The 3 Phases of a Trader: Learning, Earning, & Scaling

Sponsored by Pepperstone A guy at the gym gave me one simple tip for hitting a 100kg bench press: stop trying to make the big jump. It made me think about trading. Demo to live. Funded accounts. Bigger size. Why do we turn every transition into such a big event? Maybe progress works better when the next step barely feels like one.

Sponsored by Pepperstone The trade has worked beautifully. You’re 90% of the way to target… and then it stalls. Do you take the money? Hold to the original plan? Tighten the stop? Peel some off? In this episode, I look at the different ways to handle one of those awkward trade-management moments we’ve all faced and why the right answer depends less on the trade itself and more on what you’re actually trying to improve as a trader.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Sometimes trading feels productive when really it’s just helping you avoid the harder work. In this episode, I look at why stepping away from the screen to tighten up your playbook, trade management, routines and trading rules might be exactly what you need to make real progress.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Most traders move through three phases: learning, earning and scaling. The trouble starts when we confuse which phase we’re actually in… In this episode, I look at why experienced traders sometimes need to go back into learning mode, when it’s time to take the pressure off, and how we know when we’re ready to start scaling again through size, better holds, and cleaner execution.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Prop firm data reveals some interesting patterns in how losing traders behave. In this episode, I look at two common behaviours that show up again and again… and why doing the opposite could make a big difference to your trading.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Why does a trading strategy that once had genuine edge suddenly stop working? In this episode, we look at how markets adapt, participants change their behaviour, and profitable edges can become crowded and decay… using the famous Turtle Trading strategy as an example. More importantly, what does that mean for us as traders, and how do we make sure we can evolve as the market does?

Sponsored by Pepperstone Years ago, I found a strange edge in a head-to-head trading game: while everyone else rushed to trade, I waited. In this episode, I share what that taught me about patience, understanding the real objective, exploiting other traders’ mistakes, and why sometimes the best trade is no trade at all.

Sponsored by Pepperstone We all want results now, something new, and an easier path, but these natural instincts can sabotage our trading. Here’s how to recognise and overcome them.

Sponsored by Pepperstone Trading has too many moving parts. Entry, exit, stops, targets, scaling, hold or fold, how many trades, breakout or mean reversion. When you're in a drawdown, it all turns to noise. So here's one drill to cut through it. Strip out the variables and answer a single question. It won't fix everything. But it gets you off the back foot and gives you something to work with instead of just bleeding. Have a listen and see if it's right for you.

Sponsored by Pepperstone When you trade for yourself, you wear every hat... CEO, risk manager, senior trader, junior trader. Nobody's holding you accountable, and that's exactly the problem. In this episode, Mark Holstead unpacks why most traders stay stuck in the same cycle: feel bad about a mistake, promise to do better, repeat. The missing piece? Real consequences. Here's how to engineer them, using trade hesitation as the worked example. It won't fix everything, but if you've done all the right groundwork and still can't shift a bad habit, this is probably the piece you're missing.