Winning Traders Do the Daily Work

“Tim, how do you know that stock is a former runner?”

We call it time in the chair, and I believe it’s one of the most valuable things you can do. It goes right along with having a plan before the market starts moving.

Spot Monday Morning Breakouts Before They Happen

The Big Picture

How do I know a stock is a former runner?

• I take notes every day
• I’m in the market every day
• I’m engaged every day

In other words, I put in the daily work.

For example, I know all the most active ETFs. I have notes on what penny stocks ran last week. If a stock ran a month ago and shows up on Oracle today, it won’t take me by surprise.

It’s one of those things that just comes with experience, okay? That’s why it’s so important to be doing daily work.

The Importance of Building Mental Frameworks

Even if you’re not trading, you need to show up daily. Even if you’re just scanning and taking notes, that’s knowledge.

People WAY overlook that.

Someone might say, “Well, I have to work.”

When I was a part-time trader, even if I couldn’t trade, I was still doing the work. Mornings, afternoons, evenings… I showed up.

Some people really want the profits, but they don’t want to put in the work.

Here’s the problem with that…

There Is No Such Thing as Instant Gratification in Trading

There’s so much we need to learn. People want the rewards, they want instant gratification, but they don’t want to put in the daily effort.

Let me ask you a question…

What would change if you got the instant gratification?

My favorite example is lottery winners. I’m sure you’ve heard the statistics. Most of them, within a couple of years, end up right back where they were. That is especially true of financially distressed people.

Now, they have a lot of fun for a few years, but they end up right back where they began because it wasn’t earned. They didn’t put in the effort.

You have to decide…

How Bad Do You Want It?

I can’t answer that for you. I wanted it really bad. So, I got up early and worked late. But within a few years, I was able to accomplish it.

Now, I didn’t have access to the resources you have access to. There was no StocksToTrade Network with four free shows every week…

There was no Daily Income Trader, with five webinars a day. Webinars didn’t even exist when I got started.

What I would’ve given to be able to ask somebody a live trading question.

My Take

When I started, I was all on my own, wandering the wilderness. It took me years. But it doesn’t need to take you that long if you take advantage of the resources available to you.

I would’ve loved to have access to these resources. Instead, I ordered every book I could find on Amazon.

But the most important thing I did, the most valuable, was to put in the daily work.

Watchlist

Yesterday’s sell-off was a stark reminder of how much politics can affect market sentiment, especially when the AI trade was carrying the Nasdaq on its back.

I remain bullish. That said, I warned that a blue wave could lead to 6 months of pain in semiconductors, data centers, and other AI-related stocks.

The good news is that there are always plays.

Yesterday, the ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (NASDAQ: SQQQ) hit the Oracle signal early:

The 6-month chart puts the Oracle support & resistance levels into context:

If SQQQ continues to hold above $48, look for breaks above the major resistance.

Keep in mind that this is a reverse ETF. So, if it is going up, the Nasdaq is going down. Stay safe out there. Always make a plan and trade the plan.

On My Radar

• October jobs report (today at 8:30AM ET)
• Meanwhile, from the hippies down in Ann Arbor: October’s Index of Consumer Sentiment
• You’re invited: options pro Jeff Zananiri reveals a weird Wall Street “glitch” that can multiply gains
• Are donuts replacing semiconductors as the backbone of the U.S. economy?! (read: not permanently)