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Trading Psychology

Can Trading Really Be Stress-Free?

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 2/24/2023 5 min read

Near the end of each month, I like to host a live all-day event called the Timothy Sykes Trading Mastery. 

It’s an opportunity for my students to watch me trade live, ask questions in chat, hear my play-by-play thoughts on the stock market and what’s in play.

That’s me on the left with one of my latest millionaire students, Bryce Tuohey, live streaming during Friday’s market bloodbath. 

It’s a real eye-opener for some folks.

You see, as much as I’m known for my trading prowess, becoming a self-made millionaire by 21, and mentoring 32 of my students into millionaire status…

I’m not one of those day-trading bros.

In fact, I think most traders who sit around their screens all day punching their keyboards and jumping from one trade to the next trying to scalp for a couple of pennies are miserable.

It’s borderline degenerate gambling, if you ask me.

Not to mention super stressful.

Today I want to talk to you about how I like to play this game.

Not only has it made me lots of money, but it has allowed me to travel the world.

And the beauty is you DON’T:

  • Need a lot of capital
  • Trade all-day to get results
  • Quit your day job to get started

Let me show you how.

Your #1 Focus Until You’re Profitable

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Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter if you start trading with a small or large account. In fact, I think it’s better you start off small because you’ll likely lose money for the first several months or even longer.

My latest millionaire student Bryce Tuohey says starting with a small account was a blessing because he believes if he started larger, he would have blown out his account.

Most newbie traders get obsessed with making money that they forget to focus on the process.

Not Bryce.

There was even a time during his journey when he decided to risk $2 per trade. He wanted to learn the setups and patterns first.

And that’s what I tell everyone…

Study…Study…Study…

People always ask me which one of your videos I should watch. Do you have like five that I can watch that will set me up for success? 

Do you think I made hundreds of training videos over the years for fun?

Watch them all…better yet…watch them all three times.

If you have time to binge-watch Netflix and stupid reels, you should have time to study.

I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. But trading requires skills and knowledge.

Why do you think I don’t trade that much?

Because I know what the best setups are for me…

If you don’t know what to look for and how to trade it, how can you be consistently profitable?

Study hard for your first year…and I believe it will pay dividends in the long run.

What Trading Is and Isn’t

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Television and social media portray trading as something glamorous.

No boss…no ceiling on how much you can earn…you can do it from anywhere.

Those are all amazing perks to trading.

But the actual act of trading is rather boring.

And I think that’s one of the reasons why so many people fail at it.

They’re searching for thrills and excitement.

During my live stream last Friday, Bryce and I more or less did nothing for the first two hours.

We watched the market, noted what was moving, and strategized on potential trades.

Successful traders know that sitting on your hands is one of the most important elements to trading.

This game is all about waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

In 2019 I made $125,000 in trading profits. However, when the market sizzled in 2020 I made $1.19 million.

I didn’t suddenly get better, there were just more opportunities, and I knew how to take advantage of them.

The markets have been pretty slow in 2023, but I see that as a good thing if you’re a new trader because it allows you to identify good setups from bad clearly.

When the markets heat up again, you’ll be ready to pounce.

Things change quickly. That’s why patience is so important during those slower periods. You don’t want to hesitate when there’s a greater opportunity because you’re in a hole and worried about adding to your losses.

Many day trading Bros on social media are trying to glamourize trading. Don’t fall into that trap.

More Breaking News

Your goal should be to make money, not to stuff your broker’s pockets from your excessive trading commissions.

Last Word

© Millionaire Media, LLC

When I first got into trading, I didn’t have a mentor to teach me the ropes. But you have an option. If you’re serious about trading and aspire to do great things, click this link to see if I can help you.


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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

* 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”