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7 Habits To Succeed at Trading

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Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 8/14/2026 6 min read
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This was a crazy move from $6 to $20 per share.

If you missed it (or the volatility scared you), I have a solution…

Too many people are missing big runners like FGI Industries Ltd (NASDAQ: FGI).

I made 86 cents a share on it that day (August 13). With barely any Wi-Fi.

Why are people missing such beautiful Supernovas?

There’s 1 habit that holds traders back before they even get started.

Today I’ll show you how to CRUSH that habit…

And give you 7 habits to start building today so YOU can trade Supernovas, too.

How bad do you want it?

The Habit That Keeps Traders From Achieving Freedom

Some habits are terrible for traders. For example, overtrading will destroy your account.

But it’s not only about which habits kill your account. There are habits that slow your progress (or bring it to a screeching halt).

The one that concerns me most keeps people from even getting started.

It’s an easy fix, but for many new traders it requires a complete mindset shift.

What’s the bad habit?

Allowing Fear To Get In Your Way

It’s crazy to me that so many students go directly against what I try to teach. It usually comes down to fear.

If the sight of a volatile stock makes you shake like that, remember…

Fear keeps you from your dreams.

Look, I get it…

Learning To Trade Is Uncomfortable In the Beginning

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You’re gonna have to learn to trade some of these crazy runners….

Why would I show you stock that dropped like that?

Because Leifras Co., Ltd (NASDAQ: LFS) went from $2.50 to $4 BEFORE it dropped $1 per share.

Volatile stocks can REALLY grow your account fast!

I’m here to help you (I’m not your enemy).

Consider me your best friend when it comes to learning how to trade.

If you really want this, you can’t avoid what’s working now just because it’s scary.

When I’m trading a volatile stock, look at it.

Open StocksToTrade (or whatever scanning software you use) and witness the price action.

Pay attention to the volatility. Watch Level 2. Watch the patterns play out.

I know it’s scary in the beginning. And these stocks move very fast. But that volatility is exactly what I used to get rich.

What Habits Help You Reach Your Goals?

A lot of what I teach doesn’t seem fun. It’s counterintuitive.

But it’s designed to help you succeed at trading and break free.

© Millionaire Media Trading Conference 2023, Las Vegas
© Millionaire Media Trading Conference 2023, Las Vegas

I’m not in this to teach you how to make a part-time income. You could do that, but a little extra here and there is not my goal.

If you learn the right process and build the right foundation first…

Then size up over time…

You can potentially break free and do whatever you want.

Obviously, there’s no guarantee. But if you hold on to the fear, staying stuck is almost guaranteed.

So, if you ever question why I trade a certain way (or why I teach a certain way) let me be blunt…

I want more millionaire students.

Millionaire Trading Habits

Image created with Google Gemini
Image created with Google Gemini

All of my 50+ public millionaire students developed these habits first.

Dozens of people have done this (it’s not rocket science).

Habit #1 below can overcome the fear habit that holds too many people back…

7 Habits for Trading Success

  1. Follow a Proven Method. (And STOP Fighting Against What Works). Success leaves clues. Failure does too.
  2. Cut Losses Quickly. (It’s #2 on this list, but for trading it’s rule #1. Make it a habit, starting today).
  3. Sell Into Strength. Nobody (and I mean NOBODY) takes the entire move. There are more advanced strategies to scale into and out of trades. For now, take the single and learn.
  4. Start Taking Small Trades (or Paper Trade) As Soon As Possible. This is how you learn.
  5. Accept Small Losses. You MUST learn to take losses. Again, nobody wins 100% of the time. You don’t even need to win 50% of the time to become a successful trader IF you keep your losses small.
  6. Watch Fast Runners Without Chasing. Study them in real time. If you miss the trade, watch anyway. You NEED to study volatility in action
  7. Take Advantage of Volatile Plays. If you REALLY want to break free, then you need to understand volatility. It also helps to know the best times to trade. Right now, some of the best moves happen in premarket and after-hours…

Which is why I recommend…

The Night Tape

What is The Night Tape?

It’s my new after-hours watchlist (it’s free of charge).

Once you’ve signed up, read the email I’ll send you after the market closes every trading day.

It will have my top after-hours stock to watch. Sometimes there’ll be more than one. And it includes a trade plan.

Are they all winners? No. But just by watching, you’ll start to get an idea of how fast (and how far) Supernovas can run after-hours.

PLUS: You’ll get instant access to my new after-hours trading guide, “The Second Session.”

Join the list here…

Send Me The Night Tape (and Give Me Instant Access to “The Second Session”)

Key Takeaway

You CAN do this. You don’t have to be good at math. You don’t have to have an insane tolerance for risk.

All it takes is time, dedication, and the willingness to start small.

Face the fear head-on…

Let’s do this.

Cheers,

– Tim Sykes

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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.
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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”