Good morning, traders…

Ben here.

If you’ve been trading for more than five minutes, you know that preparation = opportunity.

But you won’t be fully prepared by simply studying charts, technicals, and fundamentals. 

Your mindset, emotions, and even physical state can affect how well you trade. I’ve seen this firsthand over the years, not just in the market but in everyday life. 

A solid strategy won’t save you if your emotions take over. The best setups won’t matter if hesitation keeps you from pulling the trigger. And discipline fades fast when you’re running on fumes.

This got me thinking about how many traders focus solely on the technical side of preparation while neglecting everything else. 

But successful trading requires careful preparation in three key areas:

• Your Mind (Knowledge and Strategy): Studying the market, reviewing setups, and planning trades.
• Your Heart (Emotional Control): Managing fear, greed, and impatience so you can stick to your plan.
• Your Hands (Execution and Physical Readiness): Staying sharp through rest, movement, and focus.

When any of these are out of sync, trading gets harder than it needs to be. And a big part of staying balanced is knowing which truths to hold on to — and which ones to let go of.

With that in mind, let me show you how to prepare yourself to trade — in more ways than one…

How I Prepare to Trade

For me, every day starts the same:

1. Check the SPYDER Scanner to see where Smart Money traders are placing their bets
2. Use what I saw on the scanner to build a watchlist of tickers and options contracts
3. Identify profit targets (the levels where gains will be locked in) and risk/stop-loss levels (where losses will be cut)

Those are the technical details, but from there, I work to prepare myself emotionally and psychologically…

Even with the best preparation, we all have those moments where things start going sideways. 

Maybe you take a loss and suddenly feel the urge to jump into another trade out of frustration. Or maybe you hesitate on a great setup because the fear of losing creeps in.

This is where resetting comes in.

If you feel yourself spiraling — whether it’s frustration, fear, or even greed — you have two choices:

1. Step away and reset for the next day. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is walk away and come back fresh tomorrow.
2. Use a reset process to get back to a neutral emotional state. This could be listening to a song, taking a short break, stepping outside, or reviewing a trading affirmation.

Resetting is a skill, just like analyzing a chart. And it’s a skill that can save you a lot of money…

The Lies the Market Tells You

One of the biggest challenges traders face is filtering out the noise and recognizing the emotional traps the market sets. 

Here are a few common lies the market (or our own minds) try to convince us of:

• Fear: “If I don’t take this trade, I’ll miss out on the only good opportunity.”
• Greed: “I can make more if I just hold a little longer.”
• Ego: “I know I’m right, so I won’t take the stop loss.”
• Shame: “I messed up, so I should just stop trading forever.”

These thoughts creep in when we’re unprepared or emotionally off balance. The best traders recognize them for what they are — lies. 

Then, they quickly reset before those thoughts take over their decision-making.

Holding on to the Right Truths

Here’s a phrase I’ve said countless times:

“The trade either works, or it doesn’t.”

That’s it. No overcomplicating it. No second-guessing.

Too many traders attach their worth to a single trade. They let one win make them overconfident or one loss make them spiral. But a trade is just a trade.

I find my edge, execute my plan, and let the results be what they are. That mindset keeps me from chasing, hesitating, or revenge trading. It keeps me disciplined.

Another core truth I always come back to:

“If the trade does nothing wrong, I have to stay long.”

Patience is a major part of trading success. When a trade is still working (not breaking below key levels or EMAs), there’s no reason to bail just because I’m feeling impatient.

Ask yourself: What are your top trading truths? What are the beliefs that keep you grounded when emotions run high?

If you don’t already have a core truth like this, I encourage you to find one. Something that keeps you grounded when the market throws you off balance.

Write it down on a piece of paper and tape it somewhere visible throughout the trading day, like right at the bottom of your monitor. 

By taking these steps technically, fundamentally, and emotionally — you’ll be better prepared to crush the trading day. 

Now, before we go, let’s look at:

💰The Biggest Smart Money Bets of the Day💰

• $8.9 million bullish bet on EEM 03/21/2025 $41 calls @ $2.97 avg. (seen on 2/11)

• $5 million bullish bet on UAL 03/21/2025 $105 calls @ $5.05 avg. (seen on 2/11)

• $1.35 million bullish bet on GOOG 05/10/2025 $162.50 calls @ $3.85 avg. (seen on 3/26)

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

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*Past performance does not indicate future results