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Mentor Updates

Millionaire Mentor Update: You Only Have One Life

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/31/2023 14 min read

You only have one life. That means you don’t have time to waste. Every moment of every day is precious. How you use it determines a lot about your quality of life.

We all face obstacles. Yes, some face more than others. That’s life. If you’re reading this, you have it better than many — no matter where you are. So make the most of it. Use every day to improve your life or the lives of others.

Whether it’s trading, teaching, or charity, my goal is to end every day knowing I put in 100% effort. I wish I could put in more. And I hope you do, too.

If you ever feel life dealt you a tough hand, think about all the children who want an education but can’t get one. There are a lot of them all over the world.

Get motivated to learn so you can give back when the time comes.

Karmagawa’s Latest School Renovation

I’m proud to announce approval for Karmagawa’s 76th school. This school is another project with Partners Relief & Development. It’s also our first project in Iraq. Check it out…

I’m looking forward to seeing the end result. But I’m more excited for the students. We take education for granted in the U.S., but in many parts of the world, children don’t get the same opportunity. Karmagawa is working to change that.

If you’d like to support Karmagawa’s efforts, get some of our sustainable merch here.

Karmagawa is back in the news for donating $1 million to a number of organizations. Read more here — and stay tuned for a dedicated post on where the money’s going.

Trading Mentor: Patience Pays Off

One character trait most successful people share is patience. That’s because so much of becoming ‘successful’ — at anything — is a slow grind. The reality is, most people don’t have the required long-term dedication to learning.

It’s counterintuitive. On one hand, I’m saying you have only one life, so make the most of it. But to do that, you MUST develop patience. One way is to have a research and development mindset. That applies to both the learning process and to full-time trading.

That’s exactly what I told Matt Monaco, Jack Kellogg, and Kyle Williams during a recent TWIST episode. Why? Because these guys earned so much, so fast, it was a little surreal for them. How do you prepare for making $1 million in your 20s?* I think it caught them a little off guard.

(*These results are not typical. Individual results will vary. Most traders lose money. Traders like Matt, Kyle, and Jack have the benefit of many years of hard work and dedication. Trading is inherently risky. Always do your due diligence and never risk more than you can afford to lose. I’ve also hired Matt, Kyle, and Jack to help in my education business.)

And even though the market has shifted, it hasn’t shifted that much that they shouldn’t still be crushing it.

Check out the TWIST episode…

TWIST: What’s DWAP?

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Yes, I gave Jack, Kyle, and Matt a hard time. But that’s because they spent years getting to this point, and I don’t want them to lose their edge. More importantly, I don’t want them to lose their drive. You only have one life …  make the most of it.

Learn from what they’re going through. Consider what it takes to become a profitable trader, then apply that to staying that way…

Research and Development: Find Your Edge

Many new students want to know exactly what they should do. They ask, “Which DVDs, webinars, and video lessons should I watch?”

My answer is the same every time…

Watch them all. Watch every DVD (in syllabus order). Then watch every video lesson. (My top students watch the video lessons multiple times.) Then watch every archived webinar and attend every live webinar possible.

The next thing new students want to know is … “What pattern should I trade?”

I give the same answer over and over again. You have to think of the beginning as a research and development phase.

penny stock checklist

You have to try all the patterns. That includes morning panics, first green days, breakouts, morning spikes, and many more. You must find what works best for you

Stay in the Game While Testing and Tweaking

But how? Trade small. Paper trade using StocksToTrade if you’re not ready to put skin in the game.

(Quick disclaimer: I proudly helped design and develop StocksToTrade and am an investor in it.) 

The point is, to find your edge you have to test and tweak. Your job is NOT to make a bunch of money in the beginning. It’s to complete your research-and-development stage without losing so much that you’re out of the game.

Just so we’re 100% clear … most traders lose money. Most NEVER make it out of this stage. They go too big, too fast. Or they have no idea how to test, tweak, and track their trades.

But, assuming you get out of the initial research and development stage, what’s next?

Research and Development: Keep Your Trading Edge

I’m happy to say it’s more research and development…

Why?

Because the market is NOT static. The stock market is always changing and shifting. The past year has been one of, if not THE best market ever. But even during the year, there were shifts.

Different sectors ran hot, then cooled back down. Patterns shifted. A few weeks back I was making huge money trading morning panics — day after day. Now I’m playing more morning spikes and breaking news plays.

For me, it’s just a matter of adapting because I’ve seen it all over the past 22 years. I don’t get attached to any one market, stock, or pattern.

So for Kyle, Jack, and Matt, my point during that episode of TWIST (you watched it, right?) was that they’ve earned the right to do even more research and development.

Every trader should do the same. Yes, find what works first. Make it your bread and butter. Then explore other patterns. And don’t be afraid to explore tools you haven’t been using. (More on my favorite tool in the trade review below.)

Imagine for a moment that you’ve lost your edge. As in, you had an edge but the market shifted and now you feel a little out of sorts.

Taking time away from the market can be good. But when there are still plays and you have the ability to play them … that’s NOT the time. (Especially to go buy mouthwash during market hours. Come ON, Jack!)

So what should you do? Go back to square one…

Research and Development: Regain Your Trading Edge

I hope you see the common thread. If you lose your edge, it’s back to research and development.

You have to find a new edge. Or regain your former edge.

The stock market will always be there. There won’t always be the same number of plays we’ve seen this past year. But there will always be winners and losers in the market. The question is, will the plays be something you know how to trade?

The only way to be ready for any shift is to continuously study, practice, test, and tweak. There’s no shortcut.

Again, trading penny stocks is a game of multiple moving targets. That means there’s no time to get too comfortable. It will bite you in the keister.

New to penny stocks? Check out this FREE penny stock guide.

And whatever you do, when there are plays, don’t go to the store for mouthwash while the market is open.

Now it’s time for…

Trade Review: Why I LOVE STT’s Breaking News Chat

© Millionaire Media, LLC

It’s no secret that I love StocksToTrade’s Breaking News Chat. But people still ask why.

STT’s Breaking News Chat isn’t just another financial news service. It’s two former Wall Street traders alerting curated news … FAST. And lately, they’re on fire.

So before I review a trade, check out these stats from last week.

  • Four of my 10 biggest percent wins came from STT Breaking News Chat alerts.
  • Three of my 10 biggest dollar wins came from STT Breaking News Chat alerts.
  • All told, just over 25% of my trades last week came from STT BNC alerts.

I’ll let that sink in for a moment…

No matter how you look at it, those are solid stats. Is every alert a win? No. Like the rest of trading, it takes studying and experience to understand how catalysts can move stocks. Even then … the market doesn’t care what you want. So the alert might not play out.

Still, it blows my mind that more people aren’t using the Breaking News Chat feature. Let’s look at…

The Movie Studio, Inc. (OTCPK: MVES)

On March 18, MVES spiked right at the open on premarket blockchain news. The STT Breaking News guys alerted it. I tried to get a bigger position at a lower price, but it was moving too fast.

First, take a look at the MVES six-month chart during the massive spike.

MVES 6 month penny stock chart
MVES chart: 6-month, breaking news spike — courtesy of StocksToTrade.com

As you can see, it was a clear multi-week/multi-month breakout. But it didn’t last long. You had to be super quick to take advantage of it. Now check out the MVES intraday chart with my buy and sell alerts…

MVES penny stock chart
MVES chart: March 18 intraday, STT Breaking News morning spike — courtesy of StocksToTrade.com

Again, it was only a few minutes of intense spiking. There were bounce opportunities, but it was choppy. At $5,368 in profits, this trade was my biggest dollar win last week.* It was also my fifth-biggest percent gain of the week.*

Now check out the MVES six-month chart showing the spike as a first green day candle with a very long wick

MVES chart
MVES chart: 6-month, daily candle, 1-day spiker — courtesy of StocksToTrade.com

I hope you see the potential. This trade was only possible for me because of the alert. Even then, it moved so fast I had to chase a little. Instead of getting greedy and undisciplined, I got out as soon as the momentum shifted.

This kind of trade isn’t for everyone. It happens so fast that it’s easy to miss. And if you chase too much, or hold and hope, it can turn into a huge loss. So don’t attempt this until you’ve practiced it. Start with small positions or, better yet, paper trade with StocksToTrade.

But you’ll need STT’s Breaking News Chat add-on for your subscription if you want their alerts.

Again, you only have one life to live. Make it count.

Millionaire Mentor Market Wrap

Even though there was a little shift in the market last week, it was still amazing. All the NFT and breaking news plays provided plenty of opportunities. This week could see a lot of people use stimulus checks to fund trading accounts. Be ready.

Remember, research and development never stops. Big companies spend big on R&D. It’s the only way to stay relevant and create products or services people want.

Trading is similar. Your trading career will go through phases. But every phase involves some level of research and development. So make it a part of your process. What can you learn, test, and practice today to set you up for next month or next year?

And finally, remember you only have one life. Make the most of it. Use every day wisely.

Trading Education Resources

Matt, Kyle, and Jack all took part in my Trading Challenge. Now they’re all millionaire traders in their own right and Trading Challenge chat moderators.* I’m not saying you’ll be like them if you apply for the Challenge. Most people aren’t willing to put in the time and effort like them.

Do you have what it takes? Apply for the Trading Challenge here.

If you’re not ready for that level of commitment but want to learn the basics, the 30-Day Bootcamp is a great start. Get the 30-Day Bootcamp here.

Since you only have one life, what will you do today to live it to the fullest? Comment below, I love to hear from all my readers!


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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. 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”