The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

An often times overlooked part of successful trading is the needed skill and understanding of money management. You can be firing on all cylinders in all other areas of your trading; however, if your money management is not fully under control, everything else will come to a screeching halt. I welcome back long-time member, "Mico" (same name in chatroom), to hear about his continued journey. As is the case with any trader, things have not been a smooth ride… spoiler alert: he blew up an account since his last appearance on the show, but he didn't give up and stayed strong to correct some issues. What were the issues? How did he correct them? We talk about that and much more, so let's get to it!

The financial markets are a massive place where the sky is the limit in terms of your upside potential. In this episode I talk to fellow member Austin who is a shining example of just how much potential exists. What could you do with $130,000 in only one month? Crazy and motivating all at the same time. However, the value in our discussion is found within learning about what he experienced on the way to those profits. What were his struggles? What were his tactics he used to learn? What are some of the mental tricks he uses to manage risk? We cover all of these topics along with much more! Austin is doing an awesome job these days, but it was a very bumpy ride at first, so if you're ready for some nuggets of wisdom, then let's go!

I wanted to take a step back from the normal format of the show to bring to your attention a situation that 100% pertains to the world of "trading". As citizens of the USA, you know we have an election coming soon. While I may disagree with who you vote for, I can respect it and hopefully we can all agree on the central idea that "being educated about policy" is a worthwhile effort. If you are a trader or have ambitions of becoming a trader, no matter your account size, this is a policy that needs to be factored into your voter analysis. No worries, this is not some hour long podcast where I "get political", it's simply an episode with the goal being to give you information that you can then use in your "who I'm gonna vote for" analysis. Let's get to it!

It's amazing how a single three letter word can make such a difference. When you look at life through the lens of "how", it opens up so many more potential opportunities for yourself. My guest from the community, Judd ("juddw" in the chatroom), is a shining example of just how powerful the word "how" can be. It has already served him well with life in general, but it continues to serve him nicely with his trading journey. Judd has been swing trading now for an extended period of time with success, but for the sake of establishing more income streams, he has since turned his focus to learning the skill of day trading. Judd and I talk about a variety of items, all of which can be (and should be) applied to your approach to trading and life in general. Let's go!

The human mind is an awesome place... well... assuming it is being operated under the right circumstances and structure. What do I mean? The Near Miss Effect has been researched and studied quite significantly in the world of science and psychology and "why it exists" is actually pretty great. The downside is, it can turn into a savage and counterproductive mechanism to work against our goals is we are not aware of it. Given I have been working with traders since 2013 and combing that with the countless customer service interactions I've had, I can say with full authority and confidence that this "effect" is alive and well in the world of the financial markets. The question truly boils down to your understanding of it and whether you are using The Near Miss Effect to help or hurt your trading ambitions. Let's do some science!

In my mind, there is nothing more inspiring than a younger person doing what they need to do in order to complete the mission. My guest, Anton from the community, has been a hustler and grinder since age 12. How much of a hustler and grinder? How about $50,000 sitting in his bank account by the age of 21... not $50,000 of debt, $50,000 of cash! If that doesn't get you inspired and motivated, I don't know what will. With all that being said, as ambitious of a person as Anton is, the market has been a huge battle for him. It's a great thing to be ambitious, but sometimes the market will use that attribute against you and cause heartache. As a minor spoiler, Anton has battled the markets to become a consistently profitable trader, although, I'll just say this... "all it takes is one"... let's get to it!

I welcome back fellow member Ken ("gaingreens" in the chatroom community) to get an update on his trading journey. The last time we spoke was before the world went crazy with covid, so needless to say, much has changed for Ken in his personal life which of course affected his trading. How was his trading affected and what did he learn from it? Even more important, what solutions did he put into place to alleviate the issues that were arising? One of Ken's biggest strengths I observed in listening was his self-awareness where he looked to blame no one but himself. This is powerful because when YOU blame yourself has the problem, YOU are also the solution to the problem. Ken is doing very well right now and he shares with us some of those "fixes" that got him to where he is.

It's time to toughen up! If you want to survive in the financial markets, a "must have" requirement is being able to have thick skin. If you are someone who is easily offended or has an ego so big that as soon as someone says something that pricks it, stay away! My guest from the community, Marcus, is a shining example of exactly why this is the case. He's been through a lot and his journey has spanned several years, but he's hustling and grinding his way not only through trading, but life. From my observation in talking with him, a huge reason why he has been able to "own life" and "make things" happen is due to his thick skin. It has so far and will continue to benefit him in the savage world of the financial markets. In other words, he has a lot to offer to those people that listen with an open mind. Let's get to it!

He's back. Long time member and one of the first five guest I ever talked to on the podcast, Richard (better known as "RDTrader" in the community), is here to update us on his continued journey in the markets. Per usual we go down some deep rabbit holes that I'm confident everyone can benefit from. Even if you have years of experience, there is nothing more powerful than "being reminded" of certain pitfalls in the market, and you'll certainly be reminded! For those of you that are new and just getting started, we talk about several tips and tricks you should consider implementing as a trader in order to give yourself a better chance at success. We also talk about the anatomy of his recent $18,000 in a single month of trading, what he learned from it, and how he made it happen. This will make more sense after listening, but please... if you want to have success and stay consistent: plant your flag!!!

I'll be the first to admit, I had no idea there was such a science to learning. I think most of us realize that learning is important and something that needs to be taken seriously; however, when it comes to "how" to take it seriously, that's where many (myself included) get lost. Whether you are wanting to learn how to trade or build a birdhouse, I think it's safe to assume you want to learn as quickly as possible and adapt to whatever is thrown your way. I did some research on learning and found an article that scientifically cites 10 dynamics that occur within our brains that can either help or hinder us in our learning ambitions. Here's a spoiler... according to the science, watching random and hours upon hours of YouTube videos just is not going to help you much. Let me walk you through some steps and decisions you can make to assist you in your learning ambitions. Article Talked About - see it HERE

What a great discussion this was! If you're looking to pick up some nuggets of wisdom from someone else's experience, look no further. I welcome back fellow member Matt ("msouza" alias in chatroom) to give us an update on his journey. Needless to say, it's been a wild ride of stupidity and pain, but hey... if we're honest with ourselves, we've all been there! Matt has made quite a few changes in his trading but most importantly, he's experienced some "stress testing" of those changes to see just how well his psychology holds up. It's one thing to make money, but it's a whole other thing to lose money within your strategy and see how you react to it. This discussion is filled with candor and honesty and I know for sure, no matter your experience level, there will be something you walk away with that makes you a better prepared trader. Let's go!

Becoming your own boss as you take that step into trading full time is a dream that many people have. Does it need to be the end goal? It does not. In many cases, using trading as a way to diversify your streams of income is more than wise; however, for our fellow community member Johnny, this is what he wanted. He follows the trend of many people in his situation. He never really had the initial goal to "go full time", he just wanted to get involved in trading to create a bit more cash for himself. After jumping in with both feet and putting in the required time and energy of studying and learning, Johnny realized just how much potential the market offers. This potential does not come easy and it does not happen overnight, but it is there and for those who want to make the effort, can be firmly grasped. Let's learn about Johnny and his journey of grasping the freedom trading allows for!

I'm sure you've heard the saying, "when it rains it pours" and that's what happened to our long time member and guest, Pendar. I have nothing but respect for these kinds of people who get slammed in the face with a sledge hammer from life, but keep on grinding. As mentioned, Pendar has been a community member for several years now and reached out to me wanting to be a guest so he could update the community on his situation, but with a twist. He wanted to really focus on all the dumb things he has done and what needs to be avoided. In this day and age of social media and everyone parading around like they have life (trading) figured out, it was a total breath of fresh air to see the more realistic and darker side of trading. Pendar is making no excuses, he's not blaming anyone, he's just doing what he needs to do to make it happen, so I'm confident you'll get some great nuggets of wisdom.

When you see potential in someone, one of the most impolite things you can do is to "beat around the bush" and not be blunt. We have a case of that here with community member Luis. As you'll see, the conversation starts off a bit rough as I questioned him and pressed him on certain areas of his journey. While it may have come across as rough around the edges, it was all being done because Luis has great potential and I didn't want to see one of the typical traps grab him. All in all though, Luis is a great guy and while he certainly still has work to do and things to improve on, he's also doing many things very well! Luis is only 19, so for you younger listeners out there, you'll get that much more motivation and inspiration from his journey.

I love me some science and psychology! I stumbled across an "effect" in the world of psychology and did more research on it... and wow, all I can say is it 100% (probably even more) applies to all of us in the challenging world of trading. In fact, it's a phenomenon where if you are being honest with yourself, it has happened to you or who knows, may be happening right now. To clarity, just because there has been money spent at a university to do research and study a topic does not mean you should blindly accept the results of it; however, given I've been around since 2013 and have interacted with 1,000's of people at this point, I can say with full certainty that this "effect" is alive and well within the financial markets. I learned a ton from it and I'm confident you will too, so let's get to it and talk some science and trading!

If there is one word that I think most new traders can relate to, it would be "randomness". When you are new and don't know what you don't know, everything can quickly become overwhelming because it all feels so random. This of course leads us on a bumpy road filled with twists and turns. This was the exact case for my guest, Andrew ("Kaizen" chatroom alias in community). To his credit, despite all the twists and turns, he stuck with it and then eventually stumbled into his "game changer" moment which has truly shifted his confidence and approach to the markets. As someone with a full time job, he is now able to trade the markets in a way that gives him great flexibility and true control. If you are someone who also works a full time job, but would like to "be a day trader", this episode is definitely for you! Let's get to it.

Brutal. That's really all I can think of to describe how this journey began. The thing is, it all started off with scoring an $8,000 win in one of his first trades. From that point? Well... not good! I had a great chat with fellow member from the community, Michael, about his journey and he held nothing back. Because of this brutal opening experience within his journey, in my opinion at least, he has established himself as an authority give advice for certain trading behaviors. When you are punched in the face several times, you may not be a professional boxer; however, you certainly can share some wisdom and advice when it comes to "getting punched in the face", and that's what we have here. Let's get to it!

When it comes to trading success (and in most areas of life), having patience is a big requirement needed. However, there are definitely some areas within trading where impatience can work in your advantage and once you realize this, good things can begin to happen! My guest from the community, Matt, shares his journey with us which started off in a very rough (and as he disclosed, "embarrassing") way. How did Matt recover from this train wreck of a start? What choices and maneuvers did he make to try and get the train back on the tracks? Matt was brutally upfront and honest in his mistakes, which serves up all kinds of valuable learning insights, so stick around for the whole thing and I know you'll walk away prepared to be a better trader!

Buckle up and get ready to do a deep dive into the human mind and the world of human emotions. Especially for us men, talking about our feelings and emotions is probably not at the top of our list of favorite things; however, as you will see within this conversation, it is a critical consideration that needs to be addressed. I had a great talk with long time member Nick ("KillerSwan" in the community) where he held nothing back and allowed us all into his journey, particularly his struggles. The back half of the conversation essentially turned into a coaching session and while it was unique to his situation, I am VERY confident there will be several talking points that you will be able to relate to. Let's do some learning!

One of the more common questions (and complaints) I see is people not having as much money as they'd like to have in their trading account. I have some great news though! Whether you want the responsibility or not, it doesn't matter. The fact is this: YOU (yes you!) are a business owner and CEO. You might not think so given you don't run a company that offers a product or service; however, this is a false understanding of reality. The reality of the matter is you 100% "do" offer a service/product and you need to make sure it is worth as much as possible. All successful people are great at operating this area of their life and I want you to do the same! Let's discuss how you can run your business at maximum productivity.

Time horizons matter quite a bit in the world of trading. Time can get a bit tricky when it comes to trading unfortunately; sure, you don't want to be wasting your time but at the same time, you don't want to be rushing either. My guest from the community, Kenneth, gives us a great illustration of somehow who is approaching trading in a time efficient manner, but not rushing. When you choose to take certain steps and surround yourself with the infrastructure Kenneth has, while there are no guarantees, there is the higher probabilities that you will find success. Kenneth is still young in his journey, but his focus on setting himself up for long lasting success offers us all with some great motivation and insights.

Trading and investing can be a very emotional game. If you've ever had a single dollar of your own hard earned money in the markets, you know exactly what I mean. This leads to the next logical question, "what can be done to remove the emotion?" There is certainly no perfect system to do it, but one way is to get so focused on the numbers and data, you almost forget to have emotion. In this episode I welcome back fellow member Sean who is all about the data. To his credit though, he admits that even with a massive deep dive into the data, there can still be hiccups that arise. I enjoyed this talk and I'm sure you will too. Sean had no problems talking about his hiccups and (most importantly) what he learned from them. Let's get to it.

DO something! That's all I ask! Whether it has to do with trading the markets or not, it's amazing how when you simply "do", good things begin to happen. Add in an underlying plan with "do", and WOW... things can get extremely explosive (to the upside!). This week's guest, Davy, is a new member to the community but he sure did get me motivated. The opening part of the discussion was my favorite as he walks us through his opening journey. He actually never mentioned "the stock market" until about 15 minutes in, but the story he told beforehand is what success is all about. Grabbing your bootstraps, putting on the hard hat, and going out and "doing". If you're someone who enjoys using excuses and playing the victim card, this episode will not be for you, but if you're a hustler... then let's go!

As obvious as it may seem, I've lost track of just how many times I've seen it happen. People put their money into the market, and then upon listening or asking a few basic questions, it becomes very clear they really have no idea "why" they entered a trade. The amateur will answer that by saying, "because I think I will make money"; however, the successful trader will be able to give a much more in-depth reasoning. That's exactly what my guest this week, Amit, shares with me. Like many, he started off doing some silly things with his time and money, but to his credit he has quickly realized he needed to change ways and that's what he's been doing. Let's get to it!

What category would you place yourself into? Are you lucky or unlucky? I stumbled across an interesting scientific research study where a psychologist (support by quite a bit of funding) did a deep dive study of lucky people verses unlucky people. While I can't say the results were stunningly shocking, I can say that there are many nuggets of data that can (and should) be applied to us in the world of trading. To further support the data, thanks for a current event that was playing out at the time of this recording, we can see just how this scientific research showed its truth in a very real world setting. If you like making decisions based in logic and reasoning, then I'm sure you'll be able to walk away with at least a few bits of practical wisdom. Let's get to it!

Wins are overrated. Winning streaks are even more dumb! What do I mean? You can have multiple winners and be making all kinds of money; however, that tells you nothing about the viability of your strategy and system. The only way to know if you have a strategy that "actually works" is to take some punches. If you take punches and you're account is still green and trending upwards, this is when you should be forming and maintaining confidence. Yes, I realize right now all I'm doing is talking in theory, but my guest from the community Matt ("msozua" chatroom alias) helps bring this topic into reality in a very motivating way. He started out with a single punch knocking him out, but he's grown very much since then and he's surviving and thriving.

If you would consider yourself someone who enjoys "dabbling" into areas of life, I'm very confident you'll be able to connect with my guest in this week's episode. With that being said, even if you are someone who "goes all in" from the start, there are many nuggets of wisdom (and warning) that you'll be able to take away from this guest's journey... which has been a long one! We'll be covering a 15ish year timespan with our guest David, a long time member of our trading community. Throughout the years David has had to constantly weigh the pros-and-cons of trading given his success and growth through is normal "day job". This has been a very wise move on David's part; however, as we come to present day David has made some big changes and he's already seeing the results from them. Let's go!

Randomness, like with most things in life, will destroy any kind of trading ambitions you may have. Whether it's from my own personal experience or from the countless stories I've heard from others, when randomness creeps into the journey.... things get bad! My guest, Eric ("E" in the chatroom), is taking the exact opposite approach of randomness. For full disclosure's sake, his current approach is by no means exciting and adrenaline filled like a roller coaster, but that's the goal! He's taking his trading in a very serious and methodical way. Whether you are brand new to the markets or have experience, but maybe struggling, there are some valuable insights into some ideas that may assist you in your journey. Let's get to it!

While it certainly is not the glamorous pathway to take, sometimes the best solution for problems is to take a step back and put yourself through unfavorable steps. I welcome back long time member Kainoa and he updates us on everything that has been occurring in his journey. As a small spoiler, he has had to make some tough decisions over the past couple of years that were not easy or enjoyable; however, as you will see, they have proven to be the wise actions to take. I really enjoyed this conversation as it does a great job of illustrating (and hopefully reassuring some of you) that there is no shame in hitting the pause button and reevaluating your current location in your trading journey. Hitting the pause button and "doing what needs to be done" is not always going to be rainbows and butterflies, but if you want success it's what needs to be done.

I came across an article that talks about a way of thinking that has been around for 2,000 year and is used by some of the world's brightest. While I don't believe in ever blindly following someone because they are smart/successful, I do believe it is wise to at least listen to and consider what the person is saying. Given I've been coaching and guiding traders since 2013, I can say with full certainty that this "powerful way of thinking is not being put into motion, and it SHOULD BE! I'm just as guilty as anyone else for not using this way of thinking, so no judgements from me! I want to apply this "thinking strategy" to the world of trading so you can see the true building block of what all successful traders build from. Let's get to it!

It truly is amazing just how powerful blaming the person in the mirror can be when it comes to your struggles and failures. I truly understand... blaming yourself for failures is not an enjoyable situation and no one likes to do it; however, there is freedom when you swallow the ego and blame yourself. My guest today from the community, Joey, started off about as bad as you possibly can. In fact, I called him a degenerate gambler to his face and he fully agreed with me. The crazy part though is how he transformed from a degenerate gambler to someone who is now consistently growing his account. So far, he's gone from $150 to $25,000 and it continues to grow. Thanks to his honesty and transparency, Joey shares many experiences that present fantastic nuggets of wisdom. Let's get to it!

While I can't say it is the top issue debated among traders, I can say with full confidence it is easily within the top 3 issues. What is this issue? Is paper trading (demo/simulator trading) worth it? Over the years we have heard both sides of argument on this topic, and to be fair, both sides have made valid points and arguments. My guest from the community in this episode, Joel, shares his journey in a very transparent way that sheds a very raw (and well explained) viewpoint of how not paper trading is dangerous. I realize that we all have varying opinions and experience in regards to this hotly contested issue, so all I ask is you listen with an open mind and be honest with yourself on whether or not you feel like you are on the same pathway Joel was....

If you have even a shred of trading experience with real money, then I'm sure you are well aware of the fact that we all have mental demons we need to fight against. Trading is an extremely mentally challenging business and it truly is filled with demons that need to be acknowledged and then punched in the face! In this episode, I welcome back long time member Donald ('speedster' in the chatroom community) to update us on his journey. Donald has made a whole lot of progress, but to his credit, he's also very aware of the bad tendencies that have the potential of creating problems within his trading. I really respected (and personally benefited from) Donald's self awareness and how he is by no means being dishonest with himself. He's focused on improving and making huge strides while also punching the demons in the face. Let's get to it!

I've had some people ask about my thoughts, but to be honest, another part of this is me just being sick-and-tired of all the media manufactured drama. I want to give you my thoughts on the stock market and how I am approaching the situation. Let's take a breath and walk through all of this in a slow, calm, and calculated way by using logic and a bit of common sense. What am I doing as the stock market crash and why? Let's talk about it.

Passion can be a powerful thing. In this case, it lead our guest Mitch to hijack his brother's social security number so he could open a trading account while still in high school. While I certainly do not advise or support hijacking anyone's social security number, I do love the underlying attitude of Mitch just doing what needs to be done to "make things happen". Now sure, there were much better ways he could have gone about it, but the will power and desire were there to succeed. Mitch is currently only 21; however, because he started so early in life he's already got quite the story to tell. So buckle up and let's get to it.

Courage. If I were forced to summarize this episode in one word, that's what I would use. My guest today is back for the third time and wow... he did some really dumb things, but you know what? We all have! The difference is Hamlet has enough courage to publicly talk about it so that others have the opportunity to learn and not repeat the mistakes he found himself doing. This is one of those interviews where if you take serious what is talked about, you can make a whole lot of money by simply learning what to avoid in the first place. A penny saved is a penny earned and if you heed the warnings Hamlet gives, you'll be thankful that you did. Buckle up. It's about to get bumpy!

Who remembers dial up internet? Can you imagine trying to trade with it? Needless to say, us traders now-a-days sure do take a lot for granted. My guest from the community, Roger, began his trading journey back when the internet was becoming more and more mainstream. Roger has over two decades of experience in the market and he shares it all with us. A portion of that experience was not exactly the pleasant kind, but Roger shares the downs and what he learned from them. Specifically, he discusses the problems he had to admit to himself and the decisions he made that provided a solution. Roger has now been trading consistently and successfully for six years now despite having a full time job. If you are someone with a full time job but also wants to create another source of income, Roger is your guy! Let's go!

I came across an article recently which centered around "mental traps" that successful people don't allow themselves to fall into. While the article is not about trading in particular, the science based observations and discoveries 100% can be applied to us as traders. If you are new to trading you many not realize just how big of a mental challenge it is, so whenever you can get insight into how the human mind (and emotions) work, you can be better prepared to guard yourself. As many of you can relate to, the minute you let your guard down within your mind is the minute problems and mistakes will show up in your trading results. Let's use some science to help make keeping up our guards as strong as possible!

I love it! We now have yet another data point in regards to people "finding a way" rather than "finding an excuse". My guest today, Jermaine, grew up in Jamaica and immigrated to the USA and had to hustle and grind to get to where he is today. This includes working multiple jobs and my favorite part, in Jermaine's words... "living aggressively". I'm well aware that many gurus/teachers/mentors focus on selling the dream, we're not going to do that. In this discussion we will be digging deep into exactly why it is so important for you to have a passion for the market... because yeah, things are not always rainbows and butterflies.

As traders we should love the fact that we can not control how high a price rises. Why? Well, that means we can not control how much money we make in a trade! How cool is that? We have a perfect example of this principle with fellow member Orval (better known as 'Sandman' in the community). Orval updates us on his journey which has improved dramatically since the last time he was on the show. It's been a journey of hard work, dedication and consistency, but the time has been worth it. Orval has fully transitioned from paper trading to real money trading and yeah... I don't want to ruin anything, but so far so good! Let's get to it!

I'm pretty sure there is no one better prepared to become a trader than those who have military experience. In this day and age where people too easily get their feelings hurt, it's nice to be able to be blunt with someone and have them simply say, "thanks". If you are newer to the markets and looking at what it takes to actually be a good "learner", then look no further. My guest, Chad ('iamavol' in chatroom) has a military background and this has served him well so far. He's not trading with any huge amounts of money, but he's doing things the right way. He is starting small and then building from that point by focusing on good habits and scaling. Chad's certainly done some boneheaded mistakes as he'll discuss, and thanks to his openness, there are some great learning opportunities for us all.

This discussion is why I have a very hard time finding pity for people who seem to throw out excuses like candy. When you have a passion and drive for something, much is possible even when you may have many other "things" occurring. Community member Harmon tells us about his journey so far and how he's been able to get involved in the markets even while being a college student (along with a whole lot more). He had some misjudgments at the start of the journey that we talk about, but that's normal... the key is acknowledging them and then making adjustments. What adjustments needed to be made? How is his newly started live trading going? We talk about that and much more!

I'll be the first to admit the markets are an awesome place with oh so much potential and opportunity! The problem with this fact is it causes way too many people to rush in and get slaughtered. While there is no such thing as a perfect entry into the market, my guest from the community, Ken ('gaingreen' in the chatroom), walks us through his journey thus far. We once again have another encounter with Robinhood and how in all actuality, they're quite the savage company. Ken learned some valuable lessons upfront and has since gone about his approach to the markets and learning in a much more methodical way. I really enjoyed Ken's perspective on the markets (and life in general) and I'm sure you will too!

Have you ever done anything that when you look back on it in hindsight all you can say is, "what was I thinking?!?!"... I know I have! The financial markets truly are an amazing place filled with opportunity in almost all directions. The problem is, when you are new and ambitious... the ambition will be used against you in ways that make money for other people. My guest from the community, Kevin, talks all about his starting days with the "trading" app Robinhood and how it turned into a meat grinder of his money. Needless to say, it was a very rough start; however, to Kevin's credit he has not given up and has now put a new plan into motion. As the saying goes, it's not how you start, but how you finish and Kevin is well on his way to finishing strong. Let's get to it!

I'm aware. The title of this episode may seem like clickbait. I mean, how could making $500 be attributed to ruining someone's mind? It would seem that making money is a good thing; however, in this case it was the absolute worst result that could have happened. My guest, Jacob ("farmerj" in the chatroom), takes us through a very crazy journey that as one point reached him only being happy if he made $1,000 per day. How can someone reach this point? All I can say is the human mind is a crazy place and if you're not aware of the games it can play with you, you are at risk. His journey has been a wild ride and I enjoyed hearing about every minute of it (and so will you!). Let's get to it!

If I lost it all and had $0 to my name and needed to start all over… what would I do? There is a huge opportunity out there right now that could make you up to (maybe more) $65 per hour. Let's talk about it.

Is this you? You have a smaller account and want to get started trading the markets. Because of the annoying pattern day trader rule (PDT) and the fact you have a smaller account, you automatically assume you need to focus on small caps (penny stocks) in order to have a chance at success. While there was a lot of truth to this in past years, due to some recent changes in the futures market, this thought process is no longer valid. My guest from the community, Heath, discusses his trading journey that walks us through this exact thought process and journey. Heath was very transparent about his journey and the headaches he has gone through in order to get to where he is now... a much more viable place to actually find trading consistency. This is a discussion filled with goodies so let's get to it!

Warren Buffet's secretary pays higher taxes than he does? Have you ever heard this before? I know I have. There was just a newly released proposal to address this issue and I want to take a deeper look into how all this works. It may surprise you (sarcasm font), but politicians on both sides of the aisle misrepresent issues and how they "actually" work. What does any of this have to do with trading? Well… in all actuality, this is a topic and proposal that directly affects us all as traders in the market. In fact, I can't think of another issue out there that more directly "hits home" than this potential policy. I'm not here to side with one opinion over another, but I do believe it is an issue that all of us in the markets should fully understand and be able to explain to someone else. Let's take a look at this…

Solutions. Problems are easy to find and focus on, but solutions…. that is where the real magic happens. The issue with solutions is sometimes they are not pleasant or want to admit needs to be focused on. However, as you're about to see with our guest in this episode, if you just suck it up and do what needs to be done, the results can increase your pathway to success that much quicker. I welcome back longtime member Tony (chatroom alias 'TWDT') and while we do talk about his trading journey, we also talk extensively about how he decided to focus on other "things" that while are not the most exciting, they are extremely beneficial within all walks of life. This is one of those interviews where it may seem "off topic" on the surface, but for many of you (if you're honest with yourself), I have a sneaky suspicion it may be the exact solution you should be throwing all your energy behind (for the time being). Let's get to it!

I have no idea if this "emotion" is something all people have, but it's something I can totally relate with. That feeling being the desire to want to "accomplish something". It's hard to assign an exact definition to it, but at the core, it comes from the desire of achievement. Again, I can't speak for everyone, but those of us who are involved, or thinking of getting started, in the financial markets can more than likely relate. We as traders don't necessarily get into trading for the glory and riches but for the idea/feeling that we are building something all on our own. In many senses, it's a form of entrepreneurship. My guest Jason ("Toxic" chatroom alias in community) has gone full bore into this mindset and he takes us on the journey with him. Like many, he's done some really dumb things and at this point can only laugh at them; however, he's also made some solid choices that we all can learn from. This has all lead him to the decision to jump in with both feet and give full time trading a try. Let's get to it!