Good morning, traders…

Picture yourself trading. It’s going perfectly. 

Buying right at the pullback level. Catching the breakout at the perfect moment. Picking the winners and passing on the losers…

All you have to do is sit back and watch the green fill up your account…

But it doesn’t happen like that, does it?

I just described a dream you have. And while that dream is achievable, you need to take certain steps to become the trader you want to be. 

You might not believe this, but when I was younger, I didn’t aspire to be a trader (or a basketball player)…

I wanted to be a game show host. 

You can laugh, but it’s true…

I pictured myself standing on stage, mic in hand, calling out, “Come on down, folks!” 

Maybe it would’ve been called Sturgill’s Sweepstakes or something…

But that dream hit a brick wall when I turned 25. 

At 6’ 8”, I was too tall.

Imagine me, towering over contestants, making them look like kids. It just wouldn’t work. 

But hey, at least I realized it before going all in on that dream.

That got me thinking about dreams. About what we think we want vs. what we’re actually suited for. 

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

In trading, it’s easy to dream about big wins and massive accounts. But without the right foundation, those dreams can fall apart just as fast as my game show ambitions did.

Let Me Show You How To Become The Trader You Dream Of Being…

What It Takes to Win Consistently

I’ve said it before, but it’s crucial. Your mindset plays a major role in how you perform as a trader…

The market rewards patience, discipline, and emotional control just as much as it rewards a good setup.

Take a moment and think about the best traders you know or follow. What makes them stand out? 

It’s probably not just their technical skills, but their mindset. They have a certain way of handling wins and losses, separating them from the rest.

Here are a few key traits of successful traders:

• Patience – Waiting for the right setup instead of chasing.
• Discipline – Sticking to your trading plan no matter what.
• Humility – Accepting losses and learning from them.
• Emotional Stability – Not letting fear or greed take over.
• Attention to Detail – Knowing every aspect of the chart you’re trading.

If you practiced all of these qualities, would you be a better trader? 

The answer is yes. 

You’d be practically unstoppable…

3 Steps to Build These Traits

Improving these qualities doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent effort, they’ll become second nature. 

Here are a few practical ways to start developing them:

Patience: Get in the longest line at the grocery store and stay there. No shortcuts. It sounds silly, but it forces you to sit with discomfort and build patience. That pays off in trading.

Discipline: Pick one habit that’s good for you but hard to do. Wake up early, work out daily, or read. Stick with it for 30 days. Discipline in life carries over into trading.

Humility: Ask someone you trust for one piece of honest feedback on how you can improve as a person. Accept it without defensiveness and work on it. Remember the single most important word in trading. 

Applying These Steps to Your Trading

Just like writing down what you admire in others, you should do the same with your trades. After every trade, take a screenshot and ask yourself:

• Why did I take this trade?
• What did I see in the setup?
• Did I follow my rules?
• What can I learn from it?

If you want to find winning trades consistently, you need to identify the patterns and setups that work for you and stick with them. 

But knowing when to sit on the sidelines is just as important as knowing when to trade. 

This means identifying trading windows throughout the day, seasonality throughout the year, and price action throughout the setup, to tell you when to trade and when to wait. 

Think of your trades like people — some have all the right qualities, and others … not so much. 

The more you recognize what works — and what doesn’t — the better you’ll get at spotting the highest-probability setups. 

Identifying (and Replacing) Bad Habits

To be the trader you dream of being, you need to understand, identify, and replace your bad habits. 

Bad habits can be the biggest enemies of an up-and-coming trader.

If you do the wrong thing and get lucky, you might experience misplaced positive reinforcement, causing you to think a bad habit is a good one.

And while unlearning bad habits can be challenging, it’s certainly not impossible.

Here’s how to start:

Identify the habit: The first step to unlearning a bad habit is to identify it. Take some time to reflect on your recent trading performance. Do your best to pinpoint the habit that’s holding you back.

Understand the habit: Once you’ve identified the habit, try to understand why you do it. Is it a response to stress or anxiety? Does it provide a sense of comfort or familiarity? (If you don’t understand your bad habits, you’ll never break them…)

Replace the habit: It’s difficult to overcome a bad habit without replacing it with something else. Identifying a positive action that you can substitute for your bad habit, and implement it immediately.  

The best traders I know have a strong work ethic, forward drive, and ability to productively self-reflect…

They’re skilled at looking back on their trading and removing the mistakes that led to losses.

By doing so, they can identify their bad habits and eliminate them for good. 

And now, it’s time for you to do the same…

As we head into the second half of 2025, this is the perfect time to focus on becoming the trader you want to be. 

Work towards building the habits (and mindset) that will help you reach your long-term goals. 

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

P.S. Since launching my OMEN Scanner, I’ve achieved an 89% win rate with a 72% average gain…

My top 120 trades have all generated 100% or higher. 27 soared above 200%, and 12 exploded beyond 300%…

But my biggest trade yet could be setting up RIGHT NOW.

Join Vince Dowd this THURSDAY, JULY 3 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a LIVE WORKSHOP where he’ll go over our biggest trade ideas in the options market.

Seats are running out — Click here to sign up before it’s too late. 

*Past performance does not indicate future results