Whether you are already consistently profitable or are a breakeven trader struggling to achieve consistent profitability, there will come a time ( or many) in your journey, when you feel that all the effort you are putting into trading is not providing that steady improvement in results that you instinctively know you deserve.  If you’ve been trading for any bit of time and have stopped seeing improvements in your trading or your results have started to “flat line” then you are likely at a plateau in your journey - you will know this to be true because you will almost feel “stuck” with a certain result or lack thereof. Plateaus can be extremely frustrating to deal with so if you are going through one in your current journey, then this episode is meant to help you understand this process so that you can break through it and level up your trading!  So what is a plateau? It's a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress. As it relates to trading, an example might be a trader that can consistently make $200/day but when they try to increase their daily profit target to say $400/day, they find themselves really struggling to produce similar results.  Or a trader struggling to find consistent profitability that can locate great trades but manages to fumble the trade management leaving them with less than desirable results.  When a trader reaches a plateau, they effectively have two decisions that they can make:  Quit  Develop the mental edge to level up  Let’s break this down in more detail:  When a trader starts their trading journey, they are in it to win it and they tend to see results relatively quickly - these results aren’t necessarily profits at first, but they are signs of improvement - such as learning to identify market structure and planning out trade ideas to seeing those trades playing out as per their analysis.  After some time learning this they will take to sim trading to practice their strategy and that might go well for them too - leading to funding their first live account! The journey up until this point is rewarding because there are steady improvements that the trader can observe which offers further motivation to keep pursuing the goal of consistent profitability.  However after some time in the live markets, the results might not be the same as what they were in the demo because real money is on the line! So now instead of seeing daily improvements and feeling good about the progress, the trader may start to focus on their results (or lack thereof) and get discouraged because they are not making money - in fact, they are losing money and confidence.  This is a normal part of the journey and the unfortunate reality is that a lot of retail traders never really give themselves a real chance at success before deciding to quit at this point. However those that endure this stage are the ones that double down on their efforts and continue to push forward towards their goals regardless of their current results; Those that get frustrated stop working as hard or eventually quit.  This same thing is often seen in athletes that make massive improvements in their performance early on in training or in the active season only to see these improvements slow down or even come to a halt as the season progresses.  Do these athletes quit? No - that’s not even a consideration! Instead, they focus on making small changes that will help them overcome the plateau in order to level up and that’s exactly what we’re going to discuss next!  Steps You Can Take to Break Through a Trading Plateau  Understand the process; improvements and progress are often followed by regressions and plateaus, this is a natural cycle. To break through the plateaus will require some growth and will lead to another period of improvements that will eventually taper off again and lead to another plateau. IF you cannot accept this fact then you might want to reconsider trading!  Do Not Be a Complainer; If you are sitting around and complaining about your circumstances or challenges then you are living in effect of your external environment and giving away control to make the required changes; shift to living at cause and working towards abundance  Your Biggest Improvements Happen When You Are Not Trading: The biggest strides in your journey happen not when you are actually trading but what you do with the time when you are not trading! If you hit a plateau in your trading, then you should be spending time outside of market hours working on your trading plan,studying and reviewing your trading journal to find strengths and weaknesses and inefficiencies that you can optimize to get you to the next level.  Watch The Markets; Just like athletes review game tape to understand their opponents, you should take some time to just watch the markets without actually trading in order to recalibrate and get a pulse on the markets. When there is no skin in the game it affords you the opportunity to observe the market objectively and identify where you might be going wrong in your approach.  Find a Mentor; Just like tiger woods has a driving coach and steph curry has a shooting coach, a mentor can help you overcome trading plateaus by identifying your strengths and weaknesses and working on these  Consistency is KEY - The most important thing in busting through trading plateaus is to create a process and stick to it regardless of the short-term results; when you only focus on the results, you cloud your judgement , instead focus on the process and executing it flawlessly.  Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

In today’s episode, we are going to be speaking on the topic of the most effective ways to overcome analysis paralysis!  Analysis paralysis is one of the most common problems that we are going to face as traders; in fact, this is something that we dealt with during the earlier stages of our careers and we’re sure that a lot of you listening are going to deal with it at some point in your journey if you have not already experienced it!  If you find it difficult to jump into the markets or you are too afraid to make a trading decision to buy or sell then you have likely suffered from analysis paralysis!  So what exactly is analysis paralysis?  Investopedia defines this as “a situation in which an individual or group is unable to move forward with a decision as a result of overanalyzing data or overthinking a problem”  When relating this back to trading, analysis paralysis occurs any time our thinking about performing gets in the way of our actual performance. Regardless of your experience level, nobody is safe from analysis paralysis, however, with the tips we will share throughout this episode, you will be better able to overcome it! Analysis paralysis typically occur for rookie traders when they are trying to do everything under the sun and as a result they end up doing a whole lot of nothing.  Reflecting on our own journey, when Mark first started learning about the markets and doing research, he believed he found the holy grail in indicators - his charts were cluttered with indicators such as moving averages, RSI, MACD and Stochastics and he struggled with pulling the trigger because of conflicting signals from these indicators.  For more experienced traders, analysis paralysis can often occur after a streak of losing trades - especially when the thought of losing the next trade sits front of mind and the trader passes on valid, potentially winning setups. Why Do Traders Suffer from Analysis Paralysis?  People prefer to have more choices; we are wired to believe that the more options we have the better the decision we can make  Leads to information overload and difficulty in making a decision The less options we have the more likely we are to make a decision  How to Avoid Analysis Paralysis  Get rid of the idea that all of your trading decisions have to be perfect Simplify Your Trading Plan Declutter Your Charts and Keep Only What is Necessary Use Visualization  Focus on the Present Turn off the TV Use Market Replay to Build Muscle-Cell Memory Don’t Risk Money You’re Afraid to Lose  Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

In today’s episode, George speaks on some of the lessons that he learned during his time as trader for an international bank in Canada including why he ultimately left the gig to pursue independent trading and focus on TRADEPRO Academy!  Here are the 9 lessons George learned from 7 years in the trading department at Scotiabank 1. The average person doesn’t know what a trader does (09:41)  But assumes they make a ton of money You only have your colleagues to relate with And then your life is all about work and hanging with work friends 2. Rich people don’t always make money (12:15) But they are better investors Because they know business   Dealt with a lot of high networth clients The ones with the most money we heard from the least The $1,000 accounts were daily calling in with fee waivers, etc 3  Retail investors have great ideas, and bad timing (16:19)  They are the frontline consumer They have the most touch points with end products Yet they follow advice of people who advertise themselves as advisors They allow emotions to destroy their otherwise profitable ideas 4  Most investors trade on news outlets (21:23) Reports in media We’d read them at desk and predict market flow But in opposite direction 5. Professional trading doesn’t mean what you think it does (25:41) You have to pre-clear your personal trades  Plus blackout periods You go to the back of the order queue Compliance reviews your account statements and limits where you can open a brokerage account Proprietary trading is different - you are trading bank capital Dodd Frank eliminated most of that at banks Few true prop firms left - most are just churning traders and banking on commission and desk fees 6. Trading is just a sales job (34:03) Most bank traders clean customer flow High networth clients get “trade ideas” from their advisors Advisors read reports from the analyst desk Advisors make money on commission, not your profi so they are incentivized to turn over the book 7. You are mostly a shrink for your clients (41:35) You listen to their stories Some are great Most are bad and negative energy 8. Very few retail traders win  The more trades and activity  (DARTS, which is how brokers make money) The bigger the loses over the long term  9. The technology and systems that enable you to trade are CRAZY (49:40) Very sophisticated behind the scenes It appears as hey “I bought apple” But the inner workings are insane It’s all about lowering commissions Which in turn compresses revenue And forces brokers to have to be on the edge of “doing what’s best for your client” Why George left the bank (52:25)  We weren’t helping clients win We were helping them trade the wrong way and lose their savings We didn’t work for YOU, we worked for the bottom line of the bank It made me sick to witness it And I had a passion to help and to build this industry up I didn’t wanna just be a part of the system I wanted to shape it and innovate Hopefully I’ve delivered, and will continue to How you can succeed as a retail trader: (55:10) Join a community - be a sponge Find a product that works for you Create a trading plan Test it on sim  Trade it live Review, adjust and adapt Stay in a trading community (or create your own) Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast  

In today’s episode, we are going to be discussing whether you should trade one market or many markets when you start your trading business.  A lot of new traders tend to spin their wheels by jumping from market to market, whereas the majority of consistently profitable traders focus on trading one market exceptionally well rather than try to trade whatever’s hot!  If you have been struggling with finding consistency in your trading, this episode has been created for you! So to trade one market or many markets - that is the question! Unfortunately there is no cookie-cutter answer to this and it really depends on where you are in your trading journey!   Before digging into this, let’s have a quick look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of trading one market versus trading multiple markets. Trading One Market  You become a specialist; the more screentime and experience you get with one market, the more you pick up on different nuances (identifying moods of market participants, key levels that are being defended, etc)  Prevents overtrading - most traders lose money because they trade way too much!  Manage risk and exposure more effectively  Reduces the temptation to trade if there are no quality setups to trade Easier to build consistency in execution of process  Drawbacks  You might start to force trades out of boredom if there are no valid trading opportunities present If other markets are moving and your market is not, you may feel like you are missing out on potential profit opportunities (FOMO)  You’re not gonna be cool at parties - but you will be among the most successful Trading Multiple Markets  Potential to make more profit when compared to trading a single market   More trading opportunities on a daily basis Less likely to force trades out of boredom or FOMO  Drawbacks  Harder to manage risk effectively across multiple markets due to various tick values and margin requirements  Mental capital drains a lot faster when tracking multiple markets  Analysis paralysis can become an obstacle especially if there are setups forming at the same time  in multiple markets Often leads to tail chasing - you become a jack of all trades and master of none!  Now that we've identified some of the benefits and drawbacks of trading a single market versus trading multiple assets, let's focus on where you should start depending on where you are in your trading journey.  If you are a new trader, then you will want to start with trading one market!   This reason for this is if you haven’t found consistency in your results or if you're still losing money in one market, then adding more markets to your plate will only drain your account three times as fast. In order to give yourself the best chance to survive and thrive, you will want to first build consistency in executing your process in one market.  Once you have several months of consistent profitability under your belt in one market, then you could look to add a second market to your daily routine.  When considering which market to add to your arsenal, its a good idea to make it one that is correlated to your primary market.  So if you specialize in trading the S&P500 e-mini futures, you might consider adding a market like the Nasdaq futures (positively correlated) or something like the 30-year US Treasury Bond futures (inversely correlated). This way your knowledge of your primary market will transfer over via the relationship to the other market! Most experienced traders have a go-to market to trade but will also trade one or two other markets when there is volatility because movement is opportunity. If you are an experienced trader with a few years of trading experience and a track record of consistent profitability then you will have a bit more flexibility with trading multiple assets.  You'll notice seasonality and patterns across different markets and specific months where there is likely to be volatility in a certain asset.  A great example of seasonal patterns is the gold market! Unless there is a major risk-off appetite in the global markets, the gold market is somewhat lacklustre to trade throughout the year except for the Diwali holiday in November.  During this month, the gold market tends to experience more volatility due to increased demand for the precious metal.  Experienced traders know this seasonal pattern so they may also look to trade Gold during this period while still trading their favorite market - best of both worlds!  You might be asking, "If I will be trading one market does that mean that I should ignore all of the other markets?"  The answer to this is NO and here is why:  Trading a market is where you will be risking capital for trades according to your plan, whereas following markets is just keeping a tab on them. In today’s global markets you have to watch more than what you trade and what you follow depends on your strategy!  How to Choose the Right Market for You Most people make the mistake of choosing the market that they are first introduced to by their YouTube guru, but in reality, the market that works for you depends on your schedule and your strategy!  The first thing to determine is what times you can commit to trading:  During the London session, forex and metals are the most active markets you might consider trading.  If you can trade during the New York session, then you might consider focusing on equity futures, crude oil futures and/or bond futures.  If you can only trade during the Asia session then you might consider trading forex.  Another consideration is your strategy!  If you are trading a high volatility strategy, then trading gold in Asian session won’t produce nearly the same results as trading gold in London session.  In this scenario, you might consider trading the AUD/JPY pair which is most active during the Asian session.  While there are many different markets that you can choose to trade, we suggest starting with the market that has the most volatility in your planned “trading work schedule” so that you can work on applying patience and proper risk management while taking advantage of daily opportunities!  Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

In today’s episode, Mark discusses the syndrome that prevents many new and experienced traders from finding the consistent profitability that they desire!  This is actually something that people experience in many different facets of life (outside of trading) but it holds especially relevant as it relates to trading.  Mark personally experienced this when he started his trading journey and it wasn’t until he stopped to reflect on his results (or lack thereof at the time) that he realized he had also fallen victim to it!  What is "it"? It's the shiny ball syndrome. You may have heard it called something different; maybe shiny object syndrome, but regardless what you want to call it, it is the phenomenon where a person constantly changes their focus from one thing to another everytime they see a new “shiny ball” of potential opportunity.  Are you somebody that commits all of their focus and energy on something and as soon as you lose motivation or things don’t go as planned, you jump ship to the next “opportunity” and start from scratch all over again?  This is the shiny ball syndrome at work! Most people that fall trap to it spend a lot of time and energy on what they want but don’t get anywhere!  It’s human nature to want the best options so it makes logical sense that we go for the one that looks the best - the issue is that what we believe looks the best right NOW might not really be the case! People that suffer from shiny ball syndrome tend to give up too early on the things that really matter to them - that’s why they are stuck in a constant loop of frustration - because they lose sight of what’s important to them and focus on external forces instead of working on the internal operator. They do not give themselves enough time to let things play out so that they can reap the rewards!   Most people’s plans to achieve their goals looks relatively simple in their heads. They say I am at point A and I want to get to point B (mastery), which is the end goal. They wholeheartedly believe the journey is going to be a straight path from point A to B  but unfortunately we know this to be extremely rare in reality.  Now to paint a picture of the reality -  imagine that same path from point A to B as a road, however, this time around the shoulders of this road are cluttered with distractions that act as magnets to throw you off of your course.  You have to build strong commitment walls to protect yourself from any outside influence so that you can remain on the path to your end goal. As it relates to trading, new traders typically start off their journey looking to become proficient in trading the first market they are introduced to. On their path to mastery, they will inevitably run into distractions and obstacles that will ultimately determine whether they will find success or continue to spin their wheels without accomplishing much. If things don't work as expected right away, they may start looking for different trading strategies on YouTube or another asset class to trade in search of finding that holy grail. These all become distractions that drive them away from consistency - afterall, how can you be consistent with your trading if the only thing you do consistently is change things up? If you have been trading for any amount of time and not achieving the results you want then ask yourself this, "Am I being consistent in my approach or am I always searching for the next best thing to level up?" If you answered with the latter, then you are likely falling victim to shiny ball syndrome. Fear not because identifying this is actually a huge first step towards correcting course! Here are the next steps that you can take to overcome shiny ball syndrome:  Understand that results do not come overnight; it is a marathon and your expectations have to be set accordingly Develop a strong “why” statement for why you are trading; what are you trying to accomplish and how will you serve others with the profits you make? Keep this front of mind daily! Reframe your mindset from one of lack to an abundance mindset; this will provide your "internal operator" with the foundation to achieve your goals and remain positive in the event of setbacks. Shift from living in effect of things to living at cause for your life; this is an opportunity for you to take accountability of your current reality and to stop blaming external forces which gives you ultimate control! Focus on the process instead of the result; if you are solely focused on the results then you will not commit to the journey when things don't happen how you might want them to. Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

In today’s episode, we are going to be discussing the characteristics of gambling traders versus the characteristics of professional traders with the goal of helping you identify if you are trading or gambling! This episode is not ABOUT you, it is for you! The discussion that we will have is meant to help raise your awareness of patterns that might be holding you back from achieving the success that YOU deserve!  Many people believe that trading the stock market is a form of gambling. Think about this and ask yourself what your opinion of this is?  Have you ever thought trading is gambling? If so, where did this belief come from?  We hear it all the time, “The stock market is nothing but a gamble” - “Trading is as good as going to the casino and betting all in on red” - “Day trading is gambling” For many who trade the market, gambling is exactly what they are doing - but is it correct to say that trading IS gambling?  Before we can differentiate between the gambling trader and the pro, it’s important that we dispel this myth that trading is gambling!  What is gambling? Wagering money on an unexpected outcome with the intent of winning money  If you take this definition literally, then you might consider trading to be gambling but consider this; everything in life is a gamble if we define it by taking a calculated risk in everything we do, and we do that 100s of times per day without realizing it. Getting out of bed in the morning and going to the office, there is a chance that you get hit by a bus; that's a gamble, isn’t it? Same with going out for dinner! The chicken might have salmonella which can get you sick. That’s a gamble too right?  In our opinion Trading is NOT gambling:  Why? You have a sense of control  The sense of control has nothing to do with the actual outcome (which is why people consider it gambling) One important difference between day trading and going to the casino is that when you go out to gamble, you have a negative expected return because the house has the edge.  In trading, you can replicate the edge that the house has by controlling your risk and by controlling your trade management. A majority of people that come into this industry treat the markets like a casino with a gambling mindset because of unfit expectations that they can make money overnight, get riches, quit their job, and buy their dream car.  This is why the majority of traders, over 90%, are consistently losing money! Because they have unfit expectations and they do not have any structure.  Successful trading is about consistency! Especially as it relates to trade and money management.  It allows you to determine positive expectancy  Now that we’ve dispelled that myth, let discuss some of the main characteristics of a gambling trader!  Many people who call themselves “traders” are operating in a gambling mindset and these are some of the main characteristics to distinguish the approach between a gambler and a professional trader: The Gambler  Wants to be in the market at all times - treats trading like an addiction Does not have a trading strategy and trades on emotion Does not treat trading like a business (no business plan in place - does not track and review trades in a journal) Lacks education and/or knowledge of the financial markets and trading Trades with money they can’t afford to lose which puts them in a state of despair Which leads to wild mood swings on a daily basis When is trading NOT gambling - The Professional Traders  Do the work and put together a business plan  Have a clearly defined set of rules for trade and risk management  Understand their expectancy and strike rate Follow their rules even when emotions take over  Remain objective in analysis and execution Focus on process and how well they executed the process  We invite you to take this information and identify where you stand so that you can work on your internal operator and approach the markets with a bulletproof mindset!  Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

In today’s episode, we speak on ego and trading, more specifically, what the ego is, warning signs that ego is getting in the way of your trading, and finally some rules to help you keep your ego under control while trading! Most people that enter this industry believe that the markets are against them, when in reality, they are the ones holding themselves back from success! This happens beneath the surface because of the ego!  While you can’t trade without ego, for the majority of traders, their ego is working against them and not for them. Have you ever asked considered the question “Do I want to be right or do I want to make money”?  Most people would believe that if you are right, then you are going to be making money - but this isn’t really the case!  How many times has it occurred that you might have an idea for a trade and then you execute the trade, get stopped out, and then the market goes in the direction of the trend without you onboard?  You were right - right? But did you make money? Probably not - you actually lost money AND you were right at the same time. How does your ego handle that? If you are like most people - your sense of self is in the thought of the loss and that taps into all the previous times you failed and felt a similar pain which leaves you vulnerable to start trading emotionally and can become a very slippery slope quickly!  So let’s get started by first defining the word EGO: “Ego is your idea or opinion of yourself, especially your feeling of your own importance and ability”;  The Ego is the part of a person’s mind that tries to match the wishes or desires of the unconscious mind with the demands of the real world. Your identity - who you think you are - is formed through a collection of thoughts, beliefs, experiences, memories, emotions, and perceptions all working together.  As human beings, the ego wants to uphold the ideal versions of ourselves that only allow for success and not failures - we don’t want to admit that we are wrong about anything including trades.  Your ego will be very defensive about what it believes to be true - outright rejecting anything that does not align with your confirmed thoughts, behaviors or beliefs which is why traders lose lots of money trying to protect the “ego's version of reality.  In fact,  Albert Einstein had a great quote about ego which went along the lines of “More the knowledge lesser the ego, lesser the knowledge more the ego.” When we relate this back to trading, the more knowledge you acquire the less your ego is present in your trading, whereas, the less knowledge you have the more ego plays into your trading.  One of the major psychological challenges for new traders is that our conditioning throughout life is based on being right! It’s all about self-preservation!  Our grades are determined by how right we are on tests, we then move into the corporate world where our livelihood depends on us doing our job “correctly” without making mistakes. So when we enter the trading arena - we bring along these existing beliefs that we have to be right to make money.  A lot of smart people tend to make poor traders at first because they are used to being right when they apply their “brainpower” to a task - so they just assume that this will carry over into their trading and equate to profits.  But what happens when things don’t go as planned? When something we believe should have happened, doesn’t? The ego takes a hit and can create wreak all kinds of havoc on your trading account if not kept in check!  So how can you determine if your ego is coming into play while you are trading?  The easiest way to do this is to perform some self-analysis by asking yourself the following questions:  Am I attached to the outcomes of my trades?  Do I take my losses personally?  Am I focusing on my P/L as soon as I get into a trade? Do I need my analysis to be right?  If the answer to any one of these questions was yes, then that means that your ego is controlling your trading.  Self-concern lies at the root of ego-related issues, so by taking things personally instead of remaining objective, your ego believes that being wrong say’s something about “you and your abilities” and actually threatens your survival.  As soon as you give in to these thoughts, you become vulnerable to making the following “ego-centric trading” mistakes:  Trying  different setups consistently because you believe that you can make money with every trade Moving or canceling stops on a trade when it starts going against you because you do not want to take a loss Trying to force a trade at a level several times despite clear evidence from price action telling you differently  Handcuffing winning trades by taking profit as soon as they become available  Taking large amounts of risks on individual trades  Adding to  losers  Marrying a trade  Hesitating to pull the trigger So how can you keep your ego under control when trading?  Identify your “why” statement for trading and keep that front of mind  Understand your strategy and know your numbers Accept that the market is always right; detach yourself from the idea that individual trade results are not a reflection of yourself as a person  Remain objective in your trading by implementing rule-based processes to protect you from yourself (talk about shit like what Chris did the kitchen timer. Etc ) Perfection is impossible; trading is a business and that’s how you should operate as well Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast

In today’s episode we are going to be discussing limiting beliefs about money and how they are affecting your trading performance! If you don't think you have an issue with money, ask yourself this: Do you have a fear of entering trades because you are scared to take a loss  Do you jumping out of trades with little (or no) profit  Do you beat yourself up after taking a loss  Do you revenge trade to make losses back?  Do you lie to yourself and others about your trading performance? These are all associated with your beliefs about money that you learned a long time ago. If you have never done any mindset work, then you are walking around with the beliefs that you held since childhood ( seven years old)  The mindset about money that you bring into trading is NOT the mindset that will produce the results that you want! You might be wondering if I know how to trade, then why do I always seem to drop the bell when the money counts?  We see it all the time - traders that have a great knowledge and understanding of what to do, but when it comes time to apply their knowledge in the live environments they seem to fall apart.  Intellectually they may be top of the totem pole but when put under pressure, all of that knowledge seems to escape them just when they need it most - why might you ask?  Simply because they are blind to the beliefs that they currently hold about money.  What is a belief? An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. You are born into an environment and circumstance where your brain organizes you to survive - you are not born with beliefs, you inherit them from family members, and experiences - they become the lens through which you see and interpret the world and this holds especially true as it relates to your relationship with money!  Common Limiting Beliefs About Money “Money doesn’t grow on trees”  “Only smart people make money in the markets”  “I probably won’t make money but I’ll give it a try”  “If I’m not good at this, it’s not for me”  “I can’t afford this”  “We aren’t part of the wealthy”  “You need money to make money”  “I’ll never be rich or successful”  “The rich get richer while the poor get poorer”  “I can't ever make millions of dollars. It’s impossible”   “ You have to work hard to get wealthy”  “ I’m just not good with money”  “Money can’t buy happiness”  “Only materialistic people want to make money”  “Rich people think they are better than everyone else” The Truth About Money Money is nothing more than a medium and we give it too much importance and too much power  If you want to do good and make a real change: you need money Do you think plants say: water is the root of all evil? No, they use water as a tool to grow!  Money is the same thing… a tool! The universe does not know money - it’s man made You DESERVE to be abundant, to have anything you want You ARE already abundant  If you are living, you are growing But there is a law… you only get what you want.. If you want to be broke, you will receive Steps to Change Your Limiting Beliefs Identify your limiting beliefs first List the way the limiting belief is limiting you and decide how you want to be/act/feel Create a new belief or affirmation and repeat these affirmations! Resources Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here 

In today’s episode, we are going to be speaking about your negative self-talk and how this misunderstood concept actually creates your reality and your trading results!  How we talk to ourselves about ourselves and our world shapes our reality -unfortunately for the majority of the population, they live out their lives stuck as prisoners of the mind.  If you tend to beat yourself up inside when you make a mistake or worse yet, if you allow yourself to only feel as good as the result of your most recent trade, then you may be prone to negative thinking -  but if you are here with us today, then you’re in luck because we will provide you with some actionable steps to turn your mind into your best friend!  Did you know that on average, humans have about 12k-60k thoughts per day? Of those daily thoughts, about 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive thoughts day in and day out! So it is any surprise that the general population, yourself included, is so familiar with their inner critic?  The inner critic is who we face when trading so our success depends on our ability to remain positive and not feed into negativity! What is Self-Talk? The dialogue and conversation directed towards the self  Occurs out loud or internally; manifests as self-statements or things said about the self  Negative self-talk is any self-talk that puts you down, diminishes you, reduces self-confidence or self-esteem, or prevents you from being the best self  You might not be aware of inner dialogue but you engage in self-talk most of the time What actually happens from a neuroscientific perspective when you participate in negative self-talk? Humans have over a hundred thousand neural connections within the brain; neural pathways are connected by and communicate with synapses; the more neurons that fire and communicate with each other, the stronger these neural pathways become.  Negative self-talk creates neural pathways within the brain; like walking trail on a forest; the more you walk it the more the trail gets etched out  Negative self-talk can increase levels of cortisol (stress hormone) and is also linked to other mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety  The choice of our language during our trading will definitely help to empower the decisions we make and help control our emotional state. Creating a new path is much like creating positive self-talk; the more you do it the more you will create neural connections How  Negative Self-Talk Manifests itself in Trading When setting up for a trading session you might hear a small voice saying “ Will today be one of those losing days?” or even “I wonder if I can even get a good trade today”  Coming off the back of some great trades, you might start hearing that inner critic again saying “Most likely I'm going to blow it cause I will do something stupid”  After taking a losing trade “Ah why did I do that, that was stupid, I should’ve known that was a bad trade”  So how do you identify and reverse negative self-talk in its tracks? Stick around until the end of the episode to find out some actionable steps to get you started! Resources Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here 

In today’s episode we are going to be talking about the process of getting back into trading after taking some time off! Keeping mentally sharp throughout each trading session while battling fear and greed on a daily basis can definitely wear on a trader's psychology and sometimes it's best to take a break in order to prevent burnout from affecting your bottom line. Whether it's a voluntary decision or a forced one - many traders that end up taking a break from trading go about it the wrong way. They simply disconnect from the markets and return on a whim - often expecting different results while doing the same things as before - the definition of insanity! If you are considering taking a break from trading or are currently on a break from trading - understand this - there is work to be done on the "internal operator" before you return to the markets. We've got your back here at TRADEPRO Academy, so we will share some of our own processes today that you can use and implement during your time-off in order to ensure that you are ready to hit the ground running on your return! Before we get into the process of getting back into trading after taking time off, let’s first discuss why you might take time off in the first place: Feeling burned out (not in the right headspace) Stuck in a rut (not following your plan, self sabotaging)  Life circumstances ( health scare or life change <aka kid>)  Losing motivation for the process  Loss of hunger for success  Summer markets If high-performance athletes such as football stars and hockey players have an off-season, should you too? Think about it - performing day in and day out over a series of 8-9 months will take its toll on you - it will affect you mentally and physically and even spill into your daily life (lack of sleep, etc)  These athletes NEED the time in the off-season to recover their minds and bodies and to also build up the foundation in order to come into the next season stronger and more dominant.  Trading isn’t much different, albeit there is not as much physical activity, there is a lot of mental stress and pressure that goes into day trading and if we ignore our own well-being these things can spiral and affect our bottom line-performance.  Getting out of the daily trading routine is one of the best things that you can do after several consecutive months of the daily grind! Why? Because trading requires constant focus, discipline, diligence and patience.  A proper “break” removes that daily stress and brings the trader back into balance with life: family, relationships and any other hobbies or interests.  More importantly a proper break will bring the trader’s motivation back for the return.  The idea is to add balance back into life, work on other aspects of life (outside of trading) and slowly start to work on the “blueprint” and goals for returning back to trading - like a Reset button if you will.  So you’ve identified that you are going to take a break, what’s the process now? Assuming that you’re on board with taking some time off, let’s look at how you can make the most of an off-season: The first thing that we’d recommend is getting your sleep in line. Your body is very capable of recovering on its own, but recovers optimally when it’s not expending energy staying up late!!  The second thing is to spend at least a few days doing nothing. Yes, nothing. This accomplishes two things. It gives your mind a chance to recover from the wear and tear of the daily grind and stress and for most traders, it will also create a mental hunger to get back to their trading desks.  Finally, after a few days off, start working on your "internal operator" - identify areas of strengths and weakness in your trading and psychology and work on a plan to come back at 150%  Whether we want to admit it or not, every single one of us has something they can improve and the "off-season" is the ideal time to take care of these issues so they don’t affect you while in competition!  Some Things We Discuss in Today's Show: Some reasons why you should consider taking a break from trading 02:21 How trader's could use an "off-season" that is similar to professional athletes 07:17 Using time off to mitigate the chances of burning out 12:28 Hitting the reset button on your trading 16:35 The importance of getting your sleep in line during your time-0ff 23:57 Doing nothing and falling out of routine to rejuvenate your mental hunger  26:45 Working on your internal operator and your values to come back stronger 29:20 Resources Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here