The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

It would be so great and super convenient if I could sit here and proclaim to you that there is a "one size fits all" trading strategy... but, I can't. Sure, there absolutely are universal principles that all traders need to follow in order to stay consistent and survive within the markets; however, when you get down to the finer tuning of a trading strategy, that's where it gets trickier. In this episode, I talk with Lance (community chatroom alias, 'LanceC') about this very topic. In fact, as you'll notice it is an underlying theme to his journey so far. He has tried several strategies since he first began and we talk about each of them and how they factored into his journey as a whole and where he now currently sits. There is a very fine line between "strategy hopping" and sticking with a strategy long enough to give it an honest chance to work. Lance has done a good job with this and offers some solid experiential insight into what he's learned along the way. Let's get to it!

Yes! I have myself another awesome data point that proves I am justified in my crabbiness of not liking when people make excuses. On that note, a fair warning to you. If you are someone who likes to make excuses and are constantly picking up victim cards as they fall out of your pocket, you will not like this episode's guest. Long time member, Faysal, shares his journey with us and wow, it sure is motivating. He is truly a "man of action" and his attitude and focus on "the solution" is pure inspiration. He started off driving a taxi in New York City but wanted more from life. He learned about the market and did many stupid things; however, he always was focused on the "how" instead of the "can not". Although English is not his first language, he did a fantastic job of explaining his attitude and journey and it's something that anyone with hopes and dreams can (and will) be inspired by. Let's get to it!

I 100% your thought process is wanting all kinds of trading tools and functionality within your trading platform. I am with you in thinking that trading computers with several monitors and dozens of technical charts look awesome! However, is having all kinds of choices and options as a trader as productive and freeing as it may seem? This is a very common bridge that many traders fail to cross (myself included when I was starting) in a safe way. You would think that in order to have success as a trader you should be operating at maximum flexibility and freedom in terms of choices available, but what does the world of psychology think about this? Believe it or not, jam can help us gain insight into this world of decision making and human psychology. If you are struggling as a trader and just can't quite seem to pinpoint what the problem is, you better be considering what science has to say about this topic of "choice". Let's get to it!

Lots of emotions are bad for trading results. But when I stop and think about it, that feeling of anxiety has got to be one of the worst out there to deal with. It can cause you to miss out on trades, to exit a trade to early, or maybe to eventually just "FOMO" into a trade at a terrible location because you're so upset you watched several others "would have been a winner" trades pass you by because of the anxiety in the first place. Fellow member of our community, Marty ("2Madrids" in chatroom), struggled with anxiety and finally reached the point of being sick and tired of it. She decided to make some changes and redo how she was going about her trading journey. I give her credit for relatively quickly realizing that the emotion of anxiety can be crippling and for taking matters into her own hands. She has now reached a point where yes, she still has much to learn, but she has now essentially eliminated her anxiety. Lots to learn here so let's get to it!

I state the obvious when I say we all want to succeed as traders. The issue here is that "saying" such things is a million times easier than "doing" such things. While I understand social media and message boards may portray trading as a source of income that causes money to rain from the sky, that's all an illusion. Trading is an ongoing challenge and battle with a variety of defense strategies needed to succeed. Fellow member of the community, Evan, shares his journey thus far and it is filled with some epic quotes. Seriously, one of his quotes I plan on using over and over again in the foreseeable future. Evan held nothing back. He was fully transparent with his personal numbers and gives us all real world insight into the pitfalls (and benefits) of being a trader. Evan has made some huge strides within his trading and he shares all the exact decisions and behaviors he has implemented to make it happen. Let's go!

I welcome back long time member Jeremy (better known as RemytheRookie in the chatroom) for his fourth appearance on the show. I have nothing but respect for Jeremy and that has only grown over the years of us knowing each other. He recently accomplished a huge milestone in hitting just shy of six figures in trading profits last year! Not too shabby when you consider trading is only used as a part time side hustle! What could you do with $100,000 that you made "on the side"? Pretty crazy stuff if you ask me! How did this happen? What adjustments has Jeremy made over the years to bring him to a point where he can confidently trade and make money? We talk about that and a whole lot more. Jeremey is a great dude and he's someone I would consider a friend, so I bring you this conversation with great pride! Let's get to it!

Bad habits. Ugh! Regardless of where they show up in life, they're called "bad" for a reason! When you introduce them into a setting such as trading and investing where money can be lost, they take on a whole new dynamic. The odd thing though is as obvious as it may sound to say, "bad habits need to be avoided", it's amazing how many traders continue to stare directly at them, yet, don't seem them. When you're new and you don't know what you don't know, one of those areas includes bad habits. This is why anytime I can talk to someone who quickly realizes the danger of bad habits and why they need to be avoided, I get excited. It offers up a great learning opportunity. Thanks for our community member John, we all get to hear some really silly things he did; however, to his credit, he quickly realized the danger (unlike many others) and began to take steps to correct and avoid future problems. John held nothing back and offered up many different rabbit holes of educational opportunity, so let's get to it!

It is our job as traders to find as many variables as possible to leverage in our favor. I'm not suggesting we do anything illegal, but what I am suggesting is the best way to make a trade NOT a gamble is to put the odds in your favor. At the core, trading is a game of probabilities and odds so our focus needs to be on educating ourselves as much as possible, including within the realm of science and psychology. In this particular case, by understanding a very basic concept in psychology, you can better understand a type of trading that is easier. Now just because the trading style/strategy may be easier does not make it guaranteed; however, it again goes back to the point of it allowing you to leverage probabilities in your favor. I don't want to be a gambler. I don't want to view the stock market as my casino. I want to view this all as a methodical plan of attack where I can find myself "most likely" outcomes. The topic I talk about in this episode perfectly illustrates why you need to understand and leverage this human emotion within your personal trading.

Over 300 episodes, yet this was the first time I've spoken to a medical doctor in regards to his trading journey. I think we can all agree that becoming a doctor does not happen overnight and requires a whole lot of hard work and dedication. So, how does this ability to stay focused and dedicate a whole lot of effort to achieve something such as a medical degree carry over into the markets and trading? That's what we'll discover as I talk with community member Steve. I admired his humility in not trying to act like he's got trading and life figured out. He was very transparent and upfront about his journey and because of that, there are some valuable talking points that we can all learn from (or at least be reminded of). The markets demand respect, and that includes from those people who are extremely qualified such as doctors. You'll see what I mean...

For those of you who have been around awhile, you know I'm no fan of excuses. In the vast majority of cases, they are simply "cover ups" for some other core issue. With that being said, I can also fully admit that at times, there are situations where I would not call something an "excuse", but rather, a "reality". That's what we have with fellow community member Jacob. He has had a very rough time with some personal health issues that are just "fact of the matter". Here's the crazy part though, never once during our discussion did he play the victim card or hop on the excuse train. Like I said, in this situation I would have fully understand him feeling a bit bad for himself, but he didn't! He has now turned to the markets to help him overcome some rough circumstances and he's been learning a whole lot! He's done some very stupid things (as we all have!); however, he's also made some huge strides as you'll see near the end of our conversation. There is a whole lot for everyone to learn and quite frankly, just be inspired. Let's get to it!