Transcription
You started with was that right? Five hundred dollars? Did I hear that right? Uh, I probably started with like a $200 Robinhood account.
Really, really welcome back everyone to Be the Trader. Today I have a very special episode for you and an awesome guest: Seven Points Capital's Trevor. Trevor is joining us today. If you don't know who he is, then just check him out on Twitter. He's gonna be giving out his handle; his handle will be down below as well in the link. Check him out there. He provides a lot of good content and he's been a very successful trader. We're at his place today, and he invited us in, so thank you so much, my man, and welcome to the show, brother.
Thanks for having me, man. I'm stoked you guys were able to come out.
Absolutely. How are you liking Arizona so far?
I love it over here. Yeah, I love it. I mean, it's winter, and yeah, we're outside. I'm just drinking a T-shirt; right? It's it's good for a couple of months out of the year, and then everyone is, yeah, oh my god, it's all up in arms about, you know, the frying eggs on the streets and stuff, but because I know it gets hot. Yeah, it gets real hot, but it's uh, yeah, we enjoy it.
Awesome. Well, for people who don't know your backstory, Trevor, if you could just kind of shed some light on, you know, what got you in this world of training to begin with, like how did it start?
Um, so let me give you a little backstory. I I've always been kind of a big addictive personality, and so as a kid, I I turn to, you know, not so great things. Yeah, as uh, you know, with that, you know, addictive personality, um, and you know, I'll spare you any details, but I I, you know, I had struggles with with a lot of drugs as a as a kid, and um, you know, overcoming that uh, you know, taught me, you know, I got sober when I was 21, and overcoming that, I uh, you know, I learned a lot about myself, you know, the, you know, and being able to use that that addictive personality or that magnifying mind to my advantage, um, and I just had to focus on things that were good for me.
Yeah, right. And you know, there was a lot of ups and downs with all that, a lot of failures, um, you know, amongst just getting sober itself, and then, you know, figuring out life after that. You know, I'm 21; I haven't done anything with my life; what do I do? Um, and I fell into fitness. Yes. Um, and from there, you know, I built, you know, I started a personal training company, and then I got hired to actually work with uh recovering alcoholics and addicts, yeah, at a few different rehabilitation programs, and uh, that that was a really great experience. I was able to get a lot of business experience and then also, you know, just connect with people, um, and but as I went on, I kind of knew that it was always kind of a means to an end. I didn't uh, I knew I didn't want to be a personal trainer the rest of my life. It's just not what I envision myself doing, and it's, you know, it's pretty capped on; I don't know how far you can go.
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And then from there, I uh, you know, I started reading business books, um, and I just kind of fell upon I I read, have you read uh Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad Poor Dad?
I mean, I mean, who hasn't? Oh my god, that sets you on the path. Hey, we wouldn't be able to do these face-to-face interviews if it wasn't for our great sponsor, Cobra Trading. So if you could just give them a few seconds of your time, we'd really appreciate it. Cobra Trading is the broker for short sellers. If you're a short seller and you're looking for the best borrows and the best service in the market, look no further. It's why I use them every single day and why I'm happy to have them as a sponsor. So make sure to click on the link below to learn more about Cobra Trading, and now let's get back to the show.
Yeah, and so like it just like it it's just one of those those entry ways into this new world where I was just like, I have no idea about any of this stuff, and it's just like that got my addictive person like I was just like my magnifying mind was just like, okay, like I don't know, like, but it's like it's just so interesting to me because it's this world, you know, uh, you know, where, you know, kind of like having this epiphany of like what capitalism is, yeah, essentially, right? And like how you can how you can position yourself into, you know, into uh in into this world in like a in a positive way, and um, you know, it was just kind of set from there, you know, I I downloaded Robinhood, you know, I I watched all the movies I could. What year was this? So I first opened up my first brokerage account in 2015.
Okay. Um, and from there, it was just on running, you know, as I I think my very first trade I made, I I googled uh penny stocks to trade because, you know, I think I had found those gave the best returns, and um
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I I found StockTwits immediately, and that brought me into this whole world of chat room trading and and and pumping and just, you know, in the small cap, you know, grimy world that it is, and like I just kind of like immediately fell into it, and my first trade was on uh DCTh. I don't know if you know the symbol, but um, I'm pretty sure they're de-listed or they relisted again, um, and I I made like two or three hundred percent on the first trade. I was up 200, 300, and I'm like, oh, dude, this [ __ ] is easy. Um, but then uh, you know, you know how the story goes, right? And so and then you know that's that's basically, you know, in a in a very tight nutshell of how how I got into it.
So let's let's let's continue though, because you your first tray you did well, right? And then you know how it ends from there, like it's, you know, start to realize that maybe it was luck, maybe it was just whatever it may be, and you start to lose. How long did it take you to kind of get on the bicycle and actually ride with balance, you know what I'm saying? Like how long it take you from there?
So I would say from there it took me, I, you know, I'm just trading based off of what I see on StockTwits and what, you know, people are, you know, the hype that's around social media or whatever I can Google search. Um, it wasn't until um, and I had joined a a paid chat room where a guy would trade on voice, and I, you know, I actually have to give credit to the guy, um, well, I I'm not going to say his name, but he he even though he was an alert room, he was very organized. He was on the voice chat at like, you know, at whatever 8:30, you know, New York time every single morning doing like a pre-market thing, and he, you know, he was very disciplined, and so I picked up on that. Um, but then I found a free chat room where I met a good buddy of mine, um, TJ, who runs this chat room called United Traders, and I just traded on voice with them every single day really. Um, I was I was still working as a personal trainer, um, but my I had worked it with this place where my hours were like basically I was only in their gyms for a few hours a day, and so I got to trade most of the market hours, and I, you know, I wasn't trading with anything at all, you know, just a few hundred bucks at a time possibly, um, in the beginning, and but I would just trade on voice with these guys, and um, you know, this this guy TJ had kind of turned into a mentor of me. He he lives up in Canada, and his his dad was a trader, and he he's just an epic really good trader, and he just runs this room for free and and and he was this guy who would just message me out of the blue, "Hey, how are you doing?" So I I was I was that just set my learning curve off, you know, like quickly. Like I like anything I have is from other people, you know, I mean, like nothing I have is unique. Um, I was just I was very fortunate to like fall into the hands of some of some good traders early on, um, and so like I think that's probably like what really like got my like um, you know, the the motion set.
First off, awesome that you were able to overcome and become sober, so congrats on that. That's awesome.
Yeah, and and I love that you said that you have an addictive personality started there because there's a lot of people listening to this who might have an addictive personality. I know I definitely do.
Yeah, and how you're showing that you're using it for something that's gonna help you grow and become better, which you have done, and how you're channeling that energy, you know, like that's really awesome to hear. But on top of that, you said that you met a, you know, you're trading and chatting the exact same time or voice. Can you explain because there's there's two sides of that coin, right? Obviously, it worked out really well, right? But there's two sides of that coin where, you know, it could be uh, you know, influence in a negative way and also influence in a positive way. So I'm curious like how whenever you were doing that, like what was really helpful, like what was it? Was it just like like just, "Hey, this is what I'm doing, so I'm going to do it too," or how was it helpful, you know what I'm saying?
So I think the the number one thing is like just seeing people in action, live action, is like the like for me like I don't I'm not someone who's writing DMs on Twitter asking a million questions. I'm I'm a good observer. Um, I think maybe it's probably due to like I, you know, can be a little bit socially awkward and like a little shy, so I don't like wanna like reach out, but I'm really good at observing people. Um, so I just one one of the things that motivates me is when I see people being super disciplined and like being successful, right? And so and I'll give an example of that later on, um, but if we get to it, but uh, so literally just just having that live action around me and then, um, you know, as you're being an observer, you kind of like you're able to like pick up on the things that like work and don't work, right? Like um, you know, maybe, you know, so and so gets excited about a trade, right? And you're like kind of observing like their their emotional response to like what they see in a setup, right? And then like the result of that setup and you know, okay, this person was real excited about this and like those were a lot of like the things that I really picked up on when I was listening to experienced traders or, you know, even newer traders over voice. Okay, like this is like it's not just like, you know, their entries and exits and stuff is like how are they responding to the, you know, the market information. Yeah, and um, I think this like picking up on like, you know, people's emotional responses like really helped me like understand like, okay, like if I'm feeling real excited, I can't sleep the next night, like I realize like that, you know, everyone else kind of struggles in that area too, like maybe like, you know, my emotions are what are getting in my way too. Um, and so like there's a million different things, but you not only pick up on, you know, what what to do but plenty of things of what not to do, um, they're, you know, they're I can't, you know, the plenty of new traders who who would enter, you know, and you know, blow up their account within a day or, you know, um, just come in just to pump a stock or whatever, but I was definitely like kind of born into this like chat room trading world, um, and just kind of thrown into it, and so like I I but you know there's so many people and so many like so much stuff being said and flown around that like you you almost immediately have to learn how to sift through the [ __ ]. Um, and if you don't, um, you just end up falling for everything and like and that's just not gonna work out, and so like you almost have to like approach it, you know, those those types of situations with like a hard amount of skepticism, um, or you know, or uh, just you know, you know uh, you know, with a grain of salt.
Can I ask you something then? Because you said something that that really stood out to me, and you said not only did I see when a quote-unquote maybe a good trader uh see something that they really liked, how they acted versus someone who wasn't, you know, maybe newer, and they saw and how they acted, and you saw the differences and what in the end result was. Can you highlight on like what that difference is if anything stands out in that instance?
Absolutely. I mean, so I mean, you take an experienced trader for example, and you know, someone who would say like, you know, oh, you know, I I have, you know, this position on, you know, with, you know, this size, um, or you know, I just covered this amount of this position or whatever and like, you know, they're pretty like melancholy about it, um, when they just made, you know, a $50,000 trade or something like that, right? And uh, and like to me that's like, you know, with a $500 account, I'm like, what the f like 50 like you and like seeing on the chart like, man, they were down like 12; it's the 15th out like what? Like I can't imagine um losing that much money, but then like realizing like, okay, these people like aren't affected by this like for some reason. And um, and then you you know watch a newer trader who, you know, you know, is getting, you know, obviously like very emotionally built up about like, you know, a a trade that that they see and and um, they, you know, impulsively just like get in without like, oh, this is flagging just, you know, get in, yes, no matter what, um, and not not really like having like a good like basis behind their their trade or, you know, a good uh thesis behind their trade or uh or they're just seem to be completely blinded by a rush of excitement, you know. And so and excitement is like one of the number one killers, at least for me, yeah, uh in in in approaching any trade.
So it's interesting so that you said like one's mellow and laid-back and doesn't really get affected one way or the other, it seems like, and it also seems like they're slowing down right before they just jump right, whereas the excitement makes someone just rushed into something.
Yeah, there's certainly a good amount of of critical thinking that that goes into an experienced trader's like approach versus like someone who who just like sees, you know, something uh, you know, sees a wedge and just, you know, or you know, whatever it may be and just jumps on it, um, based on one variable.
And you also said that by you started with was that right? 500? Did I hear that right? Uh, I probably started with like a $200 Robinhood account. Really, really. And then and then tell me when how long did it take you to you said you were in that room and you started to chat on voice and start to kind of get some bearings, learn some things. How long it takes you to get consistent, and then how long did it take you from there to, you know, join Seven Points and then go from there?
So I would say from 2016 to 2018 was like pretty like rocky. It was it was, you know, I would take two steps forward, five steps back type of thing. Yeah, and um, probably had to probably blew up four or five accounts. Um, I had uh pro I was introduced to I started shorting, actually. I don't know if you know what TradeStation is.
I heard of it.
Yeah, it's a CFD broker; they're not really like supposed to uh operate in the US, but I I used them, and because I was under PDT and I wanted to learn to short anyways, I blew up that account pretty quickly, um, and I I had gotten another one with them, but um uh all right. And so that was probably like 2018, and then I, you know, just multiple accounts blowing up and down, and then I finally started finding consistency, um uh end of 2017, like mid-2018, it was like really like I I hadn't blown up an account in like six months. I'd like, you know, I'd build up, you know, up 50, and then I'm back down to like where I started type of thing, and then um 2018 uh was when I really started taking uh journaling and like and you know, taking my my performance and metrics like really seriously, like everything outside of the market seriously, if that makes sense.
Yes.
Um, I started working on my head a lot more, um, in terms of like, you know, I would write down not just, you know, my entries and exits in my journal anymore. It was more of like, okay, like how did I feel when I entered this, and and that was really like a big when I started to like take that mental approach versus just like I just need to be in the chair approach, um, things started to change really right like I I just like I not only like do because like sitting in the chair you learn the patterns on the screen, right? But like you're not learning the patterns in your head uh or the the patterns of your example.
So for instance, like uh in my when I first started journaling, I would just write like, oh, I panic sold, oh stop, and I would beat myself up, you know, like your piece of [ __ ], you know, you learn, you know, not to sell, you know, until your target hits or whatever. Um, but then I started breaking it down. It's like, okay, like what what was like what was I thinking beforehand? It's like, oh, I was thinking like, okay, this is that high of day, this other thing is running, and so like the, you know, same sector, um, and started trying to like piece things together, and it's like, oh, I got in this like for completely the wrong reasons, right? I think I'm working towards, you know, I think I'm uh applying my process, but really my process is based on like my emotional decision-making and not like a, you know, a uh the process itself, if that makes sense.
No, it does. And and what's very interesting is that so like when you start to see more pro more progress or yeah, more progress towards your trading where you were no longer blowing up, you were just like kind of making some maybe coming back down a little bit, kind of like treading water if you will, and then when you took trading journaling more seriously on your mindset, when you start to see like more uh faster growth, right? What exactly besides what you were feeling before you got in the trade where you actually tried? Because I know a lot of people are probably hearing you say this, and they're probably like, "Well, I've blown up five accounts; I track my trades, but what do you mean when you when you journal specifically?" Can you give me an example from today, like a trade you took, and like what are you like in terms of just how you journal from beginning to end?
Yeah, so the the number one thing actually what I do, like I call it a report card, right? And yeah, I'm sure you know from Bella Fury his his report card thing, and that's yet another thing that I've taken from another experienced trader, um, than just like built into my own, and so I give myself a daily score, just an overall score, and then an individual score on each trade.
Okay.
And and so it's just A, B, C, D, F, or like regular grades, right?
Okay.
And uh, and then I I, you know, I have all like the metric stuff on TradingView and whatnot, so I I this is strictly for what what what went on with me, okay? Um, and it starts off with, you know, my daily routine. Did I follow my daily routine? Were there um, you know, where were there any any parts of my routine that I decided to skip today?
Um, what is that? What do you mean your daily routine?
So my daily routine just is basically I just wake up, you know, go downstairs, you know, play with my cat, drink some coffee, and then uh I I meditate.
And that's big, brother.
Yeah, yeah. So so meditation was another thing that um I I included on top of journaling that like really just like helped me like kind of get back on that trajectory of like just consistency and profitability, um, and so um I I would definitely say oh a lot of, you know, my success to just like being able to slow down, meditate, and um and imagery, really like focusing on like so like that's part of my um
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my routine. I don't know if you've read the newest Market Wizards book, but there's it's highly it okay. Um, Jack Schwager picked some amazing futures traders in the beginning of that book that um talk about what, you know, imagery and and meditation, and uh that really solidified it for me like um recently in terms of like using imagery with my trading assistants.
What do you mean?
So I sit down in the morning, I do just a quick couple-minute meditation, just clear my head. It's just some breathing techniques, and then I I kind of scan the market, and then I kind of walk away from my desk and just imagine like every scenario possible, right? What if what if I get jammed up at the open, right? I've been jammed up before.
Yeah, true.
Right? Um, and so like it's it's just I'm emotionally preparing myself. I like to think of it as like, you know, just like keeping my heart rate at bay, yeah, almost because like the second that starts to spike like yeah, I know I know like I'm I'm out of my I'm out of my comfort zone.
Um, and so it's just listening to yourself, man.
Yeah, and uh what you're doing, I'm starting to wrap, but what you're doing is is so I'm I just started doing it's funny you bring up the whole idea of visualization because I just started adding that to my meditation, but not in this way, but I love it you do it this way because now I want to try it because what you're doing is you're you're visualizing all these scenarios because they all have happened at one point in our life.
Yeah, and then I'm sure you're I interrupt you because I'm not trying to be rude, but you you said I'm sure you're also visualizing how you're going to react to when that happens, right? So that when it does happen, you're not reacting anymore out of emotion because you planned it out.
I never want to be surprised. I love it. Like if you're listening to this, like you probably don't know how important that is what he just said, but you need to go rewind and listen to it again because that right there unless you if you haven't been training for over like a year, you're probably like that doesn't matter, but if you've been training for more than a year, you know like I need to try this.
Yeah, you definitely try it.
Yeah.
Go ahead.
No, it's I think it's it's really important. It's something that's uh not only, you know, I I talk about like having, you know, that addictive personality and like that, you know, having so much focus on one thing can like create imbalances in your life, and having having meditation and breathing and and just in and walking yourself through your day or or your trades in your head before it all goes down is like is is such a good way to like keep yourself even keeled.
Yes.
Right? Um, I I never want to get in a position where I think I'm too good or I'm not good enough, right? Um, like I I'm I just want to be a participant of the market and and and the
Meditation just allows me to recognize that every single morning. Because sometimes I can get twisted if I'm on a good run. Yes, um, you know, I can think like I know more than I do. And then, if you know, if the market's slow or just not, you know, I'm just not, you know, really like, you know, hitting the trades I should be, or you know, whatever. Um, you know, I can think like, you know, maybe I've lost it; I don't have an edge, which is like such a dangerous road to go down. Like you, like losing confidence.
Yeah, losing confidence in yourself is one of the worst things you can do as a trader, right? Um, as you know, I'm sure. Yes. And so it's, uh, I look at every day as like a search and destroy mission of my trading faults, right, of my emotional faults, right. And so like I'm, I'm—that's all meditation is doing for me—is like looking for those like potential faults constantly. Like, um, Mark Douglas—I don't know if you know—Trading in the Zone.
Yeah, his principles; he talks about constantly monitoring your susceptibility to make mistakes, right? Yes. And if you can do that, like you can avoid mistakes, right? Um, and so, or avoid, you know, avoid big ones. Yes. And so, um, you're always going to make mistakes, but it's, uh, it's just another tool in the toolbox that I've—and and it helps me in life, too. And yeah, I interrupted you earlier, which—but I want you to continue on the, uh—so you, you medi—so you meditate, then you look at the charts, and you meditate and visualize what happens. So is that the routine that you're grading yourself in your journal? Is that what you mean essentially? And so, and then step by step is like, you know, was what did I take this trade on based on, you know, impulse? Was it emotional? And that's exactly what I'm grading it on, not by P&L. Okay. Um, P&L is just P&L. Okay. Um, that's just, you know, that I can look at that on my on my equity curve if I want to. Um, but you know, I have to create, you know, an emotional curve to look at, right? Like, you know, and I always want to try and stay on like an emotional baseline; I never want to get too far up or down. Um, if that makes sense. It's just, uh, you know, I want to create the best, uh, like vehicle for my for myself, you know, uh, to trade it based off of a buddy of mine, his name Scott; he's been trading for like, I don't know, 30 years. It surprises me that when I talked to him, he—like I just had a phenomenal day yesterday, so I'm not gonna—I'm gonna downsize today—and he'll tell me that, and he's been trading forever, but he knows himself.
Yeah, and he'll be like, yeah, I, I downsize a lot because, I mean, I don't really need to force it; I can tell I'm happy and excited, right? So I may trade different. Yeah. And when you tell yourself that you're not going to force it, then, like, you know, and a good opportunity comes in, it just naturally happens, you know, versus like thinking like, oh, I just killed it yesterday; I better kill it today. People don't get that, right? You just hit it on the head because so many people are going to do a good trade—absolutely—and then see everything as the next best trade.
Yeah, yeah, it's the—and and that, that's back to where, you know, you know, that finding those those faults in yourself and just—and you know, not just not just your your execution, but like what, what's deeper, what's going on with you, like, you know, you had bad execution, but, um, you have a process, right? And so like if you have a process, but your execution's off, obviously you have to dig deeper into yourself and, um, and you know, most of you, my, you know, my trading faults are going to come from in here, and so I have to figure that out before anything else. So I want to ask you this because I know I don't want to keep you too long, but I do, I do want to get into some of these things. So you joined Seven Points, right?
Yeah, September 2019. And does anything change? Like, do you notice anything in yourself that changes once you join Seven Points? Is it anything different? So back to that what I was talking about earlier about like being around people and being like motivated by other people's discipline and stuff, um, I knew I wanted to get with the firm, uh, kind of in the beginning of 2019. Uh, I had applied to SMB a couple times; it got denied a couple times. Um, and then, you know, I had reached out to Mike, and that, that was a real long process, but, um, I knew if I could get around guys that had been doing it for a long time and like be like physically around them and like—and just learn that from them and be able to, you know, just pick their brains whenever I wanted, that I knew if I could do that, I could set myself on and put myself on the, you know, on a path to the next level. Yes. Um, and so 2009—beginning of 2019—um, I decided I was like, okay, this is what I want to do; like I'm gonna, like I'm gonna go all in because I knew I had to; I couldn't be one foot in and, you know, one foot in the personal training thing anymore; it just wasn't gonna work. So, um, I knew that I started applying. Um, I started just making sure I was tracking every single thing so that I had, you know, data to show and everything, and, um, about summer hits, and I, uh, the house I was living in—and I was living in California at the time—and, um, I was living with a buddy, and he was gonna sell the house, and so I was like, you know what, I'm gonna quit my job; I'm gonna move to Arizona, live with my parents for a summer and just try and just get hired somewhere. And uh, so I, I moved in with my parents when I was, you know, 27 years old, which is a humbling experience, but I just knew that this is what I wanted to do, and this was like the, the where I wanted to be, um, or what I wanted to work towards. And so I, I had seen my cats actually post on Twitter one time, like, hey, we're hiring for the New York office, and I was like, I'll [ __ ] move anywhere. Yeah, I'll just, I'll do whatever it takes; I just quit my job; I'm leaving my parents' house; I'll go wherever. And so, uh, I messaged him and kind of got the cold shoulder a little bit, like, it looks like you're on the right path, but you know, it's training, you know, small, you know, um, [Music], and he was like, why don't you just message me, uh, every week, you know, stay in touch with me. And that was like my golden ticket; I was like, oh, you want me to stay in touch with you? And that was—he was probably a mistake for him because every Friday for the longest time I would email him an update on my week, just charts, uh, full breakdown of like what I did, and he probably didn't read a lot of them, or I don't know if he read any of them, but, um, one day I decided I was like, screw it, I'm just gonna go get my SIE; I studied for that and sent that to him, and he was like, oh, that—he saw that and it was like, okay, I mean, this kid is—yeah, yeah, all right. And, uh, he set up a phone call with Nico, and, um, it wasn't—I'll to be honest, that interview didn't go the greatest because it sounded like he had already hired people, and like I was, I was like one out of a ton of people that applied. Yeah. Um, but last minute, they, they took me in, um, you know, right before like the San Diego office opened. So, um, it was—I was—that was, uh, that was—and I, it sounds silly, but that was like actually a very emotional point in my life because I was like, I had like, I had accomplished something that like I was working so hard for. Yes. Um, and it was really just to get, you know, just to get my foot in the door. Yeah. And that's all I, I knew that's all I needed to do.
So you got your foot in the door. I got my foot in the door, and then, um, you know, I remember this was probably around January 2020. Uh, Stan Krishna, yep, and a couple other other guys, Riley, who's, uh, another manager at Seven Points, um, who I, you know, I've all been able to become close with, but, um, you know, I got to trade with them, you know, around them in San Diego together, and I remember like the first day I was sitting next to Stan, I had like my best day ever. And then from there it was just like, you know, me and him were sitting next to each other, and we were trading the same stock, and he's got like 10 times the size that I've got, and I'm like—and I'm thinking in my head, I'm like, oh, like I just, I just need to add a little bit more, right? And like—and like—and then, you know, I had my best day that day, and it just like it slowly started to click; I'm like, okay, like the opportunity, like I got, I, I came here for a reason, right? And that, that is to excel. And so like I'm going to start, like I have the consistency; I have these numbers behind me; like I just need to like show that I have the balls, yeah, right? And like—and show that like, you know, I, I'm, I'm, I, I have what it takes to, to excel in this, in this very, um, fleeting business, right? Um, you know, I posted something the other day about, uh, from one of the Market Wizards books, uh, Paul Tudor Jones talks about, he says like, uh, you know, I'm, I'm very aware of how ephemeral the, you know, success is in this business, right? Is how fleeting it can be, right? And so, um, being around all these guys who've been doing it for so long and and seeing what they do was just like such a boost for me, like knowing like, okay, like this can work, like—and I can do this for a long time, as long as, like as long as I, like as I pick up—continue to like follow the people that have done it before me. Yes, right. Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. And and everyone who's watching, if you're like, who's Krishna, who's Stan, they've been on the show before; go check that episode out; we'll have links below. Great guys, great traders. But look, man, I'm gonna have to bring you back on the show because—absolutely—because I can already tell like we're just scratching the surface right now, and I'm just like, no, no, no, no, there's so much more, right? Yeah. But let me ask you a couple, two more questions, and we'll wrap this up, right? If knowing what you know right now, okay, let's say you can go back to 2018. [Music] That was, I think, if I'm correct, if I remember correctly, that's when you were kind of finding some success, but kind of treading water, but no longer blowing up, right?
Right. Yeah. But let's just say there was no such thing as a prop firm; there was no—but you could go back now with that experience that you have currently and go give yourself some advice; what would you tell yourself to help you get to that next level if there was no other door? Because there's some people out there who might not have a door, right? They might not have that option. Yeah. And, uh, I think, you know, it's trading is a funny thing because it's, you know, it's you, you don't need a firm; you don't need, uh, all those things. Um, I just—it's just the, the path that I had decided to go down, but if I were to tell myself something back then that I know now is, go slow, and anything can happen. Um, I think—well, one of like, one, one of the biggest like attitude shifts I had was, you know, um, I mentioned Trading in the Zone earlier; that was a big pivotal moment in, in of learning in, in my trading career, but, um, adopting the attitude like that anything can happen, good or bad, right? And so like you just need to be make yourself available, right? And as long as like you continue to make yourself available and and and and put in all the all the work outside of those market hours, like you're going to make it work. And and like just believe in yourself; like if, if you can, like if you can, like invest like your—because you have you have a certain amount of energy every day; you have a certain amount of belief every day; if you can invest all of that into you and and what's in front of you, um, there's there's no way you fail, right? Over time. And so it's just, um, I think, you know, having that, that, uh, inner, inner belief and and just, okay, you know what's been your biggest—and you could be recent—well, what's been like your biggest like challenge that when you finally got over, really stepped it up a notch for you, you know what I'm saying? Like, you could be—when you were consistent, there was just something that was kind of not whole; you didn't know how bad it was holding you back until you overcome it, you know what I'm saying? Uh, what could have been earlier? I think the number—I think the number one thing is like is quieting the noise for me. Like, I, I used to, I used to fall for, you know, all the hype, social, whatever, you know, um, you know, and and just—and I would, I would allow price action to to get me excited and and the the second I, I started slowing down and kind of like taking a step back and getting like a bird's-eye perspective of like, okay, like this is, this is how I respond naturally to, to, you know, this market information; like maybe I need to take a step back and like think before I, I jump in, right? Maybe I nibble, right? And and see how it goes. And like, so like the idea of scaling in and scaling out, the, you know, those, those little things and and how you execute it and you know what percentages you put where, um, really like, really like allow you to like kind of like, uh, you know, pick like decide like what's working, what's not, if that makes sense. Like, like sift through all of the [ __ ] and not only like in, you know, outside of the market, but like that, that's in your head as well. Gotcha. Gotcha. Now, so slowing things down, I couldn't agree more. And I mean, I'm nowhere near you. Okay. What I will say is that like meditation has helped me a lot, and it's—I have a personality; I get—I can get very emotional, right? And so that meditation has helped me recognize that. And here's the thing about meditation, I'm sure you agree, but like it doesn't get rid of it; it's just more of like I can see it now happening, and then now I can like say, okay, I'm, I can, I'm frustrated; I can make a decision, you know, instead of just letting it take over.
Yeah, I mean, we're humans, and like I don't think you ever become an emotionless robot. Yeah. Um, I, I mean, there are times where I'll, you know, I'll be like, you know, I'll get, you know, yeah, fist, you know, I'll do the old tiger swing; I'm like, yes, you know. But, um, the how fast you, you come back to that emotional baseline is like so important, you know. I, you know, it's, um, I, I can remember, you know, when I, when I first, I made my first like ten thousand dollar day, yeah, um, you know, back in the day, and like I was like, I was also, I was all jazzed up, and I would call, you know, my dad and, you know, call everyone and like letting the world know. Um, and now it's, it's just, you know, it's just another day at work, right? And so like it doesn't matter necessarily the outcome anymore; it's just, you know, again, like making myself available and taking what I can, right? And and just—and not letting it affect the rest of my day, right? Um, one of the, one of the biggest things I've learned, you know, getting married and and, uh, you know, being in a relationship and stuff is like you can't, you can't carry that stuff with you, and the the more you do, the the more detriment it is to your next day, right? Yes. Um, and so, uh, I think, uh, you know, all those things we touched on with, with meditation and in imagery helped that. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Trevor, I appreciate you being here, man. I want you to do me a solid; let people know like if they want to find you, where they can find you or get information. Yeah, I'm just on Twitter, uh, at killert_, um, and that's basically all I use. Cool. Cool. So again, everyone check him out; I'll have a link to his Twitter below. And again, Trevor, thank you so much, man, for sharing some of your wisdom. Brothers. Absolutely. It was great having you being here. Thanks, man.