Diving In and "Learning-As-You-Go". How'd that Work? | STR 099

If you're newer to the markets and your plan of action is "learning as I go", then all I ask is that you please listen to our guest, Mike ('HeyFordy' alias in chat room), who took the same path. What I like about Mike is that he's from the Northeast, so he's got that accent and has no problem being blunt and telling you like it is. He doesn't hold back any punches and speaks his mind, for better or worse. Mike is an amateur boxer, so his views on mindset and psychology are fascinating. Whether you are new or an experienced trader, I'm willing to bet there will be at least something that stands out to you and assists you in your personal trading. Notes: Mike's introduction to the market was his buddy who was trading with his free Robinhood account. He funded his account and just dove straight into it. Mike was just puppet trading his friend who gave him some 'picks.' Unfortunately, Mike ended up becoming a bag holder and maintained his losing position for a few months. He went on a search for a good group of traders that he could follow. Mike grew his small account by the thousands with sheer blind luck but eventually that luck ran out. After getting stuck in a trade that he was unable to sell, he started to wise up and realize that he needed to learn how to spot his own entries and determine his exits. Mike went on to search for as much free information as he could find but struggled with it since it had absolutely no structure. After this he went on to try some subscription services that offered hot picks. He quickly found out that this didn't work either. He joined the Claytrader community shortly after this and eventually went on to take the first course, Robotic Trading. Mike said that this was a big eye opener and he know wanted to learn even more. He now started to understand WHY he should be buying and WHY he should be selling. This led him to take a few other courses since he recognized that education for the market is a continuous process. Mike is now truly enjoying the freedom that comes with education in the form of not needing anyone to give him 'hot picks' or steer him into various tickers. He has developed his own strategy, applies solid risk management and executes trades that he has personally planned. This is the true path to long term consistent success. Quotes: "I downloaded it, funded the account and dove in. I didn't have any education or anything. I wanted to do the 'learn as you go.' " "I grew a small account by the thousands very quickly just off of luck. I thought I had everything figured out." "His DVD was like panhandling for gold. You had to go through a ton of dirt just to get a small speck of gold. It was ridiculous." "Robotic Trading was eye opening. A lot of the uncertainty went out the window and I started seeing things in a logical way." "I like swing trading a lot better. I like to manage them over a bit of an extended time."