The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

There is nothing more refreshing than self accountability. In a culture where it seems like it is always “someone else’s fault”, it is a breath of fresh air when someone blames the person in the mirror. Trading is not easy and there are a variety of ways we can twist and turn with the blame game. My guest, Joe, does a deep dive into his journey and holds nothing back. I’ve been doing this show for several years now, and one of the excuses he used back when he was getting started may be the worst excuse I’ve ever heard. He had the courage to admit to using it as an excuse, so I have nothing but respect! I always enjoy a discussion with someone who is brutally honest about their journey and self awareness. With that being said, Joe borderlines being a bit too hard on himself! He was doing it given its part of his sense of humor; however, he did make it sound like he is way worse of a trader than he actually is. All in all, this was a fun discussion and has some great bits of knowledge in it… particularly from the “don’t do this” angle! Let’s get to it!

Are you dizzy? If you say ‘yes’, I totally understand! Every direction you turn you see headlines making a variety of claims. The problem is, these claims oftentimes are contradicting one another and seem to have no consistent basis. I sometimes wonder if this is by design? What do I mean? Does the government make the statistics it reports very broad and open ended on purpose to create confusion by allowing for a variety of opinions and theories to develop? Perhaps I am being a conspiracy theorists, but whether it’s a Republican or Democrat in office, these statistics are ridiculous when you peel back their layers to understand them better. The big talking point currently is Recession vs. Strong Economy. Some say that we have a strong economy while others say we are in a recession with a failing economy. The goal of this episode is to cut through all the headlines and apply some basic common sense that will point us in the direction of where we need to be headed. I may not have a PhD in economics, but I do have enough practical common sense with money to understand what a, truly, strong economy looks like. The good news is, none of this is complicated so there is no need for this to be some multiple hour episode. I want to keep it as brief as possible, thrown in some learning, and then apply some common sense. Let’s get to it!

The world of trading is a crazy place for several reasons. It’s amazing how much money can be made (lost) in such small amounts of time. It’s amazing how you can make (lose) these amounts of money from anywhere in the world assuming there is an internet connection. An often overlooked reason is the vast scale of strategy approaches ranging from extremely intense to extremely laid back. Our guest from the community, Robert, shares his journey and how he has ended up on the end of the scale requiring a laid back approach. Robert was not always at this point in the scale, but upon deeper reflection, this is what a trading journey essentially is, right? We are taking a journey across the strategy scale and trying to determine where our personal risk tolerance and comfort level belongs. Some people have fun going sky diving while others have fun reading a book about sky diving. Neither person is wrong, they’re both having fun; but, what it does illustrate is how we all have varying risk tolerances. Robert needed to go through several ups and downs to figure out his place on the scale, but he’s found a great groove at this point! He was kind enough to share some of his journey with us and I am confident you’ll gain great access from it. Let’s learn from Robert and his pathway to finding his “spot” on the strategy scale. 

Admitting to yourself certain weaknesses and areas that need to be improved is not always the most enjoyable activity to take part in; however, it is a required activity if you want to reach your maximum potential. In the world of trading, you must be brutally honest with yourself and admit all weaknesses. At times, you may just have to admit, “I’m simply NOT good at this…” I know we are brought up in a culture of “keep pushing and you can do it!”, which is awesome in most areas of life, but when it comes to trading, this sort of attitude can cause a whole lot of financial pain. In this episode, I welcome back Alex (”LTP” in the chatroom) and he shares with us an update on his journey. He is doing well and figuring out a whole lot. The backbone of his improvement is getting to know himself better by being honest with himself and admitting certain areas he’s no good at. By admitting this, Alex has been able to improvise and adapt to more suitable areas of the market that allow him to find comfort and success. One of the great facts about the financial markets is they are so massive. This allows for plenty of wiggle room and flexibility when it comes to finding something that works for you. But again, this will only be possible if you get to know yourself and are brutally honest with yourself. Alex is a shining example of it. Let’s go!

One of the best facts about the financial markets is they care about nothing. Age, race, height, weight, etc., the markets simply do not care. They will take money from whomever they want, and they will also give money to whomever they want. The financial markets only care about trading strategies and your ability to be disciplined. In other words, using your age as some kind of excuse is just not valid! I don’t want to hear it! Whether that be you thinking you are too young to start to get involved or think it’s “too late” in life, both of those are blatantly a false way of looking at reality. I welcome back community member Alden for his second appearance on the show. If I remember right, he’s the youngest person I’ve ever talked to on the show with his first appearance when he was 16. It’s actually quite crazy to think Alden has just now turned 18, yet, he’s still got multiple years of experience in the markets already. Alden still has lots he needs to accomplish within his trading, understandably so given he’s been finishing up high school and applying to colleges, but he’s still well ahead of where I was at his age! I do a bit of live coaching with Alden on his position sizing and risk management so if this is something you’ve struggled with, I’m confident you’ll gain value along with the numerous other rabbit holes we pursue. Old or young, you’ll gain value from Alden as a great reminder that age is a terrible excuse to not improve your current situation!

If you find yourself thinking of quitting your job and “becoming a trader” as a job to pay the bills, stop! While I understand from a marketing and sales perspective this sounds awesome, when you bring the idea into the world of reality it becomes much different. I welcome back long time member Aaron (better known as “Zep” within the community) who has been on several past episodes. I suppose it just goes to show how long the show has been around as the last time we spoke was 4-5 years ago! Zep updates us on his story and pulls back the curtain to the real life look at what happens when you place too much pressure on needing to pay bills from your trading gains. Here’s a spoiler alert: the pressure is way too much and leads to unintended consequences. I’ve always admired Zep and he reminded me why as he dives into the changes he made to alleviate this pressure and keep trading part of his life. He’s got a great attitude toward how trading works and is not looking to paint a picture that does not exist in reality. He’s doing well and seeing his account grow, but it wasn’t always this way. He’s been through several “down periods” which he is gracious enough to share with us all to learn from! Let’s get to it and get an update from Zep!

I’m not sure how to explain it, but when you’ve been doing something for such a long time, it’s almost as though you forget things that you know. I’ve been trading in the markets since 2006 so needless to say, I’ve seen quite a bit and have had plenty of “ups” and “downs”. Just this past week I found myself in an unexpected set of circumstances that ultimately could not have been more beneficial for myself. Not only did it help with my actual trading results, but it brought back to my attention a vital skill that we all as traders need to remember to implement into our trading. There is no doubt about it that much of trading is all about your personal needs and risk tolerance levels; however, it is also a fact that there are general rules that apply to 99% of people. The craziest part about all of this is it is something I know I’ve talked about dozens and dozens of times on this very podcast. I’ve lectured other people on the powers of this skill, yet, somehow I had forgotten about it in the deep down places of my mind. I’m thankful that I was able to go through the experience I did as I truly received a great reminder and I want to share it with you so you can, hopefully, benefit as much as I did.

By day he is selling potatoes (literally!) and by night he is grinding and growing his trading account! This is one of the amazing attributes about the financial markets. They have no feelings. They don’t care about you. While this can be a scary thought in the sense of not feeling bad for taking your money, there is a positive side to this too. They don’t care if you are some potato salesman who lives in Idaho! If you trade smart and use a risk based strategy, the markets will reward you. My guest, Chad, is a very motivating guy and has a great story that keeps me inspired to continue to hustle and grind on my part! Chad has definitely had to take some big lumps along the way, but he kept going and focusing on the areas that needed fine tuning. In doing so, he’s found a very good place for his personal psychology within this overall trading strategy. Chad also used to be a financial planner with a couple different financial licenses, so he brings in a very interesting point of view from those areas of the market. Chad was open and honest which produced a fantastic discussion about a variety of critical topics for us as traders. Let’s get to it!

The goal is to grow your account. Simple… right? If you have even a shred of trading experience then you understand how laughable the word “simple” is. If you are relatively new and feel as though it is pretty “simple”, I would encourage you to consider the possibility that you are experiencing what is known as fool’s gold. Trading is a very challenging and difficult endeavor. The encouraging news is that, although difficult, it is totally possible to find success. This is where member, Brandon (’BRosi’ in the chatroom), can share some insight. He is seeing his account grow and he’s doing lots of things the right way. He’s a great example of what it takes in order to put your account in a position where it can pick up momentum. With that being said, it hasn’t always been that way for Brandon. He’s gone through plenty of struggles and had to endure hardships during his journey. How did he get through those? What has he learned along the way that he wish he wouldn’t known prior? We go into all of this and way more! If you’re looking to get your account growing, then you’ll want to listen to what Brandon has got to say!

Depending on where you currently reside in your trading journey, the title of this episode may seem a bit ironic. Perhaps when you take a trade using real money (opposed to trading in a simulator) you experience of surge of emotions and physical stress. I understand and anyone who has traded understands! Here’s the thing, these emotions and stressed can be extremely diminished. There will always be emotions due to the fact we’re emotional creates; however, that does not mean they need to dominate our trade plans or experiences. My guest, Greg (”G-Mac” in the chatroom), is a great example of this. He has a very successful job and is very good at what he does. With that being said, with the types of responsibilities he has within his job, it creates a good amount of constant stress. Throw in the fact he’s a father of five kids (like myself!) and I don’t blame him one bit for pursuing something that can become less stressful than his current situation. Greg’s ambition come from a place of wanting to be a good father and I respect that in huge ways. He’s also being extremely smart in the way he goes about it; however, like all of us, he’s played with stupid along the way. Let’s hear about Greg and his journey!