactly like it should be. He's had plenty of hiccups along the way, as we all have, but he's not allowing them to hold him down as he continues to grind to create a solid form of additional income for his personal finances. Let's get to it!

Massive warning! Like, seriously... be warned! If you are someone walking around with a pocketful of victim cards and your specialty is coming up with excuses and love the word "can't", then do NOT listen to this episode! It will cause you to have to look in the mirror and severely question yourself and your viewpoints. With that being said, if you are someone who believes that iron sharpens iron and love to hear stories about people beast-moding it and "finding a way", then you will love community member Sergio's journey! For him, it all started in Venezuela and to set up just a small spoiler of context, he came to the USA without understanding the English language, as a college kid! Where did his life go from there? How has trading played a role? We get into that and much more, but my favorite part by far was his willingness to always be focused on the solution, NOT the problem! Iron sharpens Iron! Let's go!

One of the big traps that I see many traders fall into is using the logic that the more complicated something is, the more effective it will be. While I do completely understand this thought process of thinking "the more you put in, the more you will get out", when it comes to the world of trading, often times it can be very misleading. Thanks to community member Alex (chatroom alias, "LTP"), we have a shining example of how overthinking and trying to do too much at once was ultimately holding him back. I'm all for people being ambitious and wanting to get out there and hustle and grind; however, as I've said many times before, the market loves to take ambitious people and use their ambition against them. While the saying may not always make sense, when Alex discovered that "less is more", his trading began to change. Let's get to it!

An account that is slowly getting smaller and smaller. Are you there? Have you been there? Do you feel like you could be there once the "luck runs out"? All traders will eventually come to a point where you need to look in the mirror and admit to yourself, "I don't know what I'm doing!" Sure, some traders will have the exciting firework situation of one or two trades that wreck an account; however, many traders will have the more painful pathway of a slow bleed. Fellow community member, Greg, shares his personal story with a bleeding account that kept getting smaller and smaller. The big difference in his story is that he was not only able to stop the bleeding, but has not transitioned that into an ever growing account. He's still had some hiccups along the way, but overall, his account continues to grow and grow. In order to have a chance at all for trading success, you need consistency, and Greg is a shining example of just what it takes to get to that level. Let's get to it!

I'm flying solo in this episodes as I wanted to touch on a simple, but extremely powerful topic within the world of trading success. I am keeping this short and sweet; however, please do not lead you to believe that it therefore is not as important a concept. This may sound dramatic but I will stand firmly behind this comment: the topic of trading passion is one of (if not the most) important concepts that needs to be realized. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that many of you think you have trading passion, but it's actually the WRONG kind. It's the kind that will ultimately lead you to headaches and failure. I'm aware everyone "thinks" they have trading passion, but the truth of the matter is very few actually do. So what is this required type of passion? Why is it so important? When will it be needed? Let's talk about it!

One of the most important points of understanding all traders must realize is that markets are constantly changing. Now of course they don't change in the sense that prices stop going up and down, but they do change in the overall flow and movements. Because of this, one strategy could be working very well to only begin to suffer from hiccups and dynamics that were not experienced before. I will admit this is hard to explain using words; however, thanks to our community member Jason, we have a real life explanation of how this works in the real world. Jason is still battling and learning about the markets, but he's now at a point where he is realizing he needs to readjust himself to this new market we seem to me transitioning into. There's no doubt that Jason has done some things that many of you can relate to, or better yet, can avoid doing yourself and saving yourself the headaches they cause. Let's get to it!

We've all been there, or who knows, maybe you are there right now? A place where you are not quite a brand new beginner to the world of trading; however, nowhere close to having maximum confidence in your trading system and strategy. It's a gray area that everyone must go through in order to achieve their goals, and in this episode, we have a great illustration of what that gray area looks like. I get it, me saying "gray area" are just words, but thanks to our guest, Bobby, we get to hear and understand what these words actually translate to into the real world. Bobby has had some success and is very enthusiastic about this passion known as trading, but he's still got work to do in order to nail down the things that will lead him to confidence, clarity and then consistency.

If there is one potential pitfall that all of us traders need to always be aware of, it is this: pressure! I get it (and while true), pressure can help build character and make us better in many areas of life; however, when it comes to trading it can do a whole lot of damage. Thanks to follow member, Donnie, being open and honest about his trading journey so far, we have a fantastic real life example of just how pressure continues to creep in to throw off his goals. If you are someone who is struggling with your trading and just can't quite seem to "put it all together" and produce consistent results, I'd be willing to bet you can relate to several of Donnie's talking points. Let's get to it!

One impression of the markets I have seen come up over and over again is that you need to be rich and loving taking all kinds of risks. In other words, the stock market is only for rich people who love to gamble and take on risk. Who knows, perhaps you are thinking this way right now as you read this? If you do have this impression, hey.. you're not alone! In fact, my guest from the community Joseph was no different. He had a very limited understanding of the stock market and needless to say, had many false assumptions about it. Where did Joseph's journey go from a starting point that was so shaky? Well, a small spoiler, it went all over the place and there are nuggets of wisdom scattered throughout! I really enjoyed this talk and Joseph showed up with notes, so he takes us on a nicely structured journey that we can all learn from!

There are many situations in the world that create a sense of pressure. In my personal experience (and I'm guessing yours too), one of the most unique situations of feeling pressure is within the realm of trading. It's hard to explain to someone who has never risked their own money, but there is a very REAL sense of pressure that arises during a trade. It doesn't matter what you're trading: stocks, options, crypto, futures, forex, etc., the biological feeling is the same. I've become much better at this over the years; however, I think if any trader is being honest, they'll admit that there is always this sense of pressure lurking in the shadows in the life of a trader. This brings about the question, how can we remain calm in the face of this pressure? Is there anything we can do to fight back against "the voices" that accompany this biological situation. I've been doing some research and found some very interesting studies and suggestions within the world of science and psychology that I want to share with you. Let's get to it and learn some tips and tricks on how to remain calm during a trade!

Are you someone who is interested in the markets and learning how to make money, but you don't think you have the required time? You will without doubt find great value in this discussion! I can't think of anyone who is busier than a full time mom (who also works a part time job) and that's our guests situation. Fellow community member Locksley shares her journey through the markets and gives us all fantastic motivation and insight into how, despite an apparent time crunch, so much can still be accomplished! For you guys' out there, this is certainly an episode to have your wife listen to as Locksley has a big passion for getting other women involved in the markets. Whether you are male or female, one thing is for sure, this is a discussion filled with many nuggets of information that can (and should) be considered in your own personal trading journey. Let's get to it!

Wow. That's really all I can say. Can you image looking at your bank accounts and seeing that your net worth is, quite literally, negative $11? I'll be honest. I'm not quite sure I can imagine being in that situation. When you talk about "bottom of the barrel" situations, this episodes guest, Carducci, may take the award. That's where he found himself though, a depressing situation where he had nothing. Here's a minor spoiler, it is NOT his situation any longer. What did he do to turn things around? What kinds of choices did he need to make? We get into that and a whole lot more in regards to his trading which has been going very well. Carducci is a great example of someone who punches excuses in the face, but also is willing to do the "less flashy" styles of trading as he talks about. As you'll see though, just because a trading asset and strategy is not all flashy does not mean it can't be profitable. Let's go!

It will happen. I don't now when, I don't know what will cause it, but it's going to happen to you at some point in your trading journey. This event? The day of reckoning. The day where you will need to truly look into the mirror and make that ultimate decision of "what's next?" It's not a pleasant time, but I feel as though it is something that needs to happen in order to determine the viability of a trader's approach and journey. In this episode I welcome back fellow member Joey (chatroom alias being "joeye") to get an update on his trading journey. Joey originally turned $500 into over $25,000 but wanted to come back and share his results and journey through 2020 as he thought it could help other traders. I can confirm his thoughts, his experience will, without question, help you out as a trader. Let's get to it!

These are some of the best episodes I can offer. In my mind, there is nothing more powerful than talking with someone who has a roadblock that needs to be overcome, yet, instead of complaining about it and using it to come up with excuses, they rise to the occasion and overcome it! I understand. I really do. Sometimes life gets hard and can throw obstacles your way, but when you're willing to do what it takes, those obstacles can be plowed right through. My guest in this episode, Alden, has some unique hurdles that he has not allowed to hamper his goals of trading and making money in the market. In fact, he is in a super unique spot that I don't want to disclose here as it will spoil some parts of our discussion. So all I can really say is, "if Alden can be doing it in his situation, why can't you??" Let's go!

If you're not aware, things in the stock market have been absolutely nuts and in may ways, historic. I realize that there have been many other crazy times throughout the history of the stock market; however, this current period we are in is certainly something that has never been seen before. In fact, I am willing to go as far as calling it an entirely new market with some massive changes. I do still wonder about a few dynamics and how it'll play out, and I want to give my thoughts and walk you through what has been going on and how you can position yourself to benefit from it. Whether you are a trader with lots of experience or someone who is just getting started, this is an episode for you to keep you on the cutting edge of the market itself.

Let me first say this. I have nothing but respect and admiration for this episode's guest. He could have hid in the shadows and kept to himself. In fact, that would have been the easy choice to make. Instead, long time member of the community, Brian, volunteered to share his story of many mistakes. The most cost effective way to learn is to identify mistakes others have made, and then avoid those mistakes. Thanks to Brain you will get a goldmine of mistakes that, if you avoid, will automatically put you in a much better position as a trader. Don't let Brian's willingness to share his mistakes go to waste by not adhering to his mistakes and warnings. Let's get to it!

If you have zero fear in your pursuit of learning how to trade the markets, you have a problem! To be fair, in some situations fear is not a good emotion to experience; however, in other situations, I would argue it is a requirement if you want a chance at long term success! Thanks to our guest, Sylvain, we have an awesome look into how "fear" can be established and the self-awareness it requires. In all actuality, Sylvain didn't have that rough of a start, in fact, he had an awesome initial part of his journey. This is what makes his story so motivating and educational though. He could have gone down so many bad pathways, but he didn't. He chose the right path and he's truly now setting himself up for long lasting success. Let's get to it!

It's one thing to "talk" about taking the needed actions to become a better trader; however, it is a whole other situation so "do" the actions. In this episode we have a trader who is sick and tired of their results and is now ready to step up and do anything and everything to hold themselves accountable. Long time member of our community, Walter, is not new to the markets. In fact, he has quite the track record of experience in the markets. The problem is, he is not happy at all with the results and has recently have some revelations that have opened his eyes to needing to finally take those steps to put himself in the best possible spot to succeed. I absolutely love the self accountability that is taking place here and I'm happy to assist along the way. If you are in need of an extra boost of motivation and self awareness, you'll get plenty of that here with Walter. Let's get to it!

I know. I get it. I really do! The financial markets are an amazing place where you can make lots of money all from the comfort of your own home or wherever you have internet access. The problem with that is, in the vast majority of situations, the person is rushing things and it ends up costing them much larger than had they "tip toed" in. We have a great example of this with our guest today, Luke (alias "MTJ2" in the chatroom). Luke was kind enough to join us all the way from the UK and being a younger guy, I found him to be a great example for many other younger traders in the world. Sure, he's not making millions of dollars, but what he is doing is what actually is the wise move. I enjoyed this conversation very much so let's get to it!

If there is only one thing that all traders can agree and relate to, I think it would be the emotion of frustration! I'm well aware that the slogan of claytrader.com is "trade without emotion", but wow, to be fully transparent, frustration is a constant battle for me. Can you relate? Have you ever had frustration arise in one way or another within your trading journey? If you can answer 'yes', then this is an episode you'll want to make time for. I did some research on the science of frustration and it's amazing how much research there is available. I also found a quality article that not only summarizes much of this research, but also maps out the tips in a very easy to read and understand format. Let's all remove as many barriers as we can and learn about how frustration works within the mind and how we can overcome it using science!

We did it! We made it to episode 300! First off, a big thank you to all of you loyal listeners. Without your support, this show would have drifted off into the shadows many years ago; however, here we are 300 episodes later and still going strong! Second off, to all of you community members who have volunteered your time to share your story (whether good or bad), a massive thank you! Your willingness to share your story has positively impacted the trading journeys of people around the globe. On that note, for this special episode I've brought back three former guests who I personally admire and respect for a variety of reasons. Sure, they're solid traders, but I'd argue they're even more solid in their approach and attitude to life in general. We do talk quite a bit about trading, but we also touch on various areas of life that I firmly believe can help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be. If you are someone who is willing to do what needs to be done in order to "get it done", then there is no question you'll find several nuggets of wisdom on this episode. Let's get to it!

The most common dream I come across from people getting involved in trading and the markets has nothing to do with fancy cars or Rolex watches. It has to do with freedom of time and the ability to control their schedule as they see fit. In other words, they want to quit their 9-5 job and become a full time trader. In this episode I welcome back fellow member Johnny who was just on the show a few months ago. There's a big difference however at this point in Johnny's journey that he was kind enough to update us on: he's quit his job and is now a full time trader! In this episode we talk about those final decisions that went into quitting his day job and then do a deep dive into what is like to be a full time trader and how it has all been going so far. If you have goals of quitting your job and working for yourself as a trader, this is an episode for you!

There is nothing better than talking to someone who has no problem doing what needs to be done and finding opportunity. As a business owner myself and someone who firmly believes in creating multiple streams of income, it's always motivating and inspiring to talk to someone cut from the same clothe. In this episode I welcome back long time member Geoff ('crestronwizard' in chatroom) for this third appearance on the show. He has not been in the market recently due to his extremely successful business he started; however, as he is now making plans to get back into making money from the markets, he was willing to swing by and update us all on his plan of attack moving forward. If you are someone who has a full time job and is wondering how you can still get involved in the markets, we talk about strategies to accomplish just that. There is truly something for everyone, so let's get to it!

I'm going international in this episode to welcome back long time member Nariman. Fair warning, if you are someone who enjoys looking for excuses and reasons on why you are not able to accomplish a goal or task, you will not like this episode or guest in the least. If you are someone who believes that "iron sharpens iron" and are in constant search of motivation and inspiration (no matter the person's age), then you'll love this discussion. Nariman is a busy guy who is in school; however, he's also a perfect example of just how powerful swing trading options can be for someone with a busy schedule. We talk about his strategy in particular and how options can be a perfect fit for someone with a full time job. Let's get to it!

I love simplicity. When things are simple, they're so much easier to put into motion and benefit from. In this episode I talk some SIMPLE science that can truly help us become better traders. Here's the best part about it all. Not only is the science simple, the way to "make it happen" is something that every single person who listens to this episode can do! I'm still amazed at how some of the most simple things in life, that we've all probably heard about at one time or another, are things that can serve as trading hacks to make us better. The best part about all of this is that when you pursue this science strategy in the name of "making yourself a better trader" it will positively affect many other areas of your life! Let's talk some science that will not only help us be better traders, but make us better in many areas of life! sources: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/people-who-live-100-longer-share-this-hobby-longevity-experts-say-it-can-add-years-to-life.html

Why is being a trader so hard? One of the most glaring issues is how the markets take personality traits, such as being ambitious, and totally twist them around and use them against the trader. Thanks to the openness of our guest, Harmon (his 2nd appearance on the show), we see how this cruel trick manifests itself within the market. Harmon is currently going through a rough patch within his trading; however, he's not giving up and he's paying attention to all the data which is helping him nail down the areas of his trading that need to be corrected. The human mind can be a cruel and crazy place and you'll see exactly what I mean with our conversation. There is something for everyone in this discussion, including me, so sit back and let's all do some learning together!

I love the people I talk to on this show. I truly do. People are not trying to portray themselves as something they're not. In fact, the exact opposite happens. People are being brutally upfront about their journeys so that we can all benefit from it. In this episode, I talk with fellow member Kelly about this journey and how he has ended up in a place he doesn't want to be, but needs to be. What is this place? TIMEOUT. Just as you would discipline a child with putting them in timeout, we as traders sometimes need to do the exact same thing. It does not make you a bad trader at all! I would argue it makes you a self-aware trader who is treating trading as a business and taking it all as serious as it should be. How did Kelly end up in timeout? What is he working on correcting? We go into that and a whole lot more!