A Controversial Problem That Too Many Of My Students Have

I recently wrote a blog post entitled “This Is A Big Problem,” in which I talked about how fear holds too many of my students back from achieving their full potential. While education, practice and experience all help solve that problem over time, it does take time and too many people give up along the way.
Download the key points of this post as PDF.
Today I want to expose another big problem I see — which really reared its ugly head in response to my charity’s latest $25,000 donation:**
…while I was trying to support one of my favorite cities, Las Vegas, in response to this tragic event in which several of my students died or were injured, my idea to try to lessen gun violence provoked some real nastiness in the comments from people who are very much pro-guns who were quick to tell me they would unfollow me and report my account too…both of which are a sad commentary on the state of our nation in which someone having a different viewpoint from you automatically offends people, and in some extreme cases, makes the people with two differing views enemies.
Now, I don’t want this blog post to get political (at all), but no matter what you believe, I think we ALL want there to be less violence in the world and while it’s going to be a difficult battle with no clear solution in sight, one thing I know we need is open discussion…hence why I just made this followup video:**
…and the reaction to that new video is significantly more positive and constructive mainly because when given the “okay” to debate differing views in a positive and useful manner, my students really get into it with each other and so far there’s been VERY few hateful/negative messages posted which is in sharp contrast to my Instagram video posted above.
Now, one reason might be because Youtube allows me a longer video time of several minutes as opposed to Instagram’s strict 60-second cutoff time so I could explain my position more thoroughly, or you might conclude that since I have 1+ million followers on Instagram vs roughly 200,000 on Youtube, there’s bound to be more negativity with the bigger audience, but I like to think of this event as a good example of how to think and behave vs how not to.
I’m curious to hear your own thoughts in the comment section of this blog post too as I welcome ALL feedback, just try to make it constructive and not rude (as tough as it is for some of you with strong opinions on this matter!)
And since I’ve traveled extensively to over 100+ countries the past few years, talking with people of SO many different backgrounds, I can tell you that we’re all a lot more alike with far more similar values than most of us realize and the main problem we have is we don’t communicate openly enough with each other and we let our emotions dictate our responses.
And while this is a political/social debate, how to behave, communicate and think vs how not to also applies to the stock market — I see FAR too many Trading Challenge students and non-students alike being narrow-minded in their strategies and approaches and they miss out on considering new ways of trading that could help them profit more often.
For example, if you watched this interview with one of my newest six-figure profit trading challenge students:**
…you know that Roland’s dad is a value investor, so he was VERY much against his son getting into penny stock trading.
While I don’t know exactly how it played out between the two of them, Roland ended up joining my Trading Challenge and now he’s turned $4,000 into over $300,000 this year alone (leave a comment below this blog post if you want me to do another interview with Roland since he’s more than doubled his account size since that interview we did just 3 months ago so I’m guessing he has some more lessons to share!).**
Now that he’s been so successful and the stage is set for him to become my next Millionaire Trading Challenge student if he continues working hard and studying a ton, his dad and him joke about their difference in opinion, but I know too many people who listen to their friends and family who base their anti-penny stock feelings on the movie The Wolf Of Wall Street, mistakenly believing all penny stock trading is just about actually believing these piece of crap companies, when in fact nearly all of my top Millionaire Trading Challenge students and I have made millions betting AGAINST these penny stock pump and dumps. ..see my favorite anti-penny stock pump and dump pattern HERE.
The problem with penny stocks isn’t the stocks themselves, it’s the misunderstandings and bitterness that penny stock promoters and their lies create — so it’s actually quite controversial for me to be pro-penny stocks when 99.9% of the world absolutely hates them.
The way that I look at it is like, what if I drove my Ferrari 220 mph in a 35 mph zone and crashed and died, is it the Ferrari’s fault or mine? It’s mine because I broke the speed limit…in this case, it’s not the Ferrari’s fault, it’s my fault…so why hate on the Ferrari?
The same holds true for penny stocks, if you learn and play by the proper speed-signage aka the penny stock rules I outline here, you’ll have a very good penny stock experience…and so you just need to learn those rules as they’re good for you!
In my mind, it’s little different with guns, we just need better rules and laws…and while I’m not a politician, I think there’s substantial room for improvement in the gun laws to reduce the violence we see in our nation today.
But, you tell me what you think in the comments below…seriously, communication and sharing each other’s views help cut through the hate and the BS I see everywhere on ANY controversial topic…whether it’s gun violence, penny stocks, or anything where people have very strong opinions.
Having strong opinions on a subject is not a bad thing, but being unwilling to listen to others’ opinions is…so today’s lesson is just to be more open-minded and respect each other more, along with our differences as it’s this liberty, freedom and ability to debate openly WITHOUT VIOLENCE is what makes our country and society so great in the first place!
Hey Everyone,
As many of you already know I grew up in a middle class family and didn't have many luxuries. But through trading I was able to change my circumstances --not just for me -- but for my parents as well. I now want to help you and thousands of other people from all around the world achieve similar results!
Which is why I've launched my Trading Challenge. I’m extremely determined to create a millionaire trader out of one my students and hopefully it will be you.
So when you get a chance make sure you check it out.
PS: Don’t forget to check out my 30 Day Bootcamp, it will teach you everything you need to know about trading.
Tim, Thank you for helping so many people! Gun safety is very important! Knowledge and learning are important. Discussing different opinions is important. Resolving issues we have in our country…important! We should all be working together.
Hey Tim, I want to start by saying I’m a big fan of your lessons and you’ve helped me a great deal in my process of becoming a penny stock trader. I just became a student of yours about 2 months ago and you’ve helped me tremendously. That being said, although I disagree with your belief of gun control, I have tremendous respect for the fact that you are open to a peaceful debate. Too many people nowadays refuse to even listen to ideas that don’t align perfectly with their own opinions. The reason I disagree with gun control is the amount of gun owners in the US has stayed just about the same over the last 40 years, and the ability of guns available to the public has stayed fairly consistent since then as well, and yet today we see so many more shootings and acts of violence than any other point in our history. I believe the problem lies with mental health. In today’s world, with the internet and social media keeping kids In contact 24/7 being able to say and do pretty much whatever they want, there has been much more stress and anxiety put onto kids growing up. On top of that, the education system has taken out the ability for students to stand up for themselves when being bullied. I’m only 20 years old, and I can tell you from my experience from my high school years, kids really never got into fights or physical altercations (which is obviously a good thing), but the amount of mental/verbal/cyber bullying that occurred would go unanswered as kids have been raised to tell someone else about their problems and have them fix it, yet students are humans too, and one can see where they would be hesitant to tell anyone about being a victim as they could feel embarrassed and it would hurt their pride. I believe this leaves those kids to suffer alone until sadly they are often driven into a state of such pent up anger and sadness they lose their ability to empathize. On top of that, I can’t begin to tell you how many kids I know that would suffer from some sort of depression or mental illness, see a therapist one time about it, and the therapist simply prescribes them with a life of daily mind altering drug use instead of actually trying to build the kid’s mind up again. If we were to focus more on the mental well-being of children (and adults for that matter) instead of simply prescribing drugs to cover it up, I believe there would be much less violence in the world today. The world has changed faster than we have, its time to invest in ourselves to adapt to what we have created. (see what I did there? 😉 lol)
“The way that I look at it’s like, what if I drove my Ferrari 220 mph in a 35 mph zone and crashed it? Is it the Ferrari fault or is it mine” Tim Sykes. That’s the same thing with guns. If someone pulls off a heist or a shooting. Is it the guns fault or the perpetrator’s? If they don’t use a gun, they will find another way. For instance, the bombing in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend. Trying to block or take away guns isn’t going to happen, at least in the states. It all comes down to the persons mindset and what they intend to do. Only they can choose to be responsible or irrational. Aka hunting for food is fine, hunting for sport/profit is wrong. You align with my thinking, aka, the Ferrari example. So it is strange you’re against it. For it’s not the guns responsibility, but the owner. This is just my stance about guns over all. I wouldn’t have argued about your donation. I see that as your money, do with it as you will. You do a lot of great charity work.
Thank you Tim!
Hi Tim,
I am a challenge student of yours and I am very pro guns. I have guns for hunting, self-protection, and I collect rare guns. That being said, I believe gun safety and responsibility is huge. Gun owners must be responsible and keep their guns in a safe place. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen someone post that their guns have been stolen. Most of the time the gun was either not in a safe or it was in their vehicle. If these people were more responsible, there will not be as many guns in criminals hands. I am with on not really knowing a solution.
Also, I would like to see another Roland Wolf interview.
COOL!
you can use the gun safes to keep the guns and dangerous gun likes weapons away from childrens.
🙂
Estonia has concealed carry rights. Czech republic has concealed carry rights. You never hear about mass shootings there. Japan has crazy gun restrictions. They also check and follow many things about the muslims there like their bank accounts and many other things to. No mass shootings there either or terror attacks. Both extreme regulation and the right to bear arms seems to work.
Cool
Tim, I so appreciate your comments. I agree with all you have done to help communities all over the world. Using your God given gifts to make a change for the better. I am so glad to have you and your beliefs as my mentor. You have a heart to want to help people in many nations and many ages. Your donations matter to the people who are victims and victors. I pray that you continue to make a difference and stay strong.
Shalom
🙂
Stand up for what you believe in Tim. Who cares if you miss out on some cash not teaching gun nut conservatives. They have a hard enough time distinguishing hunting riles from assault rifles in this argument. No civilian needs military style weapons in their homes unless they’re planning on fighting the military. To me that sounds like treason and they should have to go to the black market for that. Hand guns, hunting rifles and shotguns are enough for the public and to protect your family if you feel threatened.
Thx
If anything, fear should be the driving catalyst towards driving people to start their businesses when things are not right in their lives. If anything, people should fear working for their narcissist employers for 20 to 30 years and retiring on a can of beans.
Mr. Nestor Borges, is jealous or fake. In any business only 10% are successful. 90% are lazy and choose the 9 to 5pm party on the weekends and work for 10 percenters. This is a proven fact and been going for thousand of years. Knowing that, I’m a dedicated student and I support Timothy Sykes.
Tim, Hello
I must say that I am very concerned with the level of polarization amongst out countries citizens. Often times the extremes of the spectrum can find No way to have an open dialogue. I for one am a firm believer in our 2nd amendment rights because I don’t want to be dependent on the “government” to take care of me or my family in times of dire need. The opposition seems to be focused on the emotional aspects of gun control as opposed to the sheer facts/data of the violence that occurs in our nation. We do not have a gun problem as much as we have a problem with our collective mindset and our extreme desensitization to violence. Look at the movie posters, video games, mainstream news, there are Guns Everywhere and I don’t believe people take their power seriously enough.
I really think the powers from both sides need to come to the table with an understanding that we need a long term solution. 20, 50, 100 years from now we need to agree that there should be safeguards in place to prevent as much gun violence as possible. I think that a child born today should be required some kind of training/education before they are allowed to own a firearm when they are of age. If we were to take an approach like this I think we could get both sides to agree on a logical outcome that benefits our nation.
Ultimately the problem lies in the minds of the criminals, and they will not be obeying the law any time soon it seems….
Current happily married father of four, patriot, former United States Marine, infantry, and a current firefighter paramedic. Thanks for the support Tim S, Tim B and the STT team!!!
hey tim most of your subscribers cancel the membership after a couple of months why? because your strategies dont work,stop your scam your fraud your ponzi scheme
hey tym you are a hoax more than 90% of your students are never profitables,why dont you talk about this on your blog/you only mention gritany,the wolf,duxthe very few profitable, stop your ponzy scheme,you make a living of new subscribers just like maddof
For me as an European it is sometimes pretty weird how the Americans think. I have lived 3 years in the USA and I love the USA a lot but I also think there are so many controversial rules. For example you can’t drink before 21years of age / you can’t walk around with a can of beer… but you can if put it in a bag…. on the other hand you can walk around with a gun ?? WTF?
In Europe we are used to it that nobody can have a gun, and still there are things that happen with illegal guns but much less. So for us European it sounds very very crazy how people can have as many guns as possible without any license or education or something. Any crazy head can just walk into a gun shop and walk out with 10 guns…. In my option it is asking for trouble.
I am not here to say Europe is much better because it is not, I can tell 100 of things that are much better in the USA.
About pennystocking. I do agree you don’t have to blame the system. Hate the player don’t hate the game. I am still confused a lot of times even it is getting better and better I still make stupid mistakes and sometimes want to hate on al those pennystocks but it my fault when I am wrong.
Cheers,
Nothing but love !
Thanks!
And when a 2, 3, 4 years old child unintentionally shots his dad, mom, sibling etc. Would you say it wasn’t the gun, would you call this child a killer? Children in the United States are at far greater risk of unintentional gun death than children in any other developed countries.
Keep up good work Tim. Some of the comments are so immature by saying they will not use your services anymore because of that. Are you here to study how to trade stocks or are you here to make friends with the same point of views, like yours?
And please more videos with Roland and Dux!!
YESSSS!
Thanks for the video Tim! I believe mental health is also a serious issue that also needs to be discussed more often and it isn’t.
Thx
Hey Tim, First off i would just like to say that I am happy and excited to be a trading challenge student. I’ve already gotten through “How to make millions”and “Trading Checklist”. Working on getting through “Trading Tickers” at the moment. Going to be putting in some serious time watching DVD’s and live webinars until i’m comfortable trying myself. Knowledge account first then Monetary account! As far as guns laws i believe it comes down the person and not the gun itself. We need to take a closer look at a person’s mental state and go from there because we have seen both sides of taking guns away and being less restrictive with gun laws and they both seem to not really prevent anything like these shootings we have seen over the years. Don’t let these comments fire you up Tim. Your beliefs on an issue is entirely yours to have.
Thanks!
When a child 2, 3, 4…. years old unintentionally shots his mom, dad, sibling etc, would you say is not the gun…would you call this child a killer? Children in the United States are far at greater risk of unintentional gun death than children in any other developed countries….
Yup
I would like to comment on posts like: Is not guns…Guns don’t kill, people are the killers…psychopaths….
I would like to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves, CHILDREN. “Today, 19 children will die or receive medical treatment from a gunshot wound in the U.S And tomorrow another, 19 will. And then again another 19 the next day. In fact, 91% of all children that die from firearm across the world in high-income countries come from the United States, and guns are the third leading cause of death for all children, between ages 1 and 17”. Those are the handful of sobering statistics reported in a new study on a gun violence in Pediatrics…….
Thanks!
‘Bad things happen when good men do nothing.’
Tim, thanks for giving and I am sure you the victims in mind, and you decided to help. Thats the spirit.
Keep up the good work.
🙂
John Lennon said it, make love not War, we are more the same than we are different,do unto others as you would have them do unto you, it not that hard.
Try it you might like it.
YES!
I have my CHL for here in Texas even tho its now open carry. I just feel the world is too crazy now not to be able to protect yourself no matter where you are. Everyone has their own opinion, but lets not be haters on others, that is what is wrong with the world today. Good for you Tim Sykes for bringing it to people’s attention, and thank you for being the humanitarian that you are. You are a VERY GOOD PERSON. Hopefully we can all be like you….Thanks for all you do….Deann
Thanks
First of all Tim, I love this. Thank you for opening the door to this conversation in a classy way. It’s one that greatly needs to be encouraged, especially as we live in a supposedly democratic society where these conversations are vital to the survival of the democracy itself. Unfortunately, we get in such a frenzy arguing with one another about issues like this, that as we are arguing, policy makers end up determining these decisions for us, more often in favor of the government and/or the corporations lobbying for their interests. But, if we can come to some conclusions and organize our ideas among the people, then we can logically organize our efforts and petition those ideas to the local/national government. It’s a very important part of the democracy.
A couple of thoughts on some of your comments:
In regards to some of the similarities you propose between penny stocks and gun control, I would like to add another. It is interesting to me how, when posed with an idea which conflicts with our general opinions of the world as we have understood it up until this point (such as penny stocks or gun-control/rights), we tend to become very defensive, and aggressively advocate for the idea(s) which have shaped our understanding up until the time we become exposed to this new idea or new way of looking at something. You might find this link interesting: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe. I have always found politics fascinating because people often form strong, misguided opinions, although they may be well intentioned without taking the time to really get into the facts.
I recently started following you as a resource for penny stocks, and as I have informed the loved ones around me of my ambitions, they become increasingly wary of my endeavors because THEY HAVEN’T DONE THE RESEARCH. When we do the research and consider all sides/consequences, etc, we can then have a logical conversation about the issue at hand. As far as penny stocks are concerned, people are still stuck in the mindset that if you are going to “make it”, you have to trade your time for wages for 30-50 years until you retire and then maybe you will enjoy your retirement in luxury. That will not be me.
In regards to gun control policy itself, this is a tough conversation. I cannot say that eliminating guns is the answer. I really like your Ferrari analogy. It is not the guns themselves which are the issues, it is the people. I think the greatest issue we have in this country, and the issue which I believe is the source of all other issues in America is our education. I am enamored by the efforts you have made with your charity to offer education/schooling for children in other countries. If we can get the education right, (if we can get our minds right), we can make real progress. We are living in an interesting era. People’s rights and worker’s rights are becoming restricted (which is probably why more are flocking to opportunities like penny stocks). The working class is being marginalized and overshadowed by the corporations that are pushing policies through government for their own benefit, much to the chagrin of the working class people. It is important for people to be able to defend themselves in the case of political tyranny. We just don’t know what will happen in this country in the centuries to come. Things may be working now, but what happens if that changes? With all that being said, cases like the late Las Vegas shooting and the Orlando Shooting a couple years back, cannot be the norm. It is just tragic.
Something has to be done to tighten up the policies. But how do you do that in a situation like Las Vegas, where the shooter, to my knowledge, had no known prior misdemeanors? It’s seriously frustrating to think about.
Anyway thanks for listening.
🙂
Regarding gun control & other difficult topics:
I think people should do their DD, and articulate their positions. If they care passionately about it, then put some skin in the game & volunteer with organizations that represent their position. Listening & learning is the stuff that makes life interesting.
By the way, I’ve had a lot of professors (Cal Berkeley Grad), and you are one of the best teachers I’ve had. I really enjoy learning from you, so ~ thank you.
Thx!
I am not political really, but I do believe in an individuals right to own a gun. For many different reasons, hunting, protection, etc. I believe we ,as human beings and citizens of this great country, should be able to protect ourselves from threats domestically or governmental. But that is an entire other subject. I also believe very STRONGLY in giving to a charity that one feels deeply about. I have been giving to the same charity for 40 years. I am contributing in some small way that I feel will help benefit humanity. How is someone that sits behind a computer and spews out hateful implications & accusations, helping for the better? I understand that we are all entitled to our opinions and thoughts but I don’t think it is OK to belittle or verbally abuse someones charitable actions!
🙂
It’s obvious which way this group is leaning but a lot of what’s stated here is erroneous. European countries such as England, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and many more who do not allow any guns accept for hunting, have a death rate of between 1-2 persons per million. Japan is almost 10 times less than European countries. In the US it’s 37 deaths by guns per million! We are off the charts compared to nearly every other country with the exception of a few Central American countries like Mexico where firearms can be gotten as easily as Chicklets. And while I do agree with the sweeping yet simple conclusion that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”…I’d much rather take my chances against an attacker and his baseball bat or steak knife or spoon, than a loaded Uzi. But I know you think I’m being silly and impractical and perhaps the worst of all, idealistic. Thank you Tim for bravely standing up to this ongoing insanity.
Thanks!
If you want to stop violence you have to STOP THE HATE campaigns of mainstream media PERIOD! There is no other solution…the problem is in the minds of those who perpetrate the HATE. It is not guns…because they have used knives, trucks, cars, bombs, fire, even lowly box-cutters; Are you going to ban those too? More laws and restrictions are useless as we don’t enforce those we already have…I agree with many on here: Joe Zinser re: Chicago has the strongest gun control and consequently, the highest murder rate in the U.S.; Sara Bankatronic re: giving our 2nd Constitutional Amendment full support, and Joe Dimmick re: education on proper use of firearms which the NRA readily supplies. There is plenty of information to educate oneself on this subject and no good excuse not to know the horrendous consequence of an unarmed populace, as the long world history of genocides and dictatorships has repeatedly proven…Las Vegas was a tragedy, to be sure…but then to politicize it immediately and to propagandize gun restrictions, then confiscation, ultimately, is unforgivable. Be careful to examine what you are financially supporting by looking at the big picture and end results. History, as Sykes points out over and over, is our best teacher, and History repeats. Stop the HATE MINDSET to stop its end-result, VIOLENCE.
YES!
hey tim, check out this video for your debate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZycXp8yLAo
Thx!
Need more rational thought, that and any one commenting without first knowing what they are talking about is even worse. Im sure most everyone on here knows atleast how to use google, but most can’t sort through the crap on there to find the necessary facts to make an informed decision. If you only get your news or info or even statistics, from sites with one political leaning or the other then you only get biased info. Does anyone ever check out the references listed in an article. No i bet not, and ill ignore most any article that doesnt list theyre references, its an easy way to sort facts from opinions. Most facts will lead you to the right opinion if your open minded enough, and trust them.
🙂
I think that we all need to try our best to get along and have peace with one another. We have enough negative things going on in this world. The last thing we need is more hate. I think respecting another opinions and respecting one another in general would come so far in the world today. We should be thankful to be living another day. Thank you for all you do.
YESSSS!
First of all, yes please, more videos with Roland and Dux for that matter!
Being from Canada I feel that open carry rights and concealed carry permits are insane! Yes, I personally own a few rifles and a handgun, but in Canada my handgun needs to be locked in a safe, inside it’s own lockbox with a trigger lock on it and I can only transport it between my house and the range and I need a permit and a range membership in order to do even that.
But, when I was 20, I worked on a sheep farm in the middle of the Australian outback and we had loaded rifles sitting in gun racks in the back of everyone trucks with no trigger locks on them and I found that perfectly normal.
I think it was normal on the farm because there was only 20 people on the entire 2.5 million acres of property and I knew every one of them and we actually used the rifles on a semi regular basis. In your country you are surrounded by strangers who have hidden handguns on them and that just seems nuts to me!
Anyways, it’s Friday, the market is closed and I am going to finish my video lesson, pack up my gear and go surfing!
Cheers,