The Stock Trading Reality Podcast

I had a question on a YouTube video and I wanted to address it via a podcast episode. At the core, it’s a question of “which is better? Stocks or options?”. While some of you may already be familiar with the general mechanics of stocks and options, I want to step out of the world of theory and into the world of reality. I recently had a trade that helps illustrate the advantage of one asset class over the other. Books certainly have their place in learning, but when it comes to the world of trading, I’d argue using real case studies carry a whole lot more weight. Let’s talk about stocks and option via a real life situation!

Maybe you’re not aware, but we just concluded this thing we call a presidential election. This has lots of people talking and speculating and all of the above. I want to try and simplify it all in a very straight-forward manner for us as traders. I’ve been trading through several presidents at this point in my life, so while that does not make me correct about anything, it at least gives me a bit of real life experience I can build from. Let’s get to it!

It was recently released that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is thinking of moving to a format where the stock market is open 22 hours a day. This is a huge event, assuming it happens. With that being said, I want to give my thoughts and cover a few details to provide a bit of clarity and consideration to the situation. Let’s get to it!

If you aren’t aware, let me tell you a secret: day trading is HARD! Because of this fact, we should be constantly on the lookout for any kind of tool that can assist us in our journey. I don’t mean any kind of magical indicators or trading bots, but a tool that is designed to provide an additional angle to your thought process. In other words, you still need to be able to think for yourself. Anyone proclaiming a tool that does your thinking for you, run the other way! This tool though is very powerful and it is one you should highly consider arming yourself with. Let’s get to it!

The rich just keep getting richer. In fact, there’s an article out saying Elon Musk is on pace to become the first trillionaire relatively soon! This is a very hot topic for some, understandably so. How can someone who, already, a bunch of money just continue to see that amount grow and grow. How is that right? How does that happen? The point of this episode is not to convince you of anything, but rather, to offer an explanation and answer to those people who are bothered by this situation.

I assume you know this, but let me quickly make sure: trading is stressful. If you think you can walk into the world of trading and feel zero stress, I have some ocean front property in Iowa I would love to sell you! Due to this fact, any time “stress” in mentioned in the world from any context, I always do my best to listen. If I can learn something new about stress, the logic would follow that I could perhaps deal with it that much better within my trading. I came across an article about Mark Cuban and what he finds valuable within his employees. He mentioned a specific skill that I would say is at the forefront of trading success. There’s also a couple other interesting data points about stress that I believe will serve as a reminder to use all, whether beginner trader or veteran. Let’s get to it!

When you make an investment of any kind, what would be considered a ‘good’ return? This is a more than valid question. We’ve worked hard for our money and want to be sure we’re not being unwise with it. I’ve discovered that many beginners really have no idea what a good return on investment would be, which makes sense. The problem with this logical ignorance is you have no baseline to judge claims against. When you don’t have a baseline, you can set yourself up for potential scams. Unfortunately, I’ve seen people getting scammed over and over again due to some very crazy claims. To be fair though, if you don’t have a baseline, you aren’t going to be able to identify something as ‘crazy’ or not. Let’s dig in a bit deeper.

One of the best moves you can make as a trader is to bust your own bubble! What do I mean? The more you can separate yourself from your personal strategy, the better your personal strategy can become. I understand that may not make a whole lot of sense, but let me explain in this episode! Thanks for a back-and-forth with someone on YouTube, it prompted the idea as the person I was dealing with was, clearly, trapped in their own bubble. Start bursting bubbles and watch your flexibility as a trader explode!

The claim is this, “we both did the “right” things…” This comes from an article I read about the real estate market; however, it opens the door to something I’ve seen time and time again in the world of trading. So much of trading (and most other things) has to do with the correct perspective. This is where the trickiness comes into play because in order to demonstrate the correct perspective to others, you risk coming across as a jerk and as being mean. I know… I know… the saying has been said a million times and you probably know what I’ll be saying next, the truth hurts. I have been told by people they are “doing the right things” within their trading, but are they? How can they or myself know? In all actuality, it’s quite easy… let’s discuss.

Let’s talk about your chances of becoming wealthy. To clarify, I don’t mean “wealth” as having a garage full of exotic cars or beach side mansions around the world. By “wealth” I mean enough money to live at an above average standard of living. What are the odds you’ll be able to accomplish such a goal? I want to give you a challenge, or more accurately, a test. Another way we could look at this is Step 1 in proving to yourself that you can realistically become wealthy. If you are not able to complete this challenge, then sorry to say, but I’m not liking your chances of getting wealthy. The Wealth Test is nothing complicated; however, if will force you into focusing on various dynamics that all wealth builders need to consider. Let’s go!