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Trading Lessons

Wisdom from “The Trader’s Journey” Q&A

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Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 5/7/2026 6 min read
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I want to thank Anthony Nieto from Investor’s Underground for having me on “The Trader’s Journey” podcast.

It was a great Q&A and I hope it helps you to understand…

What it REALLY takes to be a successful trader.

The Setup

As you watch the interview, I’m sure you’ll agree that Anthony asked great questions.

The interview is over an hour long (and packed with 27 years of wisdom from trading, teaching and life).

Get comfortable and take notes…

The Rules That Build Million-Dollar Trading Careers

Here are a few key insights from the interview…

Journal Every Trade

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Too many people just look at profit and loss, or good trade versus bad trade.

Jack Kellogg, one of my top millionaire students, journals every single trade.

He can pull up a ticker, pull up the chart, pull up what he did right, and what he did wrong.

We’re talking thousands of trades (THAT is why he’s made $25 million*).

Next up…

Share Your Losses Publicly

I know some people won’t do this (for privacy reasons). I get that.

But there’s so much to learn from it.

When Eduardo lost $70,000 on a trade I told him to make a video.

He was borderline crying when he made it, but he learned from it.

It’s also his most popular video.

More Breaking News

Control the Noise

When I first started there weren’t even streaming quotes.

You had to click every single time you wanted an update on the price (seriously).

We live in amazing times, where you have access to SO much data and information.

But that also means it’s easy to get distracted by stuff that doesn’t matter.

So, stay focused.

Freedom comes from being able to block out the distractions.

Why I Love Teaching So Much

I’ve made enough from trading (I donate my trading profits to charity).

For me, meaning comes from showing people what’s possible.

Most people lose and this industry is full of negativity and scams.

So I’m here to show you what’s possible even though you’ll go through ups and downs.

You’ll get frustrated and make mistakes. That’s okay.

Focus on the process and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can progress.

What Jack Kellogg Said When I Was Up $50K

Lol. In 2020 or 2021 when the market was crazy, I was with Jack, Kyle Williams and Bryce Tuohey.

One day they were all up $300-$400K.

I’ve always been conservative but being around them I started pushing size.

I was up around $50K on the day and Jack turned to me kind of condescendingly and said “good job, Tim.”

I had to remind him that I’ve been trading since he was in diapers.

We all had a good laugh.

Trade Small In the Beginning

Especially when the PDT rule gets lifted (it’s supposed to be next month).

There is MASSIVE upside to trading. But there’s going to be a temptation to trade as much as possible.

And there’s going to be a temptation to trade bigger.

Remember, there’s a lot of money to be made trading conservatively.

Trading conservatively isn’t as much fun, but it’s necessary for beginners.

Do you want more lessons from this interview?

That was only a fraction of what Anthony and I talked about, so watch the entire interview (and take notes).

Thanks again to Anthony for having me on. Let’s keep it going!

Millionaire Moves

Jack Kellogg and I did a Trading Challenge webinar yesterday (May 7).

Trading Challenge members can watch the replay this weekend.

If you’re NOT in the Trading Challenge… Apply today.

Every one of my 50+ millionaire students started in the Trading Challenge.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase…

“Sell I May and Go Away”

My friend Ben Sturgill says that’s a mistake if you trade options the way he does….

Catalyst Watch

AI, chips, and data centers are all hot and any news about them is the catalyst that matters right now.

Yesterday, Rackspace Technology (NASDAQ: RXT) and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) announced signing a Memorandum of Understanding for a multiyear partnership:

Source: GlobalNewswire
Source: GlobalNewswire

RXT was beautiful to watch and closed up +56.7% on the day…

Thanks again to the guys over at StocksToTrade Breaking News Chat. Great job as always!

On My Radar 

Have a great weekend!

 

Cheers,

 

– Tim Sykes

 

*past performance is not indicative of future success. 

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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”