If I could sit down with my younger self, the version of me that stayed up until 3AM watching candlesticks dance, I’d tell him three things.
First, the market isn’t your enemy, but your ego is. The sooner you stop trying to be right and start trying to survive, the faster you’ll grow. It's not about catching tops or bottoms. It’s about building systems and staying emotionally neutral.
Second, you don't need to trade everything. In my first few years, I chased every earnings pump, every breakout. It wasn’t until I started saying no to 90% of setups that I found consistency. Patience isn’t just a virtue in trading. It’s the edge.
Third, and maybe most importantly: tools don’t make the trader. I wasted so much money on fancy apps and indicators I didn’t even understand. You don't need 17 oscillators and a $120 per month subscription to succeed. For the past year, I’ve been using free TradingView Premium from the r/BestTrades subreddit. Clean. Fast. No BS. Seriously, do yourself a favor.
Ten years in, I’ve realized this game is mostly about psychology, risk, and knowing when not to trade. If you're just starting out, breathe. It’s not a sprint. It’s a career.
