In 2008 I was 22 years old. I dabbled in the stock market for a couple of years prior to that, playing with biotech, pharma stocks. I lost frequently, but chalked it up to an educational expense while learning the market. I thought I was learning on my own, but I can tell you today, with 100% certainty, I KNEW NOTHING about the monster that is the stock market.

I bought books, followed GURU's, participated in Chatrooms, and even took the guys on TheLion.com seriously! Looking back on it all, I feel silly. I was 22 and I made some profitable trades. But they weren't successful trades. There was no system, no rules, no infrastructure to my thinking. At that time, a lot of stocks were just going up and up. It was more like winning a raffle, or rolling dice. There was no skill or advantage on my side. You just win sometimes.

I came across TimothySykes story on facebook back then and turning 12K to millions was a draw for sure. I didn't even know what shorting a stock was at that time. The image above is the DVD set I purchased (signed by Tim on the inside of the book) I started learning and using his system back then, got a margin account and followed the alerts and message board. I did make money. I wasn't even fully polished by any means at the method, but I did make money by following the system. I never bought a break out before this. Never gave much love to support or resistance on penny stocks like they deserved. My trades were small, and taking profits was quicker than I was used to. It was working, but it just didn't feel right to me. Everyone on the internet "Knew More". But looking back 7 years later, they didn't have rules, or discipline. They just had stock picks.

In October of 2008, exactly 7 years ago, I got demolished. I traded on Margin, and thought I could buy RIMM after some huge down days. It has to bounce eventually, right? WRONG! It doesn't have to do sh*t. The stock market doesn't care about you. The people buying and selling on the other end of your trades think they're smarter than you. And they very well may be. I put all my eggs in one basket in 2008 hoping to get back all my losses from that rocky time. BIG MISTAKE! I took my advice from a damn user on TheLion.com that claimed he was making huge returns buying the bounces in that crappy market. BIG MISTAKE!

I took myself out of the game because I was reckless. I lost everything in less than hour because I was trading on margin with more than I had in my account. I was young and stupid and full of wishful thinking. It's a lot like falling in love for the first time. You project what the future holds. You fall in love with the reality you create in your head before reality ever gets a chance to play out. You hold on for as long as you can until there's nothing there, nothing left but the truth.

It took me some years to get back on my feet. I could argue losing everything and being too smart to use a "proven system" was the best thing that could've happened to me. I'm 29 now, have a family of my own and more money to my name than I did back then.

But I am terrified, I repeat, absolutely terrified to trade stocks again. I am terrified to take big losses, and terrified to trade without rules and a system I trust in place. If I'm so terrified, why am I hear you ask? It's because I got a taste of consistent profits and I've never forgotten it. In the back of my head I've always thought, if I just stuck to the TimothySykes method and made quick gains over and over again, they would have added up. I never would have taken a 100% position. I could have still been in the game this entire time.

It's been 7 years and I'm a different person. I don't need to hit home runs and risk striking out. I'm perfectly fine with hitting singles and doubles for the next 7 years. I just want to be in the game. Not being able to play really sucked.

I tried to find information on the guys I was learning from and following 7 years ago. There's only one I know for sure that is still in this game. TimothySykes.

I left the game as a little boy but I'm coming back as a man. Studying with a willingness to learn that I didn't have before. Sometimes it takes some time away from something to truly appreciate what it has to offer. I still believe the opportunity to make money in the stock market exists. But I believe now more than ever that I can't take that opportunity for granted.

I'm writing this today as my first post because I don't ever want to forget how I felt when I got back in the game. I'm starting with a $30k account, but my positions will be small until I get the feel back. I am terrified and not afraid to admit it. I may not make my first trade for a couple months. I'm interested in making successful trades this time around rather than profitable trades. Make successful trades and the profits will come.

 

Thanks for reading!