The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

It’s logical. You do something really really well and your confidence explodes. There is no harm in having an ever growing confidence, particularly in the world of trading the financial markets. With that being said, there is a very fine line that is easy to cross where confidence turns into over-confidence, or in some cases, flat out cockiness mixed with arrogance. While not everyone spins into the world of arrogant cockiness, plenty of people (myself included) have experienced a slide into over-confidence. As traders we need to keep ourselves accountable and always be monitoring our attitude towards ourselves and the market. My guest this episode, Chad (”iamvol” chatroom alias) returns for his second appearance to update us on his trading journey. I’ll only offer up a small spoiler, but Chad had a... very nice... trade he was part of. One of those trades that can cause traders to quickly cross the line from confidence to over-confidence. Chad’s reaction to this nice score along with how he continues to conduct himself by staying accountable are where the true nuggets of wisdom are derived from. Chad could have gone down several other pathways than the one he did; however, he showed a huge sign of trader maturity with the choices he made. Let’s welcome back Chad and get an awesome update on his current journey!

I truly mean it when I say it, but when it comes to disagreeing on any kind of topic, I’m totally fine with it. The world would be a super boring place if everyone agreed on every topic. With that being said, if we are going to disagree on a topic or have varying opinions regarding it, hopefully we can both agree that a firm understanding of the topic would be wise. I realize I state the obvious when I say that forming opinions on a topic that is not fully understood is a recipe for disaster. There is a hotly talked about topic out there, which has a numerous amount of opinions and that’s great. Unfortunately though, many people out there (hopefully unintentionally) are framing this discussion in a way that is very deceiving and does not allow for an honest conversation to occur. My goal with this episode is to arm you not with an opinion, but with a full understanding of how this topic works so that you can form you own fully educated opinion on it. I will not be sharing my opinion on this topic. I simply want to ensure you have all the pieces of the puzzle before you form thoughts. Or, who knows, maybe you have encountered someone that is missing a few pieces of the puzzle and you can assist them by filling in a few gaps. Let’s get to it!

This is a first. Over the timespan of 7.5 years, I have never done an episode such as this. My guest and friend, Jose, is back again for the fourth time and he’s doing an exit interview. Joes has been with me since the start. He was one of the first people to join our community and invest into my training program back in the 2013 timeframe when I was just starting it all. Approximately eight years later, he’s leaving the markets for the most part and wanted to come back and do an episode to wrap up his journey. Jose lives in South America and has always had a very enjoyable view on multiple dynamics and circumstances. Both from a culture perspective and from an experience perspective developed in the corporate world. He is someone who is not afraid to share the mess-ups, but also not afraid to tell it how it is. He doesn’t mince words and he’ll hit you right between the eyes; however, he does it from a place of total sincerity and passion. So... why is Jose leaving the markets? Why would he want to come and do an exit interview? We talk about that and much more. Let’s go!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you a prosperous 2022 with whatever you are chasing after! No matter what you are chasing after, a great way to better the odds you capture your goals is with a plan. The more structured a plan, the more likely you are to make your goals a reality. I’m assuming for many of you, your goal has something to do with finding success or improving upon successes you’ve had in the markets. My guest from the community, Cameron, is in the same exact boat as you. He’s been in the markets for a while now and has been trading with real money; however, he’s still not where he wants to be. He’s still striving to give himself a complete picture of trading and take a firm hold on trading for consistent profits. The good news is, he’s got a plan and now he just needs to stick to it. This is the part that separates the “talkers” from the “doers”. Anyone can sit around and “talk” about goals and their plans on how to achieve them, but when it actually comes to “doing” what they say, this is where many people fall to the waste side. I look forward to having Cameron back on the show someday to hear if he stuck to his plan (which I’m confident he will), but I enjoyed the timing of this interview with it falling right at the start of a new year!

My guest on this episode is no stranger to sharing his story. This is his fourth appearance on the show and, like usual, he crushes it with the discussion. Mike ('HeyFordy' chatroom alias) has taken many punches to the face. Both physically (he's a former boxer) and financially within the world of trading. This is why I want to surround myself with him. When you find people in your real life like "Fordy" (what I call him), be sure you keep them in your life. As the saying goes, "iron sharpens iron" and when you can there is no doubt that Fordy is a piece of iron. Fordy has been in the trading game for several years now and he's someone that has survived and continues to thrive. He has found what works for him and he understands the value of being very self aware and not trying to push the limits beyond what is required. Like all of us, he has done several boneheaded moves over the years, but the difference is, Fordy is nice enough to come and publicly discuss them so that you can avoid the same things, or at least receive a full warning of them! I really enjoyed my talk with Fordy and I'm sure you'll feel the same. Let's get to it!

While it is a great sale’s pitch to tell someone “I have the strategy that works, come follow me!”, unfortunately, that’s just not how the financial markets work. It would be great if there was a “one size fits all” approach and strategy that everyone could use to make money, but... yeah... that’s a fantasy land. The fact of the matter is we are all different creatures when it comes to risk tolerance. We all view the world a bit differently when risk enters into the thought process. My guest is this episode, Joe (’JoeK’ in the chatroom) shares with us his journey that does a fantastic job of illustrating this very point. Joe is a very solid individual who illustrates just how important it is to work hard and be persistent with the choices you make. He of course has not been perfect in his journey, but he was kind enough to share some of “the stupid” he experienced with the hopes that you can benefit from his mistakes. I really enjoyed my talk with Joe as he just shot straight and held nothing back. He’s doing very well within his trading and is someone that needs to be molded after. Let’s get to it!

I truly hope this entire podcast (which is pretty short and to the point) is something that leaves you saying, "Thanks Captain Obvious!"; however, I've learned that human emotions can be a very bizarre thing to understand and control. We are living in a new day and age it seems where information spreads so quickly and it is very easy to get caught up in the emotions of the info! I would hate for one of you to do something that you'll regret later on, so that's the main reason for discussing a thinking strategy that hopefully you're already on board with. I have no problem admitting that, at times, the world can become a crazy and unknown place, and the temptation to listen to your emotions and behave in certain (irrational) ways becomes very possible. Because of this, I want to bring your attention to the question of "Do Zombies Care About Investing?". By doing so, we're going to take ourselves on a little thought journey that will help ensure we behave rational when the temptation to behave irrationally arises. Let's talk some zombie investing!

For me, it's easily in the Top 3 Most Admired Professions in the world: farming. Without farmers, there is no "us". I was honored to talk with a Lance, a member of our community and yes, a farmer! I admit that some of the conversation went a tad off topic into the business realm of farming; however, it is my hope that those of you listening enjoy the business attributes of things given you are trying to start, maintain, grow a business of your own... trading itself! So on that note, a friendly reminder that if you are not treating trading as a business, you are not taking it to the level of seriousness that it needs to be in order to have success. Yance and I discuss a variety of issues regarding trading and he's got a few very very unique dynamics in his life. Particularly when it comes to the futures market. I know many members trade futures, and so does Yance... kind of. His involvement in the futures market is unlike 99% of people and it is fascinating to learn about! He also does "normal" trading on his own which we discuss. Bottom line, this was a great conversation and there is something for everyone here, so let's get to it!

I suppose it depends on who you talk to, but have you ever talked with someone and they are under the impression the world is doomed because of the "younger generation" coming up behind us? I know I have. And to be fair, there certainly are lots of self entitled and lazy people that are part of the younger generation. However, there are also people like my guest Daniel. He's a 23 year old guy who is crushing life and now he's brining that into the world of trading. He is a text book example of "iron sharpening iron" and someone that you need to find within your everyday life to surround yourself with. Like everyone, Daniel had some rough times with his trading and he was kind enough to share those with us and the numerous lessons he has learned. He held nothing back and was totally open in sharing how his journey (bad included0 has been unfolding. One thing I can say with full confidence is that if he continues to employ his approach to life in general to his trading, he will continue to have a bright future ahead! Iron sharpens iron. Let's go!

While trading has a variety of upside benefits and potential, there are also many challenges that make consistently performing the skill a huge hurdle. The problem in many situations is people only focus on the positive sides of trading. From a business sense, I can understand their model. It sure is easier to sell a product or service when you give off the impression trading is easy and money making can happen quickly. However, all that does is set people up for failure due to a lack of alignment of perspective and reality. Thanks to our guest, Michelle ('MichelleS' in the chatoom), we have a very open and honest insight into some of the various challenges that traders face. She has a nice knack for creating analogies to explain things, so I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her and understanding her journey. In fact, be sure to stick around until the very end as she was so honest that she totally revealed something near the end that sparked a whole new discussion (and an important one!). Michelle is a great asset to our community and this episode is certainly going to be worth your time. Let's get to it!