Good morning, traders…

Before you started trading, what did you imagine it would be like?

Eyes glued to the screen (probably through expensive designer shades), palms sweating, forehead veins pulsing? Absolutely enormous numbers on the screen? Risking your yearly salary in one morning?

I hate to break it to you, but that’s not how it works. 

Trading should actually be kind of boring.

That might sound disappointing. Maybe you thought every day would feel like an episode of Billions…

But it should really feel like another day at the office.

Those mega-rich guys in trading movies shouldn’t be your model of success. 

1. Many of these characters are breaking the law to gain an illegal edge. 
2. Hollywood likes to promote the image of “the maniac speculator who makes perfect trades against all odds.” (But this is fiction.)

It’s easy to think that excitement means you’re doing something right. 

Your brain is wired to thirst for the quick dopamine hit that risk-taking provides. 

This is why casinos, sports books, prediction markets, and lotteries are so popular. 

But strategic, disciplined trading shouldn’t feel like gambling. 

If your heart rate is spiking in a trade, you’re almost certainly risking too much money. 

And while that might be thrilling when the trade works, it will absolutely wreck you when it doesn’t.

This is how trading movies get it wrong…

Nothing Should Catch You Off Guard

You should never be shocked by what happens during a trade. 

Before you ever enter, you should already know exactly how much you’re willing to risk. 

That way, if the stock hits your stop, it’s not some big emotional event. It’s not a moment for drama…

It’s just business. 

You knew what you were risking, and you were fine with it when you entered. 

So if the trade doesn’t work, you close it out and move on. 

No chasing. No revenge trading. No pathologically checking (and re-checking) the chart to see if it’s gone back in your direction…

Just on to the next.

When trades don’t work, less-experienced traders fall into a dangerous trap.

They move their stops and break their rules the moment that setup starts going against them, thinking it’s bound to reverse in their favor. 

But it almost never does…

Instead, those small, manageable losses turn into bigger, harder-to-digest drawdowns. 

And every time that happens, it stirs up more emotion, making the next trade even harder to manage. 

That sparks a vicious cycle. And if you don’t catch it early, you can blow up a small account faster than you’d think.

Another Day at the Office

Instead, trading should feel like another day at the office. 

You can (and should) be excited about your long-term goals … about what steady, consistent trading gains could mean for your life. 

But in the moment, when you’re in the middle of a trade, it shouldn’t be nerve-wracking. It should feel like punching the clock. 

This is why we’ve built a system. This is why we follow our rules. This is why we use tools that help keep us on track. 

(See my recent 100%+ win on Nike calls).*

The more boring you can make your trading, the more you can get out of your own way (and let your setups play out as they should). 

There’s freedom in that. When you trust your plan and respect your risk, you stop putting all your hopes and fears into one trade. 

You stop letting a single win or loss define your worth as a trader. 

You just keep showing up, make the best possible decisions, and follow your system religiously. 

Day after day, week after week, month after month…

That’s how exceptional traders are built.

Disciplined trading isn’t flashy. It doesn’t feel like The Wolf of Wall Street.

But it works.

And over time, that “boring” process can lead to some exciting results. 

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

*Past performance does not indicate future results