The passion this episode's guest has for succeeding as a trader is hard to rival. Ted Williams ("BigT") is a member of the 'early birds' group in the chat room as I've coined it - meaning, you can routinely find him in the chat room every morning before 6 am est. His story paints a true picture of how trading is an ongoing journey. After originally turning $300 into $20,000 on a single penny stock, BigT has continued to evolve as a trader in his quest to meeting his personal goals. Get ready to hear some of the best quotes I've heard yet from any guest. In fact, his advice he gives at the end of the podcast is priceless, and it is only two words. Notes: Ted first became interested in the markets as a hobby. His wife had many hobbies and he wanted to find something he could devote a good amount of time to. Before he learned how to trade options, BigT was trading penny stocks and he made an absolute killing on one of his trades. Ted then moved fully to the options market based on the vast amount of volume that exists compared to the penny stock world. He experimented with some ‘trading robots’ and quickly realized they were nothing more than a few glorified indicators. That’s when he decided to form his own trading plan. After trying advanced options strategies, Ted decided to focus strictly on directional plays and found much better success taking stocks both long and short. With time, experience, and education, BigT now is able to completely trust the chart and tune out his emotions. Quotes: “My wife had lots of hobbies and I had none. I had some extra money, started studying and in 2011 I made my first purchase.” tweet this quote “I turned a little over $300 into 20-something thousand dollars. It took like a year and a half but I was in it.” tweet this quote “I thought I was good. I thought I had the gift and could do that over and over again. In the end, it was fools gold.” tweet this quote “Because the money was so easy with NTEK, it became Monopoly money. It wasn’t real to me. I didn’t treat it with respect.” tweet this quote “When I wake up in the morning I’m looking at charts again. Am I green every day? No because I still fight with emotion.” tweet this quote “Before, when I’d be down, I’d almost have to see a grief counselor. Now, I see where I messed up and go onto the next trade.” tweet this quote Links: The Trading Freedom Pathway Twitter: tmw61165