From 7-Figure Trader to Chart-Free Freedom

Life of a Pro Trader

The phone steals my attention for the millionth time. I take it on the headset that has been glued to my ear all day.

It’s a broker showing me a market he’s working. I go to my first monitor and eagerly enter the options structure into my pricer to check if there is some money to be made. 

At the same time I glance over at my news feed on the second monitor. It is a big day in the Oil market; OPEC are deciding whether to cut production or hold. The market is jittery.

“No interest.” I reply to the broker and promptly hang up. 

I scan my market exposure on the third monitor and lose myself imagining what trades I’d need to make depending on the outcome of the meeting.

“HERE WE GO!” My boss shouts. 

My fourth monitor lights up like a Christmas tree, the markets are moving, the decision is in: OPEC are cutting production.

“Buy 200 at 68” my boss orders. Like a captain of a ship in a storm, he demands nothing less than perfection. 

I lazer focus on the fifth monitor, the trading terminal, executing trades left, right and center. My nerves are still, my breathing shallow, deep in the flow state.

The 6th screen is buzzing with analysts and traders reacting to the news, the information flow is non-stop. The stakes are high, the rewards are massive, there is no room for error. 

You must be in tune with the markets 24-7, you cannot be taken by surprise, you must always have a game plan. Your position seared into your mind, ready to call the 24hr execution desk at any moment.

No matter what you are doing; seeing friends and family, pursuing hobbies, traveling, keeping fit, the market is always front of mind and everything falls into background noise. Many will try, few will survive, the discretionary trader is a rare breed. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Fast forward two years. I stroll back leisurely to my desk from a lunchtime tennis game with the head quant. The floor is buzzing, something is happening. I tuck into my boxed lunch amidst the chaos, a quick refresh of my dashboard is all I need to check my exposure and know that today is going to be a good day.

What changed?

The strategies that I had to keep floating in my head, were now automated. Working relentlessly to scan the markets for opportunities that I knew, when executed repeatedly, would grow my desk’s equity steadily, up and to the right.

Gone were the days of waking up and frantically scanning the overnight news and market movements. No longer did I need to hold the positions in my mind wherever I went.

I was free.

Free mentally and physically, to live a life that I earned and could enjoy fully. 

Now my mission is to share with you all the lessons learned the hard way, the thousands of mistakes made trying to run a profitable automated trading business. 

So you can reclaim your time, energy and passion for life!