One of the more challenging parts of being a trader is figuring out the difference between good goals and bad goals. Unfortunately, this is not always a black-and-white situation where a goal is blatantly bad (or good). If you wonder why day trading failure rates are so high, in my opinion, I would say “goal setting” is one of those core reasons. I realize this sounds a bit backwards. Most of us growing up are taught to set goals, strive for goals, and of course… never give up until the goal is achieved! In so many areas of life, this is a fantastic attitude that will produce great results. In the world of trading however, the lines get blurred in a hurry. In this episode I want to talk through a goal that I think does more harm than good.

As I’ve now been live streaming for almost two months now, I’ve gathered many more real time interactions to my “experience database”. Over the years I’ve interacted with plenty of people through customer service emails, YouTube comments, and people joining my communities. There’s something a bit more unique about the live stream as I can, in a sense, have a real time conversation with them. Through this, I’ve noticed a massive problem with traders of all experience levels. I have quickly begun to learn that regardless of the experience level, people do not understand the importance of “categories”. It may seem like a moot point, but it 100% is not! If the person you are interacting with begins to make assumptions,  you could be getting advice that is financially dangerous or just sending you down a pathway of wasted time. This is nothing complicated to implement, but it is certainly something you need to be doing as you network within the world of the financial markets. Let’s discuss…

I truly hope after listening to this episode you are a bit angry at me because you feel as though I’ve wasted your time. I hope you are thinking the whole time, “Come on Clay! Really? You really needed to clarify this for me?!?!”. If this is indeed the case, I am so relieved and will have a bit more peace in my rest. Because, as you’re about to see, what you may find super obvious is… unfortunately for some…. Not obvious. So in my defense, please cut me a little slack and graciousness as I apparently need to continue to do pieces of content like this to notify the public and those who are beginners of some realities. Is this a problem of pure greed or a problem of total ignorance? I’m not sure. I’ll let you be the judge of that, but for my own sanity’s sake, I wanted to do another podcast episode addressing the issue and trying to stop people from being a sucker!

It’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts on this issue and organize them in a coherent manner. To be fair, maybe they are still all over the place and none of what I am going to talk about will make sense; however, I’m pretty sure it will! In the spirit of respecting your time, if you are a swing trader or an investor, PAM’SS PLANT is not for you. I suppose if you are one of those people who just enjoys all things money and income streams, you may still find this interesting. If you are someone who has ambitions to be a day trader, or is struggling to find a groove within the world of day trading, PAM’SS PLANT is something I believe will offer you a whole lot of value and opportunity. Let me walk you through PAM’SS PLANT and I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you believe it could offer value to you and your goals!

I want to be a full time day trader! I’ve heard this said time and time again over the years. It’s a super ambitious goal and one that I can’t fault people for having. In the spirit of being brutally upfront: it’s a TERRIBLE goal. Please! Before you go kicking me to the curb as some kind of hater or a person trying to send out negative vibes, hear me out! It won’t take long, but if you give me a chance, I’ll explain why this is a terrible goal and one that I would call borderline impossible. Am I saying you should stop day trading or not even try? Absolutely not! I do believe the proper context needs to be put into place so you can approach this craft in the wisest way possible. If you’re still reading right now, I assume that means you are going to at least give me a chance to explain myself, so on that note, let’s get to it!

This is more a public service announcement than anything else, but I want you to all be aware that I have begun live streaming during the lunchtime portion of the day. This is free and open to everyone and anyone. You don’t need to be a premium member and you don’t even need to be a subscriber to my YouTube channel (but if you’re not… come on!!!). What’s the live stream all about? What can you expect? I want to take a few brief moments and share with you some details so you can determine whether or not it is something you’d be interested in. Let’s get to it!

I started claytrader.com back in 2013, so yeah, I’ve been asked quite a few questions over the years. The question that has got to be one of the most popular is this: “Hey Clay, what is the best indicator?” or, slightly varied, “what is your favorite indicator?”. While I can’t say there is anything wrong with this question per-se, it does open the doors to some potentially very faulty ways of thinking about the market. If you are coming into this episode looking for a Holy Grail, then it’s not what you’ll get; HOWEVER… YOU are the exact person who needs to be listening to this! Even if you aren’t looking for the Holy Grail, I would argue it’s still worth listening to just to ensure you don’t have any blind spots within your approach and understanding of trading and how technical charts work. Let’s get to it!

Listen. I've lost count of how many stocks I have shorted over the years. It is a whole lot! As much as it pains me to say it (as it reveals a mistake on my part), I have wasted soooo much time over the years with shorting stocks. To be fair, when I first got started the abundance of new approaches to the market didn't exist; however, I stuck with shorting stocks way longer than I ever should have! What I should have been doing is something only slightly different, but way more time efficient! Let’s discuss and see if it is something that can help save you from wasting times and experiencing headaches!

Let me say this upfront. I have no problem if you don't like prop firms and believe there to be better ways of going about growing as a trader. With that being said, I've seen some pretty bad critiques of prop firms that I would argue are arrived upon with logic filled with blind spots. While I'm not going to argue for prop firms per-se, I do want to make sure you, as a listener, are thinking through these choices with a full picture and understanding. I do admit, this critique is on the tricky side given the trueness of the critique. Perhaps you are now thinking, "Wait Clay... how can a "true" critique be "bad"???". A more than fair question, and that's what I want to address! Let's get to it.

In this episode, to those of you who are beginners and just getting started in the world of day trading, I want to introduce you to someone you will, without doubt, experience in your day trader journey. Who do I need to introduce you to? The dirty dog! Over my years of coaching other traders and running the YouTube channel, I’ve found that while it may not be the most popular way to go about growing an audience, setting expectations in line with reality is the best way to give someone a chance at success. If you show up in the market expecting something that is not reality… when “the thing” happens to you, you’ll be caught off guard and not know what to think or do. When this occurs, the self-doubt arises which can lead to uncertainty and unnecessary changes to strategies and overall market approaches. The fact of the matter is, no strategy can avoid the dirty dog and that’s exactly why I want you to meet the dirty dog as soon as possible as a beginner. Let’s get to it!