I used to think becoming a successful trader was mostly a matter of time and experience. That if you stayed with it long enough and lived through enough mistakes, crushing drawdowns, and market cycles, you would eventually get better. And while I still believe there are certain things in trading that you can only understand through experience, simply spending more years trading is not what moves you forward.

To become a successful trader…
you have to become someone capable of trading successfully. A setup can take a weekend to learn. Mastering yourself is a whole different ball game. You can spend years doing the surface-level work of trading, watching the market every day, taking trades, studying charts, and still never address the parts of yourself that are holding you back.

Trading is a container for self-evolution.
Most of us have ways of thinking and behaving that are deeply ingrained in us, and in order to become the person capable of trading successfully, there is a lot of shedding, adjusting, and course correcting along the way. That is why the path is never a straight line. You may understand the technical information, but then you have to figure out what keeps getting in the way of your ability to apply it consistently.

One of the biggest shifts you can make in trading is identifying the patterns, habits, and behaviors you have that may not be directly related to trading but are not supporting your growth as a trader.

This can be a poor diet or drinking in a way that leaves you feeling foggy, sluggish, and dull. It can be constantly filling your mind with noise from social media, news, or shows, to the point that you don’t even know what thoughts are your own and you can’t think for yourself. It could also be unconscious habits, things you do automatically without even thinking about them, like checking your phone every few minutes or always looking for something new to consume, whether that is food, shopping, or reassurance.

It can also show up in the way you spend your time in the evenings. Maybe work is done, dinner is finished, and you automatically sit down to watch Netflix. It is no longer intentional time spent watching something you enjoy or spending time with your partner. It has become a nightly habit, versus picking up a book, working on your business, going for a walk, or engaging with your family. 

I am not saying there is anything wrong with sitting down and watching shows. There are times when unwinding that way serves us and is exactly what we need. But be aware when something you use to soothe yourself becomes an automatic part of how you live and slowly starts moving you away from what you know you are capable of.

Then there are the compulsive behaviors that may not be about soothing at all, but have still become automatic. A habit of mine I recently noticed was how often I was checking my email on my phone. I shut down most of my social media, so email became the thing I would automatically go to whenever I picked up my phone. It is not even that it was incredibly distracting, but I did not like that it had become something I was doing without thinking about it. 

There are certain things I definitely want to become second nature, like my trading setup. When I see it, I take it. When I see my exit, I take it. I want the process of getting in and out of a trade to become entirely mechanical…but picking up my phone and checking my email every few minutes is not something I want to reinforce. So I have put boundaries around when I check it. It is a small thing, but it is part of my commitment to noticing and weeding out compulsive behaviors that I do not want for myself.

Your identity and the way you move through everyday life determine the quality of your trading.

If you are constantly reacting, avoiding, consuming, or looking outside yourself everywhere else, it is very difficult to suddenly become calm, intentional, and disciplined between 9:30a and 4:00p ET.

Own the work.
The first trading class I ever took served me very well in the beginning, but at some point I realized that I could not get my teacher’s voice out of my head. I did not feel like I knew the information for myself or owned it for myself. I was still trying to make decisions based on what someone else had taught me to see. Eventually, I went off on my own, and I learned to make my own decisions, learned to trust myself, and became grounded in what worked for me and what did not. 

Making decisions based entirely on what someone else tells you may work for a period of time, but it does not create anything sustainable in the long run. The process of developing agency, autonomy, and ownership is what creates successful traders. 

How long will it take?
When I’m asked how long it is going to take to become profitable, I cannot know that answer for you. It will take as long as it takes for you to recognize the patterns, habits, and behaviors that are getting in your way, and then do the work to change them in a way that supports where you are trying to go.

The right mentorship and guidance can help you recognize those things sooner, but you have to be willing to look at yourself. You also need a trading plan that clearly defines how you intend to operate, and then you have to consistently review what is happening when you do or do not follow it. This is how you begin building trust in yourself and making consistent progress.

I know this kind of change is possible because I was the hottest of hot messes when I first started my trading journey. So if I can do it, you can definitely do it!

Last week, the question was whether upside would be a bounce into resistance or a move back toward the top of the range. We did get a flush lower, but SPX and Dow held the lower part of their ranges, and Nasdaq undercut its range but reclaimed it. So for now, we are still range-bound. The next question is whether this bounce can keep building, or if we create a lower high and roll over again.

Continue Building Back Toward the Top of the Range

Create a Lower High and Roll Over

Lose the Lower Range

Just a reminder: We can still be range-bound even with price popping above the range or undercutting it. It is not always going to be perfect ping-pong from the top to the bottom every time. So until we clear either side of the box with follow-through, this environment can last even a few more months!

We just wrapped up July! How is everything going?

Are you where you want to be?

Have you made the shifts you know you need to make to get yourself one step closer to your goals?

Take a moment and make an honest and complete assessment. Look at what is working, what is not working, and where you know you need to improve. And then get very specific about what you are going to do next.

Do not let another month or quarter pass without a clear objective and a real plan for how you are going to reach it! And if you want my help, this is exactly what a Private Strategy Session is for.

Get specific, make the adjustments, and crush your goals! 🥳 💃🏽 💪🏽