What attracted you to trading?

Money. Desperation. Wanted to establish something in my life I could do from my deathbed, and not rely on an employer. 

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How long have you been trading?

It will be 9 years this December that I’ve been trading. I’ve traded Crypto, Stocks, and Forex.

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How long did it take you to become profitable? Were there any major milestones where things just started to click?

I was profitable within weeks. I had a major milestone at my first peak, realizing that I hadn’t worked hard enough to achieve what I had, and maybe it was luck. It was a bull market end. Every cyclical downfall, in 2015, 2019, was amplified by larger dollar loss. It has made lessons stick more.

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I had a major milestone at my first peak, realizing that I hadn’t worked hard enough to achieve what I had, and maybe it was luck.

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What does a typical day look like for you?

Wake up groggy, caffeinate, and do day job basics while checking market. Focus on my day job, fatherhood and husband items until the end of the schedule. I’m very close to my family. We spend 80% or more of our time together between our obligations and downtime. 

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Who did you look up to when you first started trading?

Jebus, KingBtc, Cobain, Aabtc, EmeraldCrypto, MegacoinTrader, legends of legacy CT that showed the new class it was possible to trade crypto profitably. In post-bear cycles, I looked to legacy market individuals to get their tenured stance.

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Tell us about your most memorable trade?

So many. Microbought $NANO, aka $XRB, for weeks and months with Bitcoindad, OTC through “human mining” (captcha mining) proceeds. Held for 2 years after initial 5x and recouping ROI. Ended up on Binance, stemming from a Cryptopia listing payment via Bitcoindad. Was a 100x+ win, and life-changing. Sold into the last leg of the 2017 bull run before the end of the vote-listing on Nance, and escaped Bitgrail with all my money ahead of time. 

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What’s the best trading advice you’ve been given?

Don’t obsess over the first 20% of a move, or the last 20% of the move. Don’t be a greedy fuck and enjoy the other 60%. (Thnx Cobie)

Don’t judge your trading against other people’s. Take your time and your own journey. You’ll get there. You’ll see these guys risking big and thinking you can too. Time will wipe them out. Don’t get jealous. Stay focused, you’ll break your ceiling, and subsequent ceilings. You’ll outpace them. (Thnx Emerald)

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Don’t obsess over the first 20% of a move, or the last 20% of the move. Don’t be a greedy fuck and enjoy the other 60%.

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What drives you to keep trading?

Myself, and my family. This is the best game I’ve ever played, heartache included. I learn more about myself year after year. My family helps me translate the trading ‘scoreboard’ into real-life improvement. Changing our lives for the better continually is something the market can never take back from me.

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Changing our lives for the better continually is something the market can never take back from me.

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Would you say you’ve ‘made it’? If not, what does ‘making it’ look like to you?

I’d say I made it. I extracted enough from the market for critical things that can’t be undone. I acquired a skillset that can take a lessened bankroll and rebuild. 

Making it to me is very goal oriented. Did the person change their life, forever, for the better? Their family? Their friends? Did they make irrevocable strides in the quality of what truly makes them happy, apart from the numbers game? Happiness. 

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Trading:

What's the most important quality in a trader and why?

A clear mind. A focused mind. Without a clear and focused mind, your external life problems will bleed into your decision-making, against people and machines without much weight.

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How would you describe the way you trade?

Lean into fear and greed. Make the hard decision. Address the stress, but not let it overwhelm me. Execute. Click the fucking button when needed.

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Lean into fear and greed. Make the hard decision.

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Has the way you trade changed over time?

Absolutely. I was lackadaisical and an eventual winner. An eventual big winner. Now I’m more focused on winning in the now, and soon. 

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Why do you think you have success trading?

Persistence. Arrogance. A necessary chip on my shoulder. Attrition of others.

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What's the worst thing about trading and why?

The lows from trading permeating throughout all aspects of my life. Feeling inadequate after successive or hard losses.

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What's something you've learned in the last 6 months that has made you a better trader?

Degeneracy has a time and place, and you have to remember the existential risks of everything as an additional risk measure. 

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Degeneracy has a time and place, and you have to remember the existential risks of everything as an additional risk measure. 

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What's the mistake you find hardest to avoid when trading?

Overrisking when doing well. Cranking up too much too soon. Oversizing. To avoid it, I revert to disciplined Google sheets with predefined cells to fill in 1% risk to 2% risk, and reference it before trading. 

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If you could give someone starting trading tomorrow one piece of advice what would it be and why?

Expect to lose. Plan to lose. Work backwards from that. 

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Expect to lose. Plan to lose. Work backwards from that. 

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What goals do you set for your trading?

Trade well. Trade often. Derisk and reflect. Write down all material wants, experiences, and big-ticket items ahead of time. 

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‍Fill in the blanks

• Most traders would be better off complaining less and improving

• What separates the pros from the rest is constant desire to get better

• A good trader should never trade angry

• The biggest misconception about trading is that being profitable rapidly isn’t possible, and all the downfalls that come from it

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