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Why You Need The #NoDaysOff Mindset

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Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 1/13/2026 5 min read
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Whatever you’re doing right now … stop.

You need to hear this.

We’re heading into what could be the most exciting trading window in decades.

And 99% of traders will miss it.

The explosive setups are showing up every week. The bullish catalysts are lining up. The market conditions are primed for unprecedented opportunity…

But judging from the absolute idiocy I see every day online, most people prioritize the wrong things.

They favor some vague idea of “work-life balance,” mindless entertainment, and lazy indulgences over the obsessive study ethic required to actually change their lives.

Take one look at social media. You’ll see them…

Allegedly “ambitious” people making endless excuses about family, health, sleep, money, time, blah blah blah blah…

They’ll watch from the sidelines, doom-scrolling through social media, seeing other people make account-transforming moves.

They’ll blame the market, blame the system, blame anything except their own lack of preparation.

But if you’re willing to do the hard work most people aren’t, you’ll create a natural edge without even thinking about it…

If you’re truly hungry for lasting success as a trader, you’ve gotta take a #NoDaysOff approach.

That way, you’ll be improving your skills exponentially (while all those lazy losers are floundering).

THIS is what separates millionaire traders from broke excuse-makers…

The “Secret” Is Actually Obvious

Wanna know the secret of my now 50+ millionaire students?*

It’s not intelligence, money, or luck…

It’s hard work.

The kind of work the vast majority of traders would NEVER consider grinding out.

You know the type. The ones who don’t want success badly enough to quit TV, video games, social media, clubbing, resting…

Excuses, excuses, excuses!

While they’re making excuses, my students and I are making bank.

Don’t believe me? Listen to this…

How Matt Monaco Made $1.2 Million in 6 Months

After stepping back from the markets for a bit, one of my top millionaire students, Matt Monaco, was getting FOMO watching my other students crush the first half of 2025.

He was getting the itch to trade again.

But even as a millionaire, he knew he was rusty. He knew he needed to brush up on the fundamentals.

So Matt began studying like a madman, just like he did when he first started trading.

The result? Matt has banked $1.2 million trading in the past 6 months.*

You’d have to be deaf, blind, and dumb to not see what’s happening here…

Over the long term, the biggest gains go to those who:

  • Have a burning desire to improve
  • Study every day
  • Perfect their execution process
  • Stay consistent and dedicated

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Take those 4 steps daily, and you’ll enjoy the practically inevitable growth that comes with them. 

Only YOU Can Decide

I can’t force you to put in the work. Nobody can.

Only you can decide how many hours you study. Only you can decide whether you grind on weekends or scroll social media. Only you can decide what kind of future you want for yourself and your family.

But I can do one thing: Motivate you.

I’m not going to sit here quietly and watch you squander the biggest trading opportunity in years just because you weren’t prepared.

This window won’t wait for you to “feel” ready. It won’t pause while you finish binge-watching your favorite show. It won’t wait for the breakout while you sleep in all weekend.

You’re either ready … or you’re not. 

There’s no middle ground.

Study the hottest runners every day, even if you’re not trading them yet.

How to Motivate Yourself 

Having trouble getting motivated?

Visualize.

Use whatever imagery you need to push yourself.

Lambos, Ferraris, jets, clothes, watches, houses, friends, lovers, travel, family, charity … anything that motivates you to achieve more.

Find it. Lock onto it. Fuel your obsession.

Because that’s what it takes: obsession.

Starting right now (and continuing every single day)…

You can keep making excuses. You can keep prioritizing comfort over growth. You can keep rationalizing laziness.

Or you can study every night. You can review charts all weekend. You can test your ideas with paper trading. You can treat this window like the opportunity it is.

My millionaire students aren’t smarter than you. They’re not luckier than you. They’re not more talented than you.

They’ve simply done the hard work you haven’t done … yet.

So tell me: Are you ready to change your life in 2026?

Or are you fine with watching the greatest trading window in decades pass you by while you sit on the couch and play video games?

Your call.

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”