So here I am again, end of the working week, everyone’s partying – I’m home, that familiar place where I write, study, track stocks, watch educational material.

 

I don’t say this for pity or any kind of self-validation. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I’m saying it to remind those who are starting out that to make it in this you have an insurmountable level of work ahead of you.

 

And guess what? My stats don’t show it, but based on my knowledge and judgement of the market – I absolutely know I’m turning a corner to profitability. Everything just feels, well, right.

 

Now that I’ve progressed through this self-realisation, I can look back and document what worked for me and what didn’t. And, I can safely say I wouldn’t be where I am now without the challenge.

 

Some of Tim’s followers are named as sheep by others. I’m no sheep. My approach is objective and I’ll candidly discuss the good and bad of the challenge.

 

The contrast between Premium Silver and the Challenge.

 

As a member of Premium Silver I got the watch lists and the video reviews which are pretty much daily. It was good, I developed an idea of the market and Tim’s watchlist kept me on the right track. But, if you want to be a successful trader in a short space of time – less than 12 months – it’s essential you’re on the challenge.

 

In short, you get access to videos, weekly webinars (two or three new ones a week) all of Tim’s DVDs, daily watchlists and access to Mark Crook, Tim Sykes, Tim G, the one with the beard and a few others.

 

With just a few weeks’ experience, I’ve managed to get through 10 – 12 2 hour webinars, Penny Stocking Framework and I’ll try and complete Spikability this weekend – a personal challenge.

 

At first, when you switch on Penny Stocking Framework, you might be put off by the camera quality as it occasionally swings or moves. And, some of the content is irrelevant to penny stocks.

 

Don’t let this put you off – the final DVD of the framework is gold. Skip through the unnecessary bits. When the markets are slow, sometimes, the webinars can be laborious – sit through them – there’s often nuggets of information out of nowhere which can completely reshape how your approach to this discipline.

 

One challenge student saw I was on the challenge and asked my opinion on it. His criticism was that the course lacked structure. I was disappointed to hear this and totally disagree.

 

If you want to be spoon fed information like a ten-year old then maybe the course lacks structure, but we’re not in school here, and learning stocks is not easy AT ALL.

 

The concepts ARE simple and the more you learn the more you realise it’s just common sense. But, so is everything. With nearly ten years’ experience in marketing/advertising I feel the same way about the latter, the more I learn the more it is just common sense which should be second nature – but for newbies it’s not.

 

Learning stocks is like learning advertising or any other subject. It requires a ton of effort before it begins to click. I’d definitely say it’s the equivalent to studying for a university degree. Anybody who doesn’t grant it this level of seriousness is wasting their time.

 

A pleasant surprise

 

Some might criticise Tim for his harsh approach on the webinars when he occasionally refuses to analyse a stock and immediately writes it off as boring. I initially thought the challenge was an elite club of intelligent students (high flyers) who were all born for success. It’s not.

 

There’s a few hundred at least attending any one webinar, most ask ridiculous questions highlighting their lack of preparing and study towards their education. I don’t blame Tim for refusing to answer them.

 

If anything, it surprised me how much people want spoon fed. It’s sad.

 

To be a trader you need to be hungry as fuck. And I swear because I want you to feel how much I mean this. It’s a fucking challenge. It’s extremely hard and I’ve now sacrificed countless days and weekends on my own to succeed in this.

 

The dawn is coming. The sun is about to shine. And I’m fucking excited. Not even for the money. I’m just one competitive mother fucker.