“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” - Sam Ewing

You didn't expect trading to be easy right? I sure as hell didn't expect it to be this fucking hard though.

It goes without saying that I wasn't ready for the ass whooping I got when I started part-time day trading in August. I was a cocky little shit that had made a couple bucks on the Canadian markets a few months back, randomly picking stocks and swinging them hoping for a profit. In hindsight, my ill-prepared attempts were comparable to shooting a gun in the dark hoping to hit anywhere close to the target. I truly had no idea what I was doing but seemed to be doing alright. Right now, I'd say aiming down the sight, and then foolishly closing my eyes before pulling the trigger best describes my trading. I know where to look, what to look for, my finger is on the trigger but I can't seem to know when to fucking fire.

Like a lot of people before me, I truly believed that I'd be the next one to turn a few grand into a million bucks within a few months. I thought that I was different, that I was smart, that hard work and long hours didn't scare me because I was used to being challenged. Adversity? Bring that shit I've had practice.

Silly little man...

I'm not ashamed of it, I drank the Kool Aid and odds are, you probably did too!

The more I listen to interviews with successful traders or read books about them, the more I see or hear this in their answers about their success: Screen Time. Experience comes from repetition and hours upon hours of watching the tape. So if you've started trading thinking you are just gonna wing this and go with the flow, let me save you a few headaches: It ain't gonna work.

We've all seen the success stories about how this or that guy turned a few hundreds into hundreds of thousands in an insanely short amount of time. But you are not that guy/girl, and neither am I! Let's face it: you wouldn't be reading this shit if you would be.

That person is the 1% and it's insane to try to compare yourself to them. That's like buying a golf set, play a few holes than try to go toe toe toe with Tiger Woods (The 23 years old can't be stopped/kicking ass and taking names version). I've come to understand and accept that this will take a lot of hard work and study, but most importantly, TIME and EXPERIENCE. So don't get sucked in all the fluff and believe the hype that this is fast money and it's as easy as drinking a glass of water. You'll go through ups and downs just like every other trader and it's normal. Just don't be too hard on yourself and trade smart (I sure as shit have to work on this).

I've had the chance and the pleasure to meet a few people since I've started trading, and one of them has even become a good trading buddy. We share ideas, struggles and learning material on a daily basis, and we sometimes analyze each others trades. Hell, bouncing ideas off of each other has even helped reduce our similar bad habit: Over trading. I really recommend to anyone struggling to reach out to other people, form bonds and find trading buddies. Learning something this hard will be challenging and time-consuming to say the least, but you're not forced to take a swing at it alone.

I'll end with this analogy: I believe trading is like the penthouse of a skyscraper and you can't use the elevator. If you want to get up there you'll just have to climb each set of stairs. Sure, you can try to sprint up but odds are you'll get exhausted or trip and fall back down. You just have to take one staircase at a time till you reach your goal. Some are just freakishly in shape or have long fucking legs.

 Thanks a lot for taking the time to read. Writing about my journey has become a way for me to vent and rationalize things and I truly believe it helps. If you've enjoyed this, follow me on Twitter @mickdostie for more!