The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

Odds are, you are ambitious and love a good challenge. With that being said, if you are a total beginner to the world of trading and investing and are here because you “want to get rich quick and easy”… then RUN! RUN away as fast as you can! If you want to find success in the markets, you’ll need to be here because you are passionate about it! When you are passionate, you are going to gain the advantage of ambition… but that’s where it all gets a bit tricky. Yes, passion is certainly an advantage; however, it can also work greatly against you in your trading journey. My guest, Sheyi, shares with us exactly how this all plays out. In fact, he was brutally honest about how much of a bad situation be placed himself in as we grew $200 to $7,000 in a single trade (but that’s only the start…). What did Sheyi learn from this? How has slowing himself down become a huge benefit? We’ll talk about that and much more. Sheyi has Nigerian roots which help to give him a perspective that many of us do not have access to. I think there is immense value in his view of the world and how he goes about his daily life. In other words, there is something for everyone in this discussion and I’m confident you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

It amazes me how the mainstream financial media overlooks such basic graphs that illustrate such powerful topics of consideration. Unfortunately, the graph I will discuss in this episode guarantees a painful recession (if not a depression!). Oftentimes the best predictor of the future is looking backwards into history. I realize that past history does not guarantee future results; however, when you consider the context of the last time in history a balance sheet reduction occurred and combine that with the current state of affairs… uh oh! I don’t mean to be so pessimistic, but it’s hard to be positive when all the data is staring you in the face screaming, “be ready for pain!”. You don’t need to be an economist to analyze this graph and see all the red flags it presents to our current economic conditions. Inflation is a massive problem and needs to be fixed. Will the federal reserve do what it promises to do? This graph suggests, if they do… it’s gonna be painful! Let’s discuss it!

You would think taking a break is a good thing. In so many areas of life, the thought of “hitting pause” and stepping back in an amazing situation. When we step into the world of trading however, it might as well be the end of the world. If we are traders, well then… we should be… trading! I understand this all too well in my journey and if you are reading this, I assume you are an ambitious person like myself. This is one of the reasons trading is such a challenge. It will take ambition and use it against you. This is why oftentimes the most wise moves feel like the total opposite of being wise. As our guest this episode, Justin (chatroom alias, “dentman4411”), shares with us, hitting pause as hard as it may be, will prove to ultimately put you in a much better spot within your trading journey. Justin held nothing back regarding his journey and was totally open, including talking about a $4,000 loss he took. As a business owner, Justin is a very motivated and ambitious person, so as you’d expect, he struggled with the whole idea of “pausing”. How did someone as ambitious as Justin overcome this hurdle? How did it help him? We discuss those topics and a whole lot more! Let’s get to it!

No. I’m not exaggerating. This trader, literally, lives in the middle of a 1,200 acre swamp surrounded by gators, snakes and hogs. I want to offer you up a fair warning. If you are someone who is constantly looking for reasons on why you can’t do something, you are NOT going to like this discussion. With that being said, if you are someone who finds motivation and inspiration in other people who adopt the “no excuses, let’s get it done!” type attitude, you’ll love Louis! I talked with Louis several years ago on the podcast and he’s still the same hustler and grinder that I remember him being! As was the case during our first discussion, I found extreme motivation in regards to how Louis has multiple streams of income, sticks to this strategies, and is always focused on the solution rather than the problem. And let’s be honest, his accent is amazing! If you are looking for motivation and need an extra boost of, “get er’ done!”, then look no further than Louis and his ongoing journey! Let’s go!

We’re once again going “down under” to hear the story of a young Australian trader! It still blows my mind that we have a community of traders from all over the world, including the, literal, other side of the world! These discussions are always motivating reminders to myself that whenever I stumble as a trader, I’m not alone. The same emotions that have caused me and many other traders are the same emotions that cause issues on the other side of the world. At the end of the day, we’re all humans and we can all find common ground. My guest, Riley, opens up about his journey within the markets so far. He’s a younger guy, so while he does not have a huge backlog of horror stories or experiences, he does still have plenty of stories to share that we can all benefit from. Riley has several areas he needs to continue to get better at, but thanks to him being open and honest, we gain inside access to his mind which is always helpful. I’m confident you’ll enjoy this conversation as much as I did, so let’s get to it!

Day trading is not an easy task. It’s a challenge each and every day. The upside potential, in my opinion at least, is well worth it all; however, it’s hard. What makes day trading so hard is the psychology that goes into it. In particular, just how fickle everything is. Meaning, all it takes is a slight slip up with your emotions and psychology and your day trading strategy can spin out of control in a hurry. I’ve been day trading for almost 20 years now and I’m still shocked and amazed at how every now and then old habits sneak up on me and cause headaches! The good news is, these events get further and further apart from happening; however, they do still happen and can happen in the slightest of ways. When I reflect back on my experience as a day trader, I’ve noticed there being four words that come up time and time again. These four words have created many annoyances and heartache. The most challenging aspect of these four words is often times, they will lead you to (seemingly) good outcomes. But yeah… all it takes is one of the situations you’ll hear about in this podcast episode to.. well… you’ll hear what I mean! I hope you appreciate the transparency of me talking about mistakes and loses so everyone can improve! I’m not the perfect trader and never will be, but if my own public shaming on this podcast can assist you in your day trading journey, then in a weird and twisted way… it’s worth it!

The sale’s pitch of “read a book” or “take a course” and then you’re a money making trader is extremely attractive. It seems reasonable to conclude you would sell a whole lot of books and/or courses; however, unfortunately this is not how trading works in the real world. You don’t get to snap your finger while reading a book and then all of a sudden have money rain down from the sky. Trading in the real world is not a snap of your finger, but rather, a journey that requires endurance, passion and... well, time! The whole goal is to aim for a target of continual progression in the right direction. My guest, Scott, shares his journey so far and you’ll notice overall he is putting in higher lows and higher highs in regards to his “trend”. Like us all, his journey and progress has not always been smooth; however, to his credit he is keeping his ax to the grindstone and continuing to sharpen his skills and understand of the market. Scott worked a super unique career back in the day, which I think has brought an interesting perspective of the markets. What does progressing in the right direction look like? How can you tell if you are doing the same? Scott is a great example of it, so let’s get to it!

I always enjoy talking with current or former military people. Their point of view comes from a place of massive structure and planning. When people’s lives are on the line, having structure and a plan of action is of the utmost importance! I have nothing but respect for people who are serving (or who have served) as they have dealt with situations that for most people can only be imagined. In this episode, I talk with fellow member Brian. He is now retired from the military, but during his service he had several leadership roles. These leadership positions gave him a great perspective on life and discipline. How do all of these points of wisdom trickle into the world of trading? As you hear Brian speak, you’ll begin to see one similarity after another. We had many fantastically interesting discussions which oftentimes circled back to military examples or wisdom gained from his service. Brian is an incredibly intelligent person who has a view of the world (and therefore trading) that many of us will never have. He was kind enough to take time out of his day to share his journey and thoughts with us all. I truly enjoyed this conversation and I’m more than confident you will to! Let’s get to it!

This is episode has a pretty awesome set-up! My guest, Joseph, has already been on the show once before. When he was on previously, he had just lost $23,000 and that’s where the show (and his current journey) ended for the time being. I have nothing but respect for people such as Joseph who are willing to share their journey publicly, no matter the results. Many people would have never agreed to have come on after having lost $23,000, yet, he did! This in and of itself puts Joseph in rare company and shows how big of a heart he has when it comes to trying to help others learn from his mistakes. He promised to come back a year later and here we are. What happened to Joseph and his journey after having just lost $23,000? Was he able to recover or did he continue to spiral out of control? Joseph is a tenacious guy who loves a good challenge and is not scared of getting punched in the face. He’s had continued learning lessons (including one regarding taxes) along the way, but all of these have continued to forge him into a trader. I really enjoyed our discussion and I’m extremely confident you will to! Let’s get an update from Joseph and hear what happened after having lost the $23,000!