Is watching 500 Tim Sykes video lessons the gateway to smart trading? Recently, I challenged a student to quit complaining and give it a try.
I confess: My teaching style is definitely on the ātough loveā end of the spectrum. But sometimes, thatās what it takes to get students motivated.
My goal isnāt to make friends. Itās to create self-sufficient traders.
Too often, people get into trading because they wanna get rich quick. They see traders like my newest millionaire Challenge student Roland Wolf and think that theyāll start making $1K a day right away.*
They donāt realize that it took him four years and a lot of studying to turn his $4,000 trading account into over $1 million.*
Starry-eyed newbies see what they wanna see. They think itās as easy as opening up the first no-fee broker account they come across, then raking in the big bucks.
If you think thatās how trading works, have fun blowing up your account. But donāt waste my time.
Most new traders are lazy, unmotivated wannabes and degenerate gamblers. Thatās why Iām a tough teacher. Itās why I make potential students apply for my Trading Challenge.
Itās my way of making sure that theyāre ready to put in the effort necessary to find consistency in the market. If they donāt have the right mindset, if theyāre not dedicated, theyāre not worth my time.
Profit.ly user haafamillion is a dedicated student. Sheās not profitable yet, but sheās an incredible example of the mindset that all new traders should have. I want more students like this! Hereās her story, in her own wordsā¦
Table of Contents
500 Tim Sykes Video Lessons: Haafamillionās Story
It took two years of saving before I spent half my net worth on Timothy Sykesā Trading Challenge. The last thing I needed was to be called stupidā¦
Or was it?
A week into the Challenge, Iād already watched three of the 10- to 20- hour DVDs ā āPennystocking,ā āPennystocking Part Deux,ā and the āNew Rules of Penny Stocking.ā I was working on āTim Fundamentalsā and, for reasons Iām about to share, still am.
I donāt know whether I was frustrated, amused, or both. Sykes describes in these videos parabolic moves of stock pumps. He details his classic short strategy.
Mind you, this is in āPennystockingā and āPennystocking Part Deux,ā so he hadnāt yet formulated the āPennystocking Frameworkā and all the viable plays therein.
Time and again ā on more than one occasion ā heād point to what would become number 5 and number 6 in his āPennyStocking Framework.ā Then heād say, āThereās no play here.ā
I wanted to go back in time, kick in the door to the conference, and yell at the top of my lungs: āDip buying morning panics will one day be your favorite pattern!ā
Itās frustrating. Time is valuable. Iām burning through these ancient DVDs where past Sykes is telling everyone, including me, that thereās no play where future Sykes is playing.
Of course, I took it with a fat grain of Himalayan sea salt and kept watching. Because those DVDs have gold in them.
The Catalyst
On Monday, August 25, 2020, the alert went out. Sykes had exited his position in GreenPower Motor (OTCQB: GPVRF) for a $4,350 profit.* He called it a āperfectā morning panic dip buy in his exit comments, but he said something else in chatā¦
āYouād have to be deaf, dumb, blind, and stupid not to make money on this play.ā
I wasnāt upset or personally offended by the comment. Trading is an individual thing. All traders have their own patterns, set of rules, and ways of trading. My way isnāt making me any money ā but I have one.
Iāve been practicing on listed stocks exclusively because the commission-free structure allows me to take small position sizes. And unlike paper trading, it puts some skin in the game. So I get emotional exercise while practicing trading and looking for patterns. Sadly, Iād been using it as a crutch ā¦ I didnāt realize it at the time.
I wanted to tell Sykes, āLook, Iām new to this. Iām studying. Iām trying to figure all this out. Iām not stupid. I just havenāt learned yet.ā
That seemed a bit long-winded for a comment during the morning rush. Instead, I quipped, ārude.ā
He quipped back, āhonest.ā
I was mad. How many hours did I waste watching DVDs where he told me not to do the exact thing that he just did? How many times has he said to trade to your comfort level?
I called him out. āOr maybe you have other reasons for not trading OTCs? Like, you havenāt studied them enough and know that itās not your strong suit?ā
The Teacher I Need
Some people in the chat tried to come to my rescue. I donāt need rescuing ā not then and not now. Sykes knew what I needed. āStudy up then, no chatting in chat until you watch 500 video lessons ā¦ go.ā
So I did. I took it to heart. I was on fire. Iām chatty and not being able to talk about ideas, processes, or trading is like being locked in a cage for me. But I took it a step further. I was determined, resolute. Yeah, I was going to NOT talk in chat until I watched those videos, AND I was also going to stay off Twitter and Reddit.
I was going to burn through those videos and learn it all.
On day one, I wrote Sykes a note at the bottom of my tally card. What I said in that note doesnāt matter now, but Iāll tell you it wouldnāt have been helpful. And as I went through those videos, tallying and taking notes, what I wanted to say to Sykes changed.
It took me seven full days to watch 500 video lessons.
At the end, I sent him a picture of my tally page and thanked him. He is the teacher I need.
Prospectus
Through my video lesson journey, I took haphazard notes, scrawling thoughts and questions as I often do. It took me hours to categorize and organize them into comprehensible and repeatable statements.
There are dozens of things to learn in each video. Iāve been studying for a while, no matter what my P/L tells you. A lot of it was review for me. I mostly collected things that I didnāt already know or found to be so fundamental that they merit repeating over and overā¦
Say it with me now: āCut. Losses. Quickly.ā
I did and am still doing this for myself. This is to help me learn and remember facts and details. And since Iām already doing it, if someone else can benefit, they may as well. So hereās what Iāve learned from watching 500 Tim Sykes video lessonsā¦
Study!
Sykes can get upset and impatient. Thatās because heās been putting up with students not studying for over 10 years now. And thatās why in every video he says to watch his other videos.
Stop asking dumb questions in chat that heās answered in a thousand videos and go watch the videos. Theyāre all neatly categorized thanks to Mark Croock! If I want to know anything about anything trading related, I can find it in the video lesson library.
The video lesson library is SO cool. Just watch videos until you find a trade you like. Then go back in history, find the beginning of that trade, and watch it from start to finish. Watch it play out!
Check out all your favorite tickers. See which ones survived, where they are now, and if theyāre still in play. In doing this, you get to see Sykesā experience in fast forward. You can have years of experience in hours. Do it.
Seriously. If you paid the tuition, get your moneyās worth. Get Sykesā timeās worth, and watch all the Tim Sykes video lessons.
Be Self-Sufficient!
All of Sykesā top students study on their own. They learn how to handle the markets on their own.
They donāt ask for other peopleās opinions on stocks, what everyoneās trading, or if thereās news. Top students know to look on their own because theyāve studied and learned how to do it on their own.
Studying leads to competence, wisdom, and comfort. I have to learn so I can earn.
No one is studying. If you look at a lot of people on Twitter ā the questions they ask, the way they behave ā theyāre clueless! All you have to do is be 10% smarter than they are. Is that enough? Iāll answer that in a second. Firstā¦
Treat Your Trading Like a Business
Treat this like a business. So many consistent traders say it. Almost to the point where it doesnāt make sense anymore.
Itās like when someone asks how we are. As long as weāre not dying, most of us say, āGood.ā It doesnāt mean anything anymoreā¦
But I had a moment when I was watching 500 Tim Sykes video lessons and he said it again. āTreat this like a business.ā
I realized Iāve run a successful business. It was tireless ā ironic since one of the things I did was changing tires. You have to think about your overhead, the best tools, investment, capital management, and profit margins.
You have to think.
When you own a business, it doesnāt matter if you make $1,000 in a day. Thatās not your money. It belongs to the business. You canāt go out and spend it. You canāt pay rent with that money.
You grow a business by reinvesting your capital back into the business. Until your business reaches critical mass and you start earning more than youāre investing, nothing you make belongs to you. You have to rememberā¦
Most Traders Fail
70% of small businesses fail. Itās said that 90% of traders fail. Itās not a coincidence!
Every business has clients or customers. If I treat my trading like a business, who are my customers?
Iām my number-one customer. Iām the only customer and the product is both my trades and me as a trader. So I have to be someone who Iād go to for these things and focus on the product.
I have to be the most excellent trader I can be. That means focusing on the craft and being a trading master. Donāt just be someone whoās 10% better. Be 100% better ā¦ Better than Tim or Tim or Tim or Tim (more on Tims shortly.)
Being competent and meticulous are my edge. I have to be my own best customer.
And if you donāt like trading, donāt trade. Trading is finance, filings, numbers, charts, hype, and press releases. Itās being awake and prepared. Trading is learning and growing.
You have to study and develop yourself as a person. If you donāt want to do it ā if youāre not into these things ā thatās OK. Find the thing you are into and do that.
Coolers, Closers, and Cleaners
Tim Grover trains athletes to be the best. I didnāt learn this from watching 500 Tim Sykes video lessons, but it applies. In his book, āRelentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable,ā Grover separates professional athletes into three categories: coolers, closers, and cleaners.
(As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
Coolers are great athletes, terrific teammates, and support.
Closers are team leaders. They direct the coolers, and coolers turn to them for support and guidance in a clutch.
Cleaners stand above the rest. Theyāre a league of their own, beyond comparison. Theyāre the record makers and breakers. Theyāre the Michael Jordans, the Tiger Woods, the Kobe Bryants, the Tom Bilyeus. Theyāre the Tim Grittanis.
They make what they do seem godly, inhuman. The average person thinks itās impossible. Cleaners donāt tell coolers or closers what to do. Theyāre too busy doing what needs to be done. No one turns to a cleaner in a clutch because if the cleaner hasnāt done it yet, itās beneath them.
Coolers wake up, see a hot stock, buy it, and sometimes get lucky.
Closers wake up before them, read the news, mark their charts, and plan their trades.
Cleaners know the name of the CEO, the CEOās spouseās name, and where the lawyer who wrote the SEC filing went to college. Does that help them trade? Maybe. They donāt care if itās important or not. Theyāre too busy nailing trade after trade.
The average person dismisses their own faults by glorifying the cleanerās āinnate giftsā but thereās nothing innate about it. Cleaners work.
Be hard on yourself. Kick your own butt until you learn your lessons. After that, forgive yourself and move on andā¦
Donāt Be a Closer
Be a cleaner. If thatās too meta for you, walk away now.
Who do you think of when you think of trading? Tim Grittani?
That dudeās a cleaner. Thatās because heās studied diligently and meticulously. He tracked stats for years. His spreadsheets are legendary. For what? And what did he do with them?
Through studying, you can find what works for you. You can find the setups and patterns that can be your bread and butter. And you can find your comfort zone ā and your comfort zone is golden.
Trading outside of your comfort zone can be disarming. It can mess with your psychology and lead you to make questionable decisions, which can lead to catastrophic disasters. So itās important to study until you find your comfort zone.
Once you find the patterns and setups that you know and feel, you can wait until those patterns emerge in the market and trade them. One challenge, though, is to only trade in your comfort zone ā or to at least trade safely outside of your comfort zone with smaller size or paper trading.
Bret Steenberger calls it risk resilience. As you study, as you trade your patterns and grow accustomed to them, you increase your risk resilience. That enhances your ability to avoid emotional decisions.
You should always make your decisions based on the pattern youāre trading. Grittani is the master of this strategy. He doesnāt even have his Profit/Loss column active when heās trading. Instead, he turns it off so he can focus on the pattern and on the price action.
That guy is a cleaner and doesnāt even look at his profits. He doesnāt know how much heās up or down ā he knows his entry and the moment.
So donāt worry about the money. Play the chart as perfectly as you can.
The process and technique are what attracted me to the Trading Challenge. Yes, I want the money. I know that if I focus on being the best trader and study until I know my best patterns and take those trades, the money will come.
So I need to study and master these setups and patterns, wait for my best setups and patterns, and consistently take advantage of them. Once I do that, in the words of Sykes, āItās just rinse and repeat.ā
Trading Challenge
Tim again.
What makes a āsuccessfulā trader is subject to interpretation. But if you ask me, it all starts with the right mindset.
My student haafamillion was willing to watch 500 Tim Sykes video lessons to improve her trading. I donāt see a lot of students with that level of dedication.
Iāve seen plenty of āget rich quickā schemers come and go in the penny stock market. Theyāre full throttle for a while, then they blow up their accounts and move on to the next hot thing. Forex! Crypto! Options!
Theyāre on a hamster wheel. Wanna get off the hamster wheel of following alerts? Become self-sufficient.
If you wanna become self-sufficient, knowledge is key.
Youāve gotta understand ā as a trader, you have two accounts. Youāve got your knowledge account and your money account. There are no guarantees that youāll fill up your money account ā¦ But experience tells me that filling up your knowledge account gives you a much better chance.
Do you get it? Are you ready to work for it? Consider joining my Trading Challenge. Itās based on my 20+ years of trading experience.
Youāll have access to webinars, my incredible chat room community, thousands of video lessons in the library. All of my current millionaire students* started out as Challenge students. Theyāve learned the methods and adapted them into their own trading styles.
My Challenge student haafamillion is a Challenge student who shows great potential. Are you ready to take control of your trading and start working toward making your goals a reality?
Leave a comment! How many Tim Sykes video lessons have you watched? Do you have haafamillionās dedication? I want to hear from youā¦
Leave a reply