Today was my first time tuning into one of Roland Wolf's living trading events and as a newbie, he was speaking gold. He made me realize a few things about my trading and one of which is the psychology behind breakouts. He is very much a believer in being a "contrarian". Quite frankly I've always gravitated to people that go against the grain of everyone else. Many people I admire and respect in the trading world, fitness realm, and business world have made innovations by going against the grain. Roland was talking about how breakouts never really work for him as it's really hard to buy at the top where all the strength is. A lot of the time that strength fades and what's left is a downside spiral in which money is wasted. I resonate a lot with what he is saying as my entries at times are terrible. I am either buying too high or buying at terrible technical levels. This idea of buying low and selling high is simple yet complex. He brought up how you should look at it from the perspective that you're shorting the stock. In other words, buy when shorts cover and sell when shorts are short. My biggest takeaway from all this is to learn the other side of the trading world. I have been so focused on learning the long side that I have failed to recognize how the short side thinks. Being a contrarian is the way to excel past the others in the mass crowd. Learning to think differently not only makes you smarter but will lead to more consistent profits.

February 2023 study hours I basically cut my total hours of studying in half from the previous month. This is largely due to school starting again and i've been having to balance my time with homework. Also, i've been trading more this month. I had some of my biggest winners and biggest losers. Great overall month of learning. My biggest debacle right now is figuring out how to trade OTC morning panic dips/breakouts better so that I can actually profit. Most of the time I'm either "profiting" but its actually a loss after the $9.90 round trip fee on Etrade or it's a larger loss due to this crazy volatile moves.

January 2023 study hours Accomplished a lot in the studying realm this month...not so much in the trading realm. You got to learn to walk before you can run. Lots more to learn and I'm loving this journey 💪🏼

August 29th, 2022 marked my first day in the challenge and now today marks the end of the 2022 trading year. Over the last 4 months, I have logged about 215 hours of studying (a minuscule amount in what is yet to be learned) in conjunction with a full-time school schedule and working a part-time job as a server. I started this journey because I have always dreamed of living a life in which I am truly free. I am 20 years old and for as long as I can remember I did not ever want to become a slave to the corporate world. I wanted the freedom to create my own schedule and do what I want without getting someone else's approval. I've been working in the restaurant industry for 2 years now and ever since I started I wanted out. I wanted something more...something better. I started reading investment books when I turned 19, but I didn't like the idea of having to wait 30,40, or even 50+ years to reap the benefits of my initial investment. I don't want to be 60 years old before I can start living the life I want to. I started following Tim Sykes on Instagram when I was 15 years old as I was fascinated by his lifestyle. Turning $12,000 dollars into a little over $1,000,000 and using that money to travel and live life...WOW, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LIFE! However, when you're 15 and caught up in the high school setting it's hard to look at the work that goes in behind the scenes in creating that success. Not to mention the skepticism behind turning such a small amount into a large amount. As more and more millionaires emerged from his challenge combined with my maturing I realized that hard work really is the formula to success. His students weren't lucky nor running some pyramid scheme. They were hard-working individuals who achieved success from their dedication. I am on this journey to prove to myself that I am capable of creating my dream life and even more importantly being able to give back to my family. This post is to remind me why I am doing what I am doing and let this be the first page of my story.

@coakleylogan32 just became a fully transparent trader today!