The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

I was recently asked, "Hey Clay! What would be one bit of advice you'd give a younger version of yourself?" What a great question! In this episode, we dive into one of the simplest — yet most powerful — financial principles that hides in plain sight - or does it? While it sounds obvious, many people struggle with this principle, and the consequences can add unnecessary stress, debt, and financial insecurity. We've all learned about this as young children, yet somehow it tends to get lost in the shuffle. This isn't about living a boring or restrictive life — it's about creating freedom, flexibility, and peace of mind. Whether you're just starting out with money management or you've been at it for years but still feel stuck, this episode will kill the excuses and, hopefully, open your eyes to what needs to be done!

We hear it all the time: context is king. This is certainly true and is an important part of the discussion or decision making process. When we focus it into trading, context is extremely important! With that said, I recently read an article from a psychology professional who makes a super interesting point. Is it anything revolutionary? I don't think so. But it is one of those dynamics that sort of hides in plain sight and therefore is overlooked. The problem is, overlooking this dynamic can have very annoying and demoralizing results. I've seen this problem occur over and over during my years of working with traders and what this psychology professional points out is dead on. Let's discuss!

$53,400 gone in a matter of minutes. It sounds a bit far-fetched doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's not and is the reality of the situation for a very courageous member of my private trading community. This past week a screen shot showed up in our private chatroom showing their results and it left us all shocked and saddened. How could this happen? What was he trading? Does he plan to keep on trading? There are several very important lessons to be learned. I have nothing but respect for this person as his courage has opened up the flood gates of teachable moments and bigtime reminders for those of us who have been in the market for years. Trading is no joke and if you aren't careful, absolute disasters can happen. Let's talk about it and do some learning!

There is a new study making its way around from MIT in regards to what ChatGPT is doing to people's brains. In my opinion, none of it is shocking; however, it also made me think about all of us as traders. I'm open to the idea that maybe I am overthinking this and it's not necessarily true, but I'm pretty confident I'm at least in the general area of truth. Finding consistency and success in trading is a very hard thing to do as I'm sure many of you already know, and while it may seem like ChatGPT can make our lives easier as traders, I think I'd disagree. Let me give you my thoughts and you are more than welcome to reach out to me and disagree. It's always a bit more interesting that way anyhow! Let's get to it!

Personally, if someone showed me what I'm about to show you, I would not believe them. I would immediately say, "No way! What's the catch???". As much as it would disappoint me for you not to consider what I talk about in this week's episode of the podcast, I'd truly understand. If you are looking for a way to create some crazy return on investments ("ROI's") in your monetary world, then you need to do what I'm doing! None of this is a Holy Grail or "get rich quick". None of this is easy. But the math is the math and when you see how all the numbers fit together, I think the strategy is something worth seriously considering. If you are a day trader who wants to keep your risk to a minimum while truly opening up the world of upside potential, then this is a discussion you won't want to miss! Let's get to it!

It's certainly not a new topic to the ClayTrader world, but it's a topic that I'm not sure can ever be talked about too often. Good ole' demo trading is one of the more complicated dynamics in all of trading. I think this is because there are so many different angles and considerations that need to be made in regards to its actual value. As the years continue to pass me by and I hear more and more stories from traders, I've begun to get a bit more solid in my current position on the topic. While I'm not saying I am 100% right, what I'm quite confident in claiming is that more times than not "demo trading" is a total pitfall for traders. How so? What are the solutions around this problem? Let's discuss! 

Are there any more dreaded words in the minds of some traders than "market makers"?!?! Who knows, perhaps you now have goose bumps or the hair on your arms is standing straight up! If you are one of these people who believe it is very important to pay attention to "market makers" and their games, let's take a step back and do some thinking. While I can understand your concern and focus on market makers, please… STOP IT. All the talk and drama around market makers is totally overblown and in all actuality, makes very little sense. I can prove this to you by asking you a simple question. In considering the question and its implications, I hope to be able to calm your nerves so that you can begin to focus on the aspects of trading that are way more important. Let's get to it!

Anxiety and "Tilt". Perhaps those two words cause goosebumps and/or for the hair to raise up on the back of your neck! I'm with you! In the world of trading these are two very common and powerful pitfalls that we must learn how to navigate. I recently had a couple of traders ask me how I fight against each of those. This is a very thoughtful question and comes from a place of someone being self aware and truly wanting to improve as a trader. I certainly can't proclaim to have all the answers, but I have been around long enough and worked with enough traders to see some common themes and occurrences. Let's talk about it and try and kick anxiety and the feeling of "tilt" to the curb.

I recently came across an article on CNBC that sparked a topic that doesn't get talked about enough. Perhaps you are well aware of day trader geography, but oftentimes it's one of those concepts that hides in plain sight. The best way to find success as a day trader (or really any kind of trader/investor for that matter) is to ensure your expectations are aligned as closely as possible with reality. A key component in this task of aligning expectations and reality is understanding day trader geography. I suppose this concept could lead you to taking drastic measures, but it doesn't necessarily have to. I simply want to challenge you to stay realistic with your expectations as a trader. Let's get to it!

"Today" (the day I recorded this episode) I was reminded of how I need to do a better job of deploying my critical thinking skills around the economic calendar. Thankfully the trade I was in turned out really well, but wow, the opposite could have just as easily been true. I know I've talked about the economic calendar before on the podcast; however, the lesson I was reminded of "today" is certainly one worth offering up to you as a reminder. Hopefully none of this is coming across as overly dramatic as that's not my intent. None of this is rocket science, but it does require a bit of thinking on our parts. Let me walk you through this experience and what it can teach/remind us of as active traders in the market.