timothy sykes logo

Trading Lessons

How To Grow As A Trader — The Millionaire Journey

Timothy SykesAvatar
Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/25/2024 6 min read

There are a lot of haters in the world.

That’s something you better get used to during your trading journey.

At this point, I’ve been trading for over 2 decades. I have $7.5 million in confirmed trading profits. And I have over 30 millionaire students, with more on the way.

I know how to tune out the haters.

But for new traders, it can be tough.

Especially because most of the “hate” comes from the people who love us the most. Usually, it’s from our parents.

When I started trading, my parents thought I’d lose ALL my money in the market. They thought it would be a good lesson for me.

I proved them wrong.

My most recent millionaire student, Andrew Nguyen, had a similar experience.

He signed up for the Challenge to understand volatile stock trading. His mom thought it was a scam.

Here’s the interesting part: She had the right attitude.

Volatile stocks are risky to trade if you don’t understand the price action. Andrew’s mom was just looking out for him.

Luckily, Andrew got support from his father and he continued to learn. I met Andrew’s parents a few weeks ago, and his mom has since changed her opinion about trading.

Check out my post below …

Trust me, whatever hate you experience during your trading career, we’ve all been through it.

There’s STILL a reality TV episode out there that I starred in. And it tears me to shreds, hahaha.

Keep reading and I’ll tell you about it.

There are profit opportunities RIGHT NOW for small-account traders. Don’t let the haters get to you.

Below Deck

© Millionaire Media, LLC

Season 2, episode 10.

The story goes: I brought some of my trading students out on a chartered yacht.

  • I like to treat hardworking students.
  • I was looking for publicity early on in my teaching career.

The reality TV show, Below Deck, is focused on the lavish lifestyle of the rich and the hijinks the yacht crew gets up to while on the high seas.

I approached it as an opportunity to teach students while showing them the benefits of a successful trading career.

And obviously, we were balling out on a yacht with a film crew.

But the boat’s WiFi was awful. And as a mentor trying to teach students, it really frustrated me.

That’s what the producers focused on during the episode. Thus, I was dubbed the worst guest to appear on Below Deck.

There are still people who use that episode to make content. Check out the recent Instagram post below …

And it’s true: To this day I’m STILL looking for the best WiFi, haha. Look at my recent post from Hong Kong…

Ultimately, this search for WiFi is part of my overall trading process.

I like to travel. And sometimes my adventures take me to remote parts of the world where WiFi might be an issue.

Interestingly enough: That helps me profit.

I’ll explain …

Profit Opportunities

© Millionaire Media, LLC

My students and I use the 7-Step Framework to track the market’s hottest runners.

Within that framework, there are multiple profit angles.

Here’s what that means:

There are a lot of different ways to profit in the stock market.

My students and I follow the same trading process. But most of the time we don’t trade the same stocks at the same time.

Traders have to find what works for them.

It depends on things like …

  • How you interpret the market.
  • What makes the most sense to you.
  • Which plays are the most popular when you start trading.
  • How much time you have to trade.

Personally, I’m prone to over-trading.

That’s why crappy WiFi helps me profit.

If I CAN’T trade, I’m less likely to screw up. I know it sounds a little nuts. But that’s what works for me.

Let’s return to my Below Deck example. I responded to the recent Instagram video about it …

Source: Instagram

I still have this trade logged from 2014. I track ALL of my trades.

Source: Profit.ly

Haters are going to hate.

The truth is: There are REAL profit opportunities in this market.

Look to my millionaire students, guys like:

If you’re interested in this niche, join our next trading livestream.

There’s a process for success in this niche.

And no matter what the haters say, my cohort of millionaire students continues to grow.

You can listen to the naysayers. Or you can trudge toward profits.

I share all my trades every day.

Study the process and things will start to click.

Keep grinding!


How much has this post helped you?



Leave a reply

Author card Timothy Sykes picture

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”