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3 Key Books You Should Read ASAP

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 10/5/2021 6 min read

As you might know, I’m a BIG believer in the thinking that studying pays off in the long run…that’s why I chose the image of my best-selling book, An American Hedge Fund (which you can download HERE for FREE), surrounded by money for this post.

I LOVE reading and studying excessively, as you can improve your future by studying the past and present and being better prepared than your competition, since reading and studying is so time consuming and very few people do enough of it.

It’s crazy that my newest 11-hour Trader Checklist guide is 100% free, but, because it’s 11 hours long, only a few hundred people have actually bothered watching it all, despite the great reviews from people who have seen it.

So, don’t be lazy if you want success!

As I outlined in today’s video lesson:

…it’s not enough to simply study a lot, as you can spend your whole life studying everything and not really zeroing in on the stuff that actually matters and can change your life, i.e. studying the entire industry of finance, instead of just the best stock market patterns and rules to help you become my next millionaire trading challenge student.

Your mindset and perspective are HUGELY important.  And, to help you get on the right track, here are 3 little-known books that I think you need to read ASAP.

NONE of them deal with the stock market, specifically, but they all help you better understand the world in which we live and, more importantly, they each help you think outside the box, to get you understanding what’s really working now in this VERY-fast changing world to which far too many people fail to adapt.

Below, I share 3 specific books and links to their Kindle editions, as you really should go all digital by now.  Paper books are nice, but inefficient.  It’s time to adapt to the new world/digital revolution:

Crucial Book #1: Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World Kindle Edition

3 Key Books You Should Read ASAP

This is a fascinating look at some of the most successful and surprising companies that are taking advantage of this new digital world/technology revolution.  When I read it, I cannot tell you how many “aha” moments I had.  It was seriously that eye-opening.

It’s still surprising when I talk to people, especially older people, who just can’t come to grips with the new digital economy and what’s possible.  This book will help you adjust and get you thinking differently than past generations who are stuck in their old-world thinking that not-so-surprisingly isn’t having much success these days.

Crucial Book #2: Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum

3 Key Books You Should Read ASAP

This book just came out and it’s all about how to think differently than the crowd to get ahead faster than everyone else. I can really relate to it, since I chose to major in Philosophy in college, despite my interests and friends who were all focused on business and finance.  I really rounded my personality and strengths out, by focusing on subject matter that I wasn’t comfortable with.

“Hustle” is an often used term about working hard and going the extra mile to achieve your goals.  But, this book will help teach you how to do that in a more efficient, less time-consuming way.  Your goals can be reached faster and in surprising ways, if you take the time to think about them differently.

I’ve heard too many stories of people who think they “hustle,” since they work 2 or even 3 dead-end jobs while they congratulate themselves on their work ethic, I shake my head and tell them about my disapproval, because working hard for someone else, or on projects and jobs that aren’t scalable or even enjoyable, is a waste of your precious life.

That’s easy for me to say, since I’m a multi-millionaire.  But, like the stories told in this book, I wasn’t always rich and successful.  I got here by thinking differently and acting VERY outside-the-box, when I saw opportunities that most people also saw, but ignored.

Crucial Book #3: The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

3 Key Books You Should Read ASAP

This book offers a fascinating look into the history of many industries that we take for granted these days, like computers, radio, Hollywood and the internet.

It’s CRAZY how history repeats itself, time and again and every new generation has people and companies that are obsessed with either power, money, control.  Yet, others are focused on freedom, innovation and a utopian society.

Guess which one wins, more times than not?

It’s sad, but that’s our reality and it’s VERY important that you recognize this trend, so you don’t choose the wrong side, even if you want to make the world a better place, too…as I think most of us do.

Studying the past REALLY helps you to understand the world and its limitations and possibilities, better so, even though this book is by far the longest read of these 3, I breezed through it.  I was determined to learn about the origins of so many business empires and industries and how they have or have not changed over the past few decades.


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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity. Read More

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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”