The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

I love talking with the variety of traders I do. Some are brand new to the point they’ve never even traded with real money. Others are in valleys of desperation and frustration. Then we have those like this episode’s guest, Dale, who are doing fantastic. Of course it was not always fantastic for Dale, but he’s persevered through a whole lot and continues to only get better (and he’s already real good). Dale has some fantastic observations, especially about the threats of FOMO (fear of missing out). He’s done some really stupid things since he began (I say that as a compliment for being willing to publicly talk about it), but these are things you can learn from. How? Simply do the opposite of what he shares. I really enjoyed this conversation and I’m sure you will too! Let’s get to it!

I assume you are well aware that if you want to be a successful trader over an extended period of time, you need rules! Perhaps a more broad way of saying this is you need a valid strategy. This of course prompts the idea of “well, what makes up a strategy? How do you build one?” - the answer being, with rules! With all of that being said, are some rules more important than others? Or, are all trading rules created equally? In my opinion, not all rules are created equal and some are way more important than others. In this episode I want to spend a brief few moments talking about what I believe is a “must have” rule for all traders. I’m even willing to potentially go as far as claiming this rule is the most important one! What is this rule and what makes it so effective and powerful? Let’s discuss!

I’ve always been impressed by this episode’s guest. Joey (same alias in the chatroom community) has been a long time member and, from day one, has been very transparent about his journey. In fact, when I was getting more into options a couple years go, I had him come on a Tuesday night live webinar (for premium members) so I could ASK HIM questions. As the saying goes, “iron sharpens iron” and I consider Joey to be a solid piece of iron. Joey was kind enough to come back and update everyone on where he is in life and with his trading. He’s been an absolute master in leveraging his trading experience into some very worthwhile “real world” outcomes, including his current job which would make anyone who loves trading jealous! With that being said, his mastering of real world outcomes is something that I believe anyone can do, and we talk about just that! If you’re looking for pieces of iron to sharpen yourself against, look no further than Joey! Let’s go!

There are many challenges that come with being a trader. We are all facing different challenges at different levels. What do I mean by “different levels”? The worst level a trader can be at is struggling with their results and having no idea what is causing the issues. We’ve all been there! It’s truly a terrible and demoralizing level to experience. You know their is a problem, but you just know what what “it” is. My guest this episode, Trey (same name in chatroom for you community members), finds himself in annoying, but good spot. It’s annoying because he is really struggling with a certain part of his trading. How can this be a “good spot”? Because Trey knows what the spot is! He just needs to do what he knows he needs to do! Trey is not alone though. His struggle is one I can relate to and a struggle many other traders can too. Let’s talk with Trey and see what we can figure out and try and offer some helpful feedback!

The toilet man is back! For you long time members of the community and listeners of the podcast, you should remember Jeremy. If you are a member of the community and chatroom, his alias is “RemmyTheRookie”. He’s been on the podcast multiple times over the years. He was one of our first guests back in 2014 and is still alive in the markets with plenty of bruises. I say that as a compliment though. All traders have bruises, it’s part of the business. The key to, long term, success is avoiding those kill shots that knock you completely out of the game. It had been a couple years since Jeremy and I last spoke, so as usual, he was more than willing to come on and just shoot the breeze with me while we talked trading. He’s a person I have hung out now with, twice, in person and I can say with full certainty, he’s a fantastic human being. He’s always willing to help out and share his “stories of bruise obtainment” so that others can learn. Let’s get to it!

We’re all at different spots within our journey. This is why anyone advertising an “one size fits all” strategy is misleading you. Unless the person knows your exact circumstances and goals, it’s hard for them to have any idea what is best for you. In this episode’s situation, it is someone who wants to retire, but stay active in their retirement via trading. Community member Paul was kind enough to share with us his journey and reveal what has worked, and not worked, along the way. As a minor spoiler alert, Paul is in a fantastic place within his journey where he’s making money and his account is growing. What an amazing feeling! Knowing you are getting close to retirement while also knowing you have a skill that’ll allow you to still be making money! I put Paul to the test to see if I could poke any holes in his approach or strategy. Iron sharpens iron so let’s get to it!

It’s time for a trading challenge! I’m going to call it The Degenerate Gambler Trading Challenge #DGTC! In this video I want to explain why I’m doing the trading challenge and how it will work. I realize the title is a bit eye catching given what I preach on the channel; however, please watch the video so I can add in more context. This will be a challenge where I “think like a degenerate gambler but within a controlled and rules based way”. I recently had a premium member share their struggles in our chatroom and it sparked an idea for this challenge. I hope you prove to everyone that when you have the right mindset going into trading, behaving how you should (in regards to your trading strategy rules) will become way easier to do. This challenge is not about seeing how dumb I can get in regards to taking gambles, it’s all about following rules and proving it can be done. If you have any amount of trading experience, then I’m sure you know just how hard it can be to follow your strategy rules. You could have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don’t know how to think about your money, your knowledge will ultimately prove to be worthless. It’s time to be a degenerate and have some, controlled. fun!

We all have bad habits. Whether it is biting our nails or some other, “disgusting”, habit, we’re humans… we have them. In other words, if there was something that we all as humans could find common ground upon, it would be bad habits. Unfortunately, the world of trading does not insulate us from our human tendencies with habits. In this episode, fellow community Dave is an absolute open book about his journey. He warned me upfront his journey was “filled with stupid”, and to his credit, he didn’t disappoint! I don’t say that in judgement, I say it in admiration and respect for him being willing to share. We’ve all been there and are still there in many ways.. where? Constantly fighting the desire to allow bad habits to take over in our trading. Perhaps you are a beginner and think I’m exaggerating when it comes to habits, I understand. Give this journey a listen and you’ll see just how hard bad habits are to kick!

While I admit that every episode certainly has some common themes, which in and of itself is valuable (if you keep hearing the same things, maybe it’s something YOU should be aware of!), every episode also has its own flavors. At times I speak with people who are completely brand new and have never traded with any real money. In other situations, I’m talking with people tossing around large chunks of money. In other cases, we’re right in the middle. This is what brings us to this episode’s guest, Micah. I enjoy these episodes because it’s always fun to do a little in person coaching and talk through various aspects of a person’s goals and strategy. Micah is doing well, but at the same time, there is some fine tuning requirements that revealed themselves. Yes, if you’re brand new, we do get into the weeds quite a bit with what may seem like trivial matters, but please trust us that when it comes to building consistency, the small (and seemingly trivial) dynamics matter! Let’s do some fine tuning with Micah!

A simple, but extremely annoying word within the trading realm: rules. You absolutely need to have them if you want to survive in the markets. At the same time though, following the rules can create all sorts of headaches and frustrations. Here’s the thing though, as I talk about with our guest Eric, when you have rules and follow them, you’ll do less. For you longer term listeners of the show, you’ve heard this theme arise on several occasions: less is more! It’s a seemingly illogical concept, but it carries with it a whole lot of proof of being effective. Eric has been through quite a bit on his journey already. He was kind enough to volunteer to be a guest so he can share with all of us and offer up some fantastic insights into the realities of trading. I always enjoy these types of conversations where the person just shoots straight and doesn’t hold anything back. I had a great time and I’m sure you will too. Let’s go!