Harry on journalling and the three years before his first payout

0:00For this year, my goal was to hit 250k payouts. I'm on a good pace. I think I'm at near 75, 80 or something now. So, started in 2021, blew through 30 accounts, and then going on and getting your first payout, and then clearly something changed and shifted. Most traders in today's day and age only show the highlight reel. They share the wins, the payouts, and the perfect days. Today's guest chooses to document everything.

0:21I focus heavily on my performance, so that's really what I'm judging myself based on. I don't really care about the trades. I saw my first pair after my first challenge, basically after three years. But I must say, I think I could have seen some results a bit sooner had I just immediately work on Today's guest is Harry. He only received his first prop firm payout in July 2024, but in less than 2 years went on to generate $250,000 in payouts.

0:46Trading is something that takes time, like becoming a doctor. It just takes time. You have to understand that. It's a skill to learn. And I think people have to make sure they pay more attention to reading things like that's how the game works. You have to be able to do that. He openly calls himself a delusional optimist. And today we dive into the question that most traders never ask themselves. When does that ambition and belief push you forward and when does it actually turn into denial?

1:10In this episode, you're going to understand exactly why persistence alone isn't enough and why most people are underestimating the value of experience and time. If you still have a job, I definitely wouldn't recommend just quitting it maybe after hitting a couple of payouts just as it's just pure delusion. As an aspiring trader, how do you know whether you're getting lucky or whether you're actually doing something that's producing an outcome based on skill?

1:31Um, it's a very good question. I think it's actually Let's get into it. Welcome to the Propirm Trader YouTube channel, the number one channel in the world for funded traders. Now, before we get into this incredible episode, the best way to continue to support us is make sure that you're subscribed to the channel and you like this video.

1:50That's going to help us to continue to reach the best prop firm traders and best prop firms in the game. As well as this, we also have a free Discord through Chart Fanatics where we deliver endless amounts of education and value completely for free. On top of this, we have in-depth strategy breakdowns on the Chart fanatics YouTube channel. And of course, we have professional trader interviews on the Words of Wisdom channel.

2:10And last but not least, we have completely free trading education which is going to completely revolutionalize the space on Chart Academy. Without any further ado, let's get into this episode. What's up everyone? Welcome back to the Prop Firm Trader Podcast, the number one podcast in the world for prop firms and funded traders. I'm Sanjief. I'm your host. I'm here to take you inside the mind of some of the most successful prop traders to date.

2:37Now, in today's episode, I have a very interesting guest, as are basically all of our guests that we have on here, but a very, very interesting and special guest today. Today's guest has built their following on transparency, documenting the highs, the lows, and absolutely everything in between. They actually received their first prop firm payout in July 2024 and since that time has gone on to generate $250,000 in payouts from prop firms. They openly describe themselves as a delusional optimist and I'm very interested to dive inside their mind to see exactly what that means and how that works for their trading.

3:13Without any further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce Harry. Nice to meet you. Nice to be here. Thank you. Thank you so much for being appreciate it. Honestly, man, it's it's my absolute pleasure to have you here today. Um, if you don't mind, I want to jump straight into conversation. Sure. Sure. There's something that I I I think in reading your your bio and what your journey has been like so far, I think the first thing that I want to throw your way is I want to understand in the last two years, you've done $250,000 in payouts.

3:43Yes. Right. What was different about the trader that you were before that time compared to the trader that you are now? Uh, sure. So basically how I went from you know getting to that point where it's consistent and actually profiting from the markets as opposed to strug struggling and exactly. Yeah. Um sure. Um so I mean there's a lot of things that happen right in that time.

4:05Um so first of all like when you start out you have to learn anyways right like you're new to the game. Trading is something that takes time like any other thing like becoming a doctor or whatever. It just takes time. You have to understand that. So I mean I guess in the first one to two years I shouldn't have expected anything really anyways. But the problem is nobody really tells you that or at least back then I had nobody that told me and I kind of thought I could just um you know get there faster or whatever.

4:24Yeah. Um but for the first year um first years there were many things that I didn't really have in place. I didn't have a proper strategy which is like really the first step. You have to commit to an actual approach and then work on that you know um learn it properly, back test it or life test it whatever. Um and then collect that data, journal all the things really. Um so that's obviously one thing that missed. Um and then more things that obviously missed were also experience market experience.

4:55It's also important. I think it also gets overlooked overlooked a bit too much. Uh you do have to have some sort of experience in the markets I think before you're actually able to profit on it except for maybe a few very rare examples. Um then also my life circumstances honestly weren't really great for that at the time cuz I went all in on trading. I actually quit school for for trading um back in 2021 at the end cuz I was like confident I was going to go down that route and I did struggle for a long time.

5:20So like I mean obviously right it's 3 years since um then up until 2024 that I had my first payout. So it was long enough that I um struggled. Um, so yeah, basically acting from that kind of perspective of having to make money. Um, especially in the beginning when you're learning, I just always self-sabotaged due to it, right? I always self-sabotaged myself and even though I technically I think I after like maybe two 3 years I could have or two years I probably could have like profitably traded based on the edge but I just wasn't able to follow it.

5:50So I didn't have the circumstances. Um, and then also yeah starting with things like properly journaling like at the start I never really yeah just didn't want to put the work in. maybe um being too lazy or just thinking like okay I'm special I don't have to do that you know yeah those kind of thoughts really um but eventually I did pick on it like proper journaling my emotions and also the trades might I'm taking and then also properly logging the trades so that I'm actually able to look at the key metrics and analyze them and properly um probably properly dive into that data um those kind of things everything combined is then essentially what kind of um worked in my favor as well as also um working a job then right so um eventually I did pick up like a job that I stick to for like one and a half years um which did help me a lot cuz it covered my expenses I wasn't then forced to make money from trading I had that pressure built up all those all the time before and also the people around me were um you know pressuring me in that sense

6:53um so yeah um that definitely helped a lot um just taking that pressure off and then I was just kind of able to slowly um work myself out of it and eventually then get that first payout and then things started rolling from there. Nice, man. You know, something that you mentioned there very early on that I think a lot of people really overlook and I I think you said it correctly,

7:15which is like it's market experience. It's things that people actually I think they they try and rush the process too much in this day and age. Back in, you know, the time where you were kind of going through this, I think especially during that transition where I think you mentioned it was 2021 where you kind of quit school. You thought you wanted aware at that time of how important market experience needed to be as part of your journey? No.

7:43No, definitely I definitely wasn't otherwise I may have maybe um stuck in there for longer. Um it's I mean the problem is just nobody really told me right like um is it isn't marketed in that way in the space. Um, and it's marketed very heavily on fast success and, you know, get rich quick kind of thing, which is why many people fall for even myself, right?

7:59I just kind of thought I could do it quicker. Um, and and then again, even aside from that, you kind of also just manipul manipulate yourself into that thinking anyways, right? Um, if you want it and and it's Yeah. I don't know. You just kind of it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. You think yourself into it and then you believe it and and act upon it essentially. Yeah. But yeah, no, I definitely didn't know and I it's something I would have ever thought at the beginning that actually takes so much time.

8:23Yeah, there there's going to be a lot of people I think that are watching this that can resonate with that because I mean I myself was in a very similar position at one point where I wanted to go all in. I packed it in too early and I still found that there was some struggle that was left ahead of me that I needed to learn my lessons to go through. So when you say that again something I can resonate with and I think there's going to be a lot of prop firm traders that are watching this that can that can resonate with that exact same message right they also have those dreams and ambitions of maybe going full-time wanting to make it big in the prop space but I think that what they're underestimating is the time that it would necessarily take so to the person that is still in those early days of struggle and I I'm thinking primarily for from your experience that you had in maybe the transition from quitting school thinking that this was going going to be your big blowup moment to then still having to go through that struggle.

9:18What advice would you give that person? Like how do you get them through that process? Yeah, 100%. Um, so I it depends on the circumstances you're in, right? So I mean obviously depends on age and what kind of what your environment is um what kind of um yeah cards you were basically given, right?

9:33I mean some people just have the blessing that maybe they don't even have to work cuz they get provided uh stuff sufficiently um or whatever. But um I think if you are like if you for example work a job let's just assume like the normal person probably um if you still have a job I definitely wouldn't recommend like just quitting it just maybe after hitting a couple of payouts or or like some people even say you know after you have like your 100k funded account or whatever.

9:55Like that's just that's just delusion. It's pure delusion. Um, so I mean I think ideally um what I'd recommend is um before you consider actually quitting um stick to your job, continue doing that um and just trade on the side up until the point where you maybe have at least say like a year of consistency, right? Like a year of consistent payouts where you are actually able to properly uh properly consistently execute your edge and um you know take something from the markets. Um, so you actually have that kind of proof over a larger period of time because two, three months could just be a lucky streak, could just be a hot streak, I think.

10:31Um, so you want to prove that to yourself and then also from a financial standpoint, you're also going to because trading is very tough on the psychology. And that's just that's just the truth. Um, and when you're acting from a position of you're having to make money to pay your bills next month or in a few days, whatever, it's very hard for somebody to to be able to deal with that, including myself.

10:56I wasn't able to. M um so you're going to also want to put yourself in a position where you have like I I like to call like maybe like an emergency fund or just an amount of money when you actually when you actually seriously want to go full-time, right? Even then, I think you could maybe even still continue with your job. If it works both, why not? But if you really want to be that full-time trader and it's really your dream, I'm not against it.

11:14I think it's great, do it. Um but do it just um properly. And I'd say, yeah, maybe have like 6 months at least of like funds to cover your bills aside so that even if you have a rough period like 1 month, 2 months, I mean, there couldn't be quarters where you're in draw down or where the markets are just not really moving that well for for your edge where you don't make any money, but you have to be able to be cool with that first of all psychologically, but then also from a financial standpoint, right?

11:39Cuz if you don't have the funds to cover that, you're going to be struggling. So those would really be the key things, right? Yeah, 100%. I I think that's spot on. Trading education is completely broken. For years, the industry has been purged and poisoned by bad actors, fake results, and strategies hidden behind pay walls. But in every industry, every once in a while becomes a catalyst, a moment in time for change. Now, imagine a world where elite trading education was entirely free.

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13:45Yeah, you you mentioned something which I think I I don't know definitely struck a chord with me and I think will do for a lot of people at home whether they know it or like know it or it's unconscious for them. I definitely think it's something they'll resonate with which is you mentioned you could go through two to three months of actually making money but it could just be luck.

14:05Yeah. And I think that will be a surprise to a lot of people because there's a lot of prop firm traders that I speak to and like they're basing their success on just their last winning trade. Yeah. Right. And that's, you know, it's just it's one trade out of, you know, a very very small sample size. Yeah. Talk to me about that difference between luck and skill. As an aspiring trader, how do you know whether you're getting lucky or whether you're actually doing something that's producing an outcome based on skill?

14:25Um, I it's a very good question. I think it's actually really hard to quantify in terms of like specific numbers. It's very hard to quantify, but I would personally say that um cuz cuz you definitely can have those lucky streaks and I've had them myself, especially at the beginning for some reason. There's this fallacy as well where you know we have the beginners like I was also actually in the time when I started out with it was actually crypto trading back then.

14:54But I also got kind of lucky. I made a decent amount of money in a short period of time and I thought I had it all figured out, you I thought I was set for life back then. Um but it wasn't the case obviously, right? And um so there's definitely that luck involved and especially with prop firms with the way the proper model works obviously where you can just go next account, go next account.

15:09Somebody could blow 10 accounts and have a payout um of 5K and be break even and another payout and he's profitable even though technically he's blown like you know all those draw downs. Yeah. So especially especially in the prop trading it doesn't mean anything. I think what you're going to um to be able to most accurately tell is um obviously consistent payouts like making more money than you're spending um but also um ideally you want to be actually like profitably trading I think and um I think it's just the only thing that I could really say as like an indication of that is just a large sample size of time.

15:45So like a year at least something, right? Um, ideally even longer. But if you can at least be profitable for a year consistently and even stick through the rough patches because I think that's also a great um great way to do it is you should be able to have handled like bad periods but being able to stuck stick through them, right?

16:04I think that's kind of also great. Um cuz then you kind of have proven to yourself, okay, I can handle those periods and come out on top cuz they will come as well, right? Um as opposed to just going all in after 2, 3 months of success. Um because the bad periods will come most surely. Yeah. I I always try and say to most people that I actually think one of the situations that determines your success is it's not the good periods, it's how you manage the lows.

16:29And I think so many people get hyped up when they pass a challenge, you know, or they get funded or they get that first payout and they think this is it. I've made it. And I actually tell them the opposite. I'm like, it's how you deal with the slow periods, the choppy periods, the rough ones where you've blown the account.

16:42100%. If you're not able to bounce back from that moment, your longevity in this game is is really it's hindered a lot. And I think a lot of people don't consider that. Yeah. No, it's true. It's true. One one thing which um you kind of touched on right at the start of today is you mentioned the importance of data and journaling. And actually, I think this couples very closely with what we're talking about at the moment, which is when you separate luck and skill, you really have to understand, are you trading profitably, right?

17:02Are you actually doing the right things? Are you getting more money out of the system than you're actually putting in? You can only know that if you're tracking that data. Exactly. 100%. So, what what was that journey like with journaling for you? Cuz you mentioned it wasn't something that you started with, but obviously you saw the importance of at some point down the line. Yeah. Um, so it's the thing is I think why people struggle with that and also maybe why I did it is because even when you start out with it at the beginning when you do it for the first one, two, 3 months, you really don't see like the benefits in it.

17:33You don't notice them. It really just goes by. You kind of just feel like you're wasting your time like writing down. Yeah. I mean, why why should I write down what I already did today? You know, like it just seems stupid to kind of just repeat that. I want to go next, you know? Um, so I I can understand why it's a struggle to get into and I think that's also why many people maybe even quit doing it after one or two months and maybe trying it out at least but then they just say I don't see any benefits but the um I think when the magic really happens if is when you do that for a bit longer right so say at least half a year year cuz that's when like that's when you have collected enough of a sample size to the point where you can actually then go back review that and that's really where like the uh the key improvements and the magic happens because reviewing that data that's where you notice all the patterns oh okay I'm consistently doing this um and even nowadays it's even easier with with AI right you can just throw it into AI and have

18:33it kind of look over for you as well um and makes everything a lot smoother and faster more efficient as well so um yeah I think that's kind of really where where a lot of people struggle with but I think with that I just say like you have to just stick with it right you just have to keep going and you'll notice the improvements or the benefits it's after a period of time and that was the case for me then eventually right and once I noticed how impactful it actually was um and actually my my profitability also came maybe like a year after starting that properly okay um which is quite interesting right so um I just knew that it's something I had to keep doing right and stay on top on even now like even now like you know it's you become you you yeah you you tend to maybecome a bit lazy complacent is the right word exactly thank you um but I just try to make sure I stay on top because I know how beneficial it is and you can also fall down very quickly if you don't.

19:19Yeah, 100%. So, what what does your journaling practice look like like even now? So, I I know you obviously you've shared the importance of starting that practice in in practicality on a day-to-day basis. Are you journaling every day or is it just an end of week reflection? Like what does that look like for you? Actually, both. Actually, both. So, I I journal like every day.

19:43So, what I like to do is just write like a daily review is how I like to call it. Um, where I basically uh insert all kind of like thoughts and emotions I had throughout the day, throughout the trades. Um, but I focus heavily on my performance. So, that's really what I'm judging myself based on. I don't really care about the trades or as in like the results of the trades. I just judge myself heavily based on my performance for that journaling side of things.

20:01I do that for every day and then also for the for the um end of the week, right? So at the end of the week, I'll read through my daily reviews basically and then just kind of write another short weekly review on like the most important kind of things, right? Like what's something that maybe repeatedly happened cuz it makes my work easier later on when I'm trying to review that data.

20:19So then I don't have to read maybe every daily review, right? And just the weekly cuz they cover the most important topics. Um so yeah, that's how I like to do it right now with the journaling side of things. And have you have you always been documenting the thoughts and emotions as well? Because in my

20:37experience, I tend to speak to a lot of traders that fall into probably one of two camps. One, which is the side that I hate, but most people end up doing, which is they don't journal at all, which I think is the biggest mistake you can make. But secondly, the ones that do journal, the only thing they journal and they document is the trades that they've taken.

20:51But you you made a specific point to say the thoughts and the emotions as well. What's what's the rationale behind that? And why do you think it's important that people should be doing that? I think it's important because um the same way that you learn a lot based on the trades you take, right? Like statistic wise and stuff and every everything that has to do with like statistics that can be improved or or judged based on enough data.

21:10The same really goes for your emotions, right? When you actually journal your emotions, you're able to once a certain um period of time goes by, you're able to review that. And same as with the with the um data of the trades, you're then able to actually see patterns in your behavior and you're then able to correct that, right? You're then able to um really reflect on yourself and really notice also you learn a lot about yourself, how you function as a person and you're then able to kind of pivot and do things that um yeah um move you in that right direction basically, right?

21:46So that change your behavior in that way that is needed. Um, and that's only possible if you actually journal it, cuz if you don't do that, you'll you'll never know how you felt like a week ago, right? 100%. Um, it's just tough to really replicate. What What do you think were the biggest insights that came from your journal? Because you you've credited journaling to being one of the maybe one of the biggest habits that you took up that took you from unprofitable to profitable.

22:10So, what were the biggest things that your journal highlighted and what did you start being able to do differently to start breaking free of those? Yeah. So for me, I think it was mainly things like overtrading and um taking things too personal maybe or just not being able to to um accept a losing day, things like that. And um I found that by even just like writing that down consistently, I wrote that down so many times, you know, like so many times, so many journals, if I go back, I'll be able to find that.

22:34And it also gets to a point where it's just frustrating to have to write it down every time, right? you I really think I really thought to myself, okay, I mean you just want to keep going and every day you want to write the same thing and the thing is you really notice it when you have to write it down, right? Obviously pairs with with having the confidence in my edge and the data which went along kind of at the same time.

23:01Um, but in a way just like learning about myself and becoming frustrated at the person or the trader I was back then. Even just that in a way helped a lot, right? And then you only really do that by cuz basically if I if I mess up in a day or if I do dumb uh dumb [ __ ] basically. Um I'm going to have to write a longer daily review. So I'm actually going to have to spend more time on it.

23:24So it's basically like a um punishment at that point. And I don't want to have to do that every day, right? Cuz on the good days it's pretty easy. my daily reviews is pretty short, right? There's not much to say, right? It's easy on the good days. So, um yeah, even that alone was a big lesson, right? And then aside from that, obviously learning just certain patterns and behaviors about yourself um that obviously pair a lot with the data and stuff and with the trading that just help.

23:47Yeah. Yeah. I I like that. And I I think whether you've done it consciously or unconsciously, that's a very powerful thing psychologically like to frame things that you want to move away from connecting them with pain. Yeah. And then moving, you know, moving towards things that actually give you more pleasure, which is the idea that like when I perform well, I don't have to do this boring stuff, which is, you know, the journaling. And that's that's something that allowed you to be consistent.

24:11It's it worked quite well psychologically. Yeah. Yeah. I like that. Um, now speaking of the journaling and maybe the mindset and the thoughts and the emotions that you're taking down, I I mentioned this during my intro to you and actually this is something that I want to talk about a little bit, which is you describe yourself as a delusional optimist. Yeah. What does that mean? Um, so for me that's I mean it's just kind of a playful way to describe my persona.

24:35Um, obviously it's just in the description of my my ex bio I believe. Um, yeah, I just kind of I I like to take myself not too serious and also just kind of be um, you know, interesting character in that sense. And um I I think it's still a decent enough um description of somebody like me though because I was somebody who always went against what kind of like the norm would say or what normal people would do um go to college, go to um finish school and whatnot.

24:57And I think it's kind of like based on that, right? It's kind of just describing myself in in my persona in a specific way. Um because many people would call it delusional. Um so I just kind of went by and just kind of marketed it in my favor. But that's kind of like the idea of it, but not to be taken too seriously. It's just playfulness. Is that something that you feel like you've always like naturally had?

25:24You've always had that kind of delusional optimism or um Yeah, I think so. I mean, I always kind of wanted to do something that's a bit bigger or say maybe different. I I I never kind of envisioned myself going I know it's said a lot. I know like it's everybody says that nowadays, but I truly honestly like deep down I I just knew that that couldn't like be it for me.

25:44like I there had to be something else and I'd rather live a life where I'm um you know doing more risky things, committing to risks and even struggling. I'd rather do that for 45 years, 50 years than um yeah um than just kind of having the same like for me that was always a scary thought you know just the thought of like my life's going to look like this for 50 years and then then it's over.

26:06So I don't know this just wasn't anything for me. So it was it was different things right before trading I maybe wanted to I mean when I was very young maybe like become a a soccer or football um pro. Um but yeah that's kind of how things moved and I eventually got into trading but I'd say you could probably say so yeah like constantly in my life there was always something different than maybe the norm.

26:22Yeah. Do you do you think that's had any like positive or negative

26:32bearing on your trading specifically? Um yeah for sure. I think especially in the beginnings like in the first years where I struggled um I'd say it probably had negative bearings. I mean in the long in the big run you can also say it has positive bearings because it just means you kind of stick to it and commit to it and and believe in yourself especially and because you create a persona off of that as well right um but in the beginning it also puts a lot of pressure on you right cuz I was also somebody who unfortunately I mean it wasn't smart in hindsight um it's not like that I shouted it out loud but I still said to everybody that I'm going to be able to do it and pull it off in quicker time than maybe what um was the case in the end.

27:08And so, yeah, I think maybe that kind of then also worked against me a bit cuz the pressure is tough to deal with. Um, but um, yeah, in in the grand scheme of things, I think still think it's a good thing. Yeah. Do you want to skip the long evaluation process and get straight to funded because Tradeify actually gives you that option? Tradeify Futures is one of the most trusted prop firms in the industry.

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29:26So, if you're looking to get an account, make sure you use code PFT at the checkout. The link is in the description below. Let's get back to the episode. Yeah, I I was interested by that one because I I personally see like two sides of the coin of this. I I think there's a side where for from a purely a trading perspective, you have to be optimistic because it's inevitable that you're going to go through [ __ ] times, tough moments, and in that moment, it doesn't make sense to continually beat yourself down.

29:54You have to be able to pick yourself up, see the bright side, take the lessons from things, and to keep moving forward. But then on the flip side, I also think that there's a time and a place when actually being pessimistic can be beneficial. True. Like for example, if you've if you're on a really hot streak in the market and you think that you're the [ __ ] you think you're the world's best thing, you probably need to be humbled.

30:08You probably need to remind yourself that, you know, the next period of draw down is right around the corner and maybe I need to settle myself down. So, I was interested to hear from from you from like firsthand if that naturally optimistic mindset would have a inherently good or bad perspective, but it sounds like it's had a little bit of both. It's had a little bit of both for sure. Um, but yeah, I think in the end you're going to probably still be more optimistic, especially when you're doing something like trading, which is which doesn't really have any clear path.

30:35There's no clear guideline for how long it takes, what you can expect of it. It's not there. You have to kind of be optimistic almost, right? Yeah. Because otherwise, you're just not going to be able to pull yourself out of the bad times. Um, yeah. Do do you think there's like a a guideline in terms of time where if somebody's doing the right things, they could reasonably expect to see a certain level of success. Like I think trading in its in its raw form, it attracts a certain type of person, right?

31:06You you most people that come into this, they have a higher ambition, a dream, a goal, a vision that they're trying to achieve. I found that many many years ago before information was accessible as it was now like we didn't have podcasts like this where we could learn from people that have you know years of experience ahead of us it was difficult to almost do the right things but in this day and age information I would argue is is everywhere if anything maybe sometimes there's too much misinformation right but for sure if if someone has the right information and they're ambitious they're that delusional optimist do you think that there's period of time which they would go through to to think you know what this is going to be something that works out for me and I could expect to see success in x amount of time or do you think it's different for everyone?

31:48Um I do think it's um it's definitely different to everyone because um yeah there's there's just generally characteristics or personality traits are different in people and that has large effects on trading, right? somebody who just me just in general by nature is is is not good at being able to take losses for example um or or bad things.

32:16He'll obviously struggle longer with that one side of thing of of being able to understand that you have to um be able to accept losses, right? And accept losing days or months, whatever. Um so it definitely is unique for everyone and there's no specific time limit that you could go off of um for for everyone that you can 100% rely on. But as you said in your example, if we're actually going off of somebody who's actually doing the right thing, so we're presuming he's committing to the right things, he's, you know, um, picking a strategy, actually working to it, not strategy hopping, journaling, um, logging data and stuff, I think reasonably, um, with the access of information we have today, and assuming he actually does that consistently, puts enough hours, I think you can definitely expect to see results maybe after 2 years or something nice, two to three years in that kind of period.

33:03And then it just kind of depends on how you're wired really, right? Like the psychological side of things that's different from person to person. Do do you think that kind of aligns with the journey that you had as well? Because obviously we know at least from your intro in the last couple of years you've had a big like kind of turn and shift in your trading as well. But I presume prior to that you've been trading for a number of years before this if I'm correct.

33:25Yeah. Yeah. You mean before the first payout? Correct. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I mean, so I mean, technically even sooner than that, like in 2021 is actually only when I bought my first prop firm account. Okay. Um, before that, I was even engaging in like I said like crypto trading back then and um also um some other things such as like options and um yeah, little little bits with um with stocks. Nothing major though. Yeah. Um so technically I even have more experience than that.

33:52Um, but I'm just strictly going off of like, okay, since I actually committed like forex and indices trading with with uh, you know, props and that's like 5 years now. So, um, yeah, I guess it was kind of similar for me. Um, I saw my first pair after my first challenge basically after 3 years, right? So, that's kind of fits within that timeline. But I must say I I'm I think I could have, you know, seen some results a bit sooner. Maybe not like so much sooner, but a bit sooner.

34:21Had I just like immediately worked on the right things and and done the things that you kind of should be doing to to see that success? Do you do you know off the

34:32top of your head from I think you mentioned 2021 you bought your first prop account to 2024 getting your first payout. How many challenges you went through in that period? I I did went through a lot and I'm unfortunately a stupid uh person that always I bought my first account which was a 100k account.

34:48Okay. And for some reason I just never went below that. That's just what I stuck with. I you know just think big in that way. So I just delusional optimism. Yeah. Yeah. I just didn't want to go back down at that point. I just thought okay so that's the standard now where it's not small obviously. I just have to say that right. So I wouldn't advise that to anybody. You should start with small accounts.

35:07Um I think it's not a bad thing to even at the beginning buy accounts but um start with small investments you know even a small personal or just small accounts. You don't have to burn as much money as I did. So, I just went with 100Ks and I'm I've definitely blown over like 25 accounts before I had my first 100K. So, that's a decent amount of money, especially for somebody who's young and that's kind of like all his money, right? Yeah. Yeah. Fair.

35:31Yeah. Um, so fast forward a couple of years, started in 2021, blew through 25 or so accounts, 25 30 30 accounts. Uh, and then going on and getting your first payout and then clearly something changed and shifted. Yeah. One thing I am very curious to learn a little bit more about is I've obviously seen I would say probably your more recent experience over the last maybe 6 or 12 months that I've been following you or so and one thing that has become very very evident is you've actually become quite good at playing the prop firm game in juggling multiple accounts, multiple different firms.

36:06Yes. Um I I presume multiple different rules. What's what's that process like? Because I mean I I think at one point I had two or three prop accounts running and I found that a nightmare. Like how how do you how do you juggle all of that and how do you manage that behind the scenes? It's a good question and honestly um I think that in itself is probably even to a degree kind of a skill you actually have to learn in a way.

36:28Not um cuz it's like hard or complicated but I think it just gets overlooked. People just assume they'll be able to do it or whatever. But um yeah, especially in the proper space, you have to really take care of those things because proper space obviously works in a way where if you don't trade in line with the rules for example, you won't get the payout, right? And you don't want to give the firms any reason to deny you, right? And they'll they'll do that if you didn't follow a rule, which is um rightfully so cuz that's that's how it works, right?

36:50So um that's really why I think it's a skill in itself because people put too little effort. I see so many people complain online on X whatever in my feed. It's every day, right? complain about this or that, but then it turns out they actually did just kind of breach that rule, but they just couldn't accept it maybe or they just thought it doesn't apply to them or they overlooked it, whatever.

37:14But that's why it is actually a skill and it is something that I also had to learn along the way. I mean, I do think it makes sense to trade with multiple prop accounts um because you want to scale up, right? If you want to go big kind of, then you almost have to cuz you won't be able to get that much allocation with just one single firm. So, it's kind of naturally something you're going to have to do at least to a certain point maybe until you have a personal or whatever.

37:33Um, but um yeah, it's it's just something that you have to kind of ease into. For me, it just kind of happened naturally over time, but I am also someone who does his due diligence very well. So, I'll before I um trade with that firm or even before I buy the account, I will like make sure I actually fully check the FAQ, right? Um, I'll make sure I understand everything and everything that's important so that it doesn't bug me later on.

38:01Um, and yeah, and then it's kind of just a bit like a repetition then after doing it for a while. I mean, now I kind of almost know the rules by heart, you know, so you could just kind of like ask me, okay, Bright Fun, what's their pay? I probably, you know, all those kind of things. Um, I kind of know them by heart now, but I only know them because I've done it long enough and had the experience in it, right? Y um, but it's just something you have to ease into.

38:24But it's a skill to learn and I think you have to make sure or people have to make sure they pay more attention to reading things like the FAQs, everything because that's how the game works. You have to be able to do that. Yeah. Have you had any experiences along the way where you maybe weren't so clued up on the rules or you've had payouts rejected for reasons?

38:42Yeah, for sure. For sure. I mean, luckily it's not happened many times. Um, so I must say that like I I think I in generally I I I've done quite well in that regard. Um but I definitely there were like there's maybe like a handful three four five payouts I'd say um that maybe have gotten denied along my journey um due to things like um yeah um having not um understood a rule or just an accidental thing right accidentally placed a trade on news for example it just happens um but that's obviously then where I also judge myself quite heavily because I say okay look I mean you didn't prepare properly obviously right so um that's something where I judge myself on then because it's my duty to do so it's my my job if you want to say so.

39:19So I got to make sure I'm prep adequately prepared. But I think you're you're taking that in a very maybe again this goes back to like the delusional optimism which is like you've actually taken that in a very positive way. We and I I've seen this in a few of the guests that I've had the good fortune of speaking to where they are just willing to take accountability and ownership for everything. Yeah, I I spend a lot of time on X Twitter.

39:45Um, and I tend to see from the kind of landscape of a lot of prop firm traders, it's very easy for a lot of people to just point the finger and blame the firm. Yeah. And, you know, conclude that they're doing shady business. And in reality, when you actually unpack it, you know, there there's that common saying where there's three sides to every story.

40:07There's their version, there's the prop firm version, and maybe the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But you you know you've had those experiences where unfortunately you've you've broken a rule, you've been denied a payout for whatever reason, but you haven't been angry about it per se. It's more so like I've used I think the word you used was like I judge myself.

40:25Yeah. And you've taken it upon yourself to like I need to be better for next time. Yeah. Do you think that's obviously a beneficial mindset to have for a lot of people? Oh

40:34yeah, very much so. It's honestly a a character trait or whatever you want to call it that so many people lack. I find um so many people lack it like it's honestly like your life becomes so much better if you just kind of center everything on yourself and just everything that happens to you if you just kind of um yeah make it so that it's your fault or your responsibility basically it changes so much honestly and especially also in the profit space it's so important cuz if you don't have that you're just going to be you're going to have reasons to um to be to be mad or whatever anything anybody all the time and you're just going to be in a negative mindset.

41:07But if you can clear that out and just um yeah, just be self accountable fully um unless obviously it's really something that is out of your control, then you're just going to live a better life as well and it's going you're going to be more successful as well like 100% 100%. Yeah. to so I I want to understand how you balance that mindset with dealing with like choppy or rough periods in the market because obviously we want to go through stages where we can extract lessons.

41:38We want to do the best for oursel. But in certain situations when it comes to trading, we often don't have a lot of control over what happens. Right? Past the point of our analysis and we've clicked buy and sell and we've, you know, measured our position size correctly. After that point, we don't really know, right? It's sometimes it's going to work, sometimes it's not.

41:56And something that you've always done, I think quite a good job of is you talk about very openly the idea that sometimes conditions are just not going to be great. Yeah, we had the good fortune of really unpacking your strategy and you openly shared that on average around your your win rate is around 35%. Which means you know roughly six seven sorry six or seven trades out of 10 probably not going in your favor. No exact right.

42:23So when you go through those periods and with a win rate like that I presume you go through periods of of you know draw down and things like this. How do you deal with that mentally? like if you're someone that's naturally taking ownership and accountability for everything, how do you make sure that you don't ever beat yourself up too much um and you're actually looking at things in a constructive way to deal with that period? Um yeah, I think that's a great question because it is definitely something that um yeah, for people like me or who are kind of like that wired that way, um it's it's kind of speaks against you each or it stands against each other.

42:52Um, but it's I think it's also something that's just a lot to do with character development and experience because obviously you kind of learn that along the way, right? Um, I am self accountable in all those ways as you said or in in in all ways, but I'm also I also understand that like with the markets I just can't be fully self-accountable like not because if I have a bad month or a bad um period that is not necessarily down to me, right?

43:21It could be down to me, but the kind the difference really comes in between um when it goes down to was it due to me or was it not due to me. I'll be harsh on myself if it was due to me, if I like missed trades I should have taken, for example, because I was hesitant or was scared or whatever. Um but if it was if I literally took all trades I should have taken, took good trades and performed well um every day, then yeah, I'm I'm happy with that.

43:46You know, I'll I'll be self accountable to the point where it's like fine. and I I'm not then negative about myself or talking down on myself. It really just depends on how that kind of came um to place, right? Um but yeah, it's it's a lot to do with um with I think character development and just experience and also journaling cuz you learn those things by journaling, right?

44:03So that's why it's important. Yeah. Hey guys, the biggest prop firm expo we've seen so far is going down on June 27th in London. And trust me, this is not something you want to miss. Prop firm Trader is going to be there hosting live podcasts on stage with some of the best prop firm traders in the space. As always, we're not just going to be talking results. We're going to understand how they think, how they trade, and how they actually stay consistent.

44:27You're also going to see live sessions from chart fanatics, plus an opportunity to meet some of your favorite prop firms. There are going to be giveaways and opportunities to win prizes throughout the day. We're going to have our own booth there alongside Words of Wisdom, Chart Fanatics, and Chart Academy. So, make sure you come down and meet the team.

44:46We're going to be giving away free accounts and merchandise throughout the entire day. It's all happening on June 27th in London. All the links you need are in the description below. And if you're planning to grab a ticket, make sure you use code PFT to make the biggest savings. I'll see you there. Is there a specific thing that you do maybe mentally or physically to actually have that reset?

45:05Because, and maybe again, I just speak this from my experience, but I have a very similar mindset. I would say I'm naturally, at least in this day

45:15and age, a lot more optimistic. I do try to take accountability for everything that happens. But I will still find during choppy periods, during rough, slow periods of time. And for me as like I generally trade higher time frames, these can last for extended periods of time. Like I think you you mentioned it was it was earlier in this episode, we talked about the idea that sometimes you might be in draw down for a quarter.

45:35Yeah, that's me. I'm that guy. It's possible. It's possible. Yeah. Are there specific things that you're doing? Like I said, physically, mentally that help you to kind of regain that perspective back cuz as much as you know that this is a game of probability, it can still be really frustrating in that moment. But what what specific things do you do to kind of snap you back into the right mindset? Um, it's also something I I I actually a good thing that you mentioned it because it's actually something I've struggled with or maybe it's still one of those areas I still kind of struggle with in a way.

45:58Um, so one thing that I do like on a basically daily daily basis or multiple times a week is go to the gym. That helps me a lot. Um, that's just like for the day for the day, right? It's it's it really helps me to just reset and cuz after like hitting a good gym session, I'm always so much more like distance and I have a much better perspective on things and I really just notice how yeah, it's just not really that deep, you know?

46:24Like it just gives you that kind of distance to the charts where like I really shouldn't be that upset. like why am I so upset about this losing day? So on a daily basis that helps me a lot on a weekly basis. Um but there have been times where it has gotten like really tough where for example for extended periods of times you just got beaten up or whatever and those are the times that I would say I'd probably still struggle with and I still kind of just have to have the experience cuz you obviously get as long as you learn from the experience you know how to handle it better.

46:52But for example, last year, just to give you an example, there was a period at the end of November um where I went through a quite a rough phase for a couple of weeks because yeah, my edge just wasn't performing well for an extended period of time, like the longest one. So I actually had my longest losing streak ever and it was quite tough mentally um because I never had it before, right, to that degree.

47:16Um and being able to deal with that was extremely difficult. um especially also because I hadn't taken a break for quite a long time, right? And something that I now know a lot better because I've journaled it then is I kept writing down in every um daily and weekly journal that I'm noticing the signs of fatigue and just like not being able to take things anymore.

47:37I need a break, right? But I didn't do it. I just kind of thought wait until the Christmas break and keep going until then. But in hindsight, I know that's that's something I'm going to want to incorporate this year to actually take proper breaks once I notice that, you know, like um yeah, I think just at specific times after specific periods, you just kind of need a mental break cuz even things like going to the gym or having a two-day weekend break just won't do it then anymore just to get that full distance and fully um reset and reflect because it's a high performance um yeah, endeavor in at the end of the day, right?

48:07So, that's something I'm looking into doing this year. Um, it's just kind of about finding the times when you notice that the time is right to do that, right? I think that's kind of hard, but um, yeah, I know based on that experience when kind of that'll be the the the time. Yeah, I think that's a it's a huge topic that I think a lot of traders really overlook. In my experience, I think most at least retail traders, they suck at giving themselves time off.

48:35Yeah. They they never do it. No. Never. It's And it's crazy though because you think most people get into this game for freedom. Yeah. And they're like, I want to be free. I want to be able to do what I want, but I'm also going to spend 12 hours a day looking at every candle that moves. You know what I mean? It's so dumb. It's crazy. So, what what were the signs that you kind of became aware of whether it was from the period of November or things that you have learned through your journal that are start pointing to the idea that you are experiencing fatigue.

49:06Yeah. that you are going to be more mindful of going forward. Yeah, 100%. So, um there there's definitely clear signs that I now know of. For example, um so it kind of starts with things like discipline, right? Um I notice it when I'm having like a bad patch and I'm due to the bad patch, not able to properly be disciplined anymore, be that via maybe like um you know risk management at times or even it's honestly it starts with things like getting up on time for example, right?

49:31Like these small things. Um once I notice that I'm from a mental perspective, I'm just unable to follow through for some reason. That's already a pretty clear sign. That's what I had in November for example, right? I was just so like um numb basically from it all if you could say that I would just wasn't able to actually be fully disciplined anymore for example. And that is a big big tell.

49:51Um and then aside from that, it's also just when when I'm not able to take losses anymore as I should be taking them, right? Um just being able to say, "Okay, it was a good trade. um move on to the next one. When when it gets to the point where I'm kind of noticing that I've I I get so negative about it or so caught up with those losses um to a degree where I just notice like it's just kind of crazy.

50:13Um then I really know okay it's time to take a break cuz on the opposite when I'm in a very good mindset and when I'm in a good mental space it's very easy when I'm fresh basically. So after those kind of breaks like best example is the Christmas break you know after that holiday period it's just crazy. I then noticed how crazy the difference actually is. You know, after having a longer break, how fresh I am taking a loss, easy next.

50:33You know, it was a good trade. Log it. Boom. Next, and continue, right? But there it was like every loss was like, oh my god. And everything was feeling so dramatic. But after I just thought like, damn, I just needed a break, you know? I just need a little break to properly reset. I I think time gives people a lot of perspective.

50:52And it's it's hard to get that perspective when you're so involved and locked into what's happening in the charts. Yeah. Um, do you when you think about taking these breaks, do you go into that break saying, "I'm going to take the next one or two weeks off." Like, do you give yourself a time limit or are you kind of checking in to see how you're feeling ba to determine when you kind of come back to the charts?

51:14Um, so the problem is with that question a little bit that obviously, like I said, it's something I'm still struggling with and I haven't actually fully like done that yet. Basically, it's just literally a pretty recent experience, right? Um but um I think I probably base it off of both a bit. Um I've definitely found out obviously that the weekend break isn't sufficient, right?

51:34So just um a two-day break won't do it, right? Um I think it has to be at least a week. Um ideally it should be something like two weeks I'd say. Um but it kind of also depends on how intense and also how frequently you do them, right? If you take a a week break, maybe every one and a half, two months, I think that could do it, right?

51:52But if you're going at it non-stop for like 6 months, which is for example what I did last year, right? Even in the holidays when I was on holiday with friends, which happened multiple times, I was still trying to sometimes trade here and there. It's just so unnecessary. It's just so, you know, like u it's just something I'm I'm going to be able to do better this year based off of the learning experience from last year.

52:06And I'll just um take occasionally a break of a week or two when I just think the right time and I'm on holiday. Um and yeah, but I'll see how that goes. Basically, like I said, it's still kind of a bit of a new thing for me. It's It's cool, though. I I like hearing that perspective because you I at least it comes across to me that you're very much like still learning and improving every single day.

52:31Yeah, for sure. For sure. And this is obviously coming from someone that's done a quart of a million dollars in payouts. Not a small amount of money by any means, but you still have that kind of student mindset. You're still learning. You're still growing. You're still developing. And I think that's probably a key part which has got you to this stage but will also will keep you growing in the long run as well which is I really really like.

52:46Yes. Um speaking about the long run. Mhm. What does the future look like for Harry? Like what do you did you come into the prop firm game with specific visions and goals that you're you're working towards and want to achieve. Um how far away are you from those goals? Like talk to me a little bit about that.

53:08Uh sure. So, I mean, we can just start off with maybe this year, right? Just just um staying kind of uh in in more in the moment. So, for this year,

53:18my goal was to hit or is to hit 250k payouts. Okay. Um just for like the calendar year of 2026, I'm doing pretty good in that regard. I mean, if I don't know if I should say numbers or go for it, man, if you're comfortable, I'm I'm on a good pace, we can say. Um so, I think I'm at like near 7580 or something now. So, I'm at good pace if you just calculate it based off of the months. Um, who who's who who knows how far it'll go, right?

53:41Um, but I'm definitely on good pace. So, that's my goal for this year. Um, next year I'll probably I don't know, I'll probably think of a new number, you know, a new milestone. Um, because essentially it's also a lot to do with scaling up the more accounts I have. And then also another thing is which I'm also starting to get into now a bit just I'm just kind of like um figuring out how to kind of pivot away from the CFD not completely but as in like how to actually um how do you say um adapt sorry so adapt yeah because it's obviously different especially with the way I trade as I told you I'm going to have to adapt my style based on the futures rules so um it's going to take some time to adapt to that but I've finally started actually like getting into it a bit so obviously that's a whole new area to check out as as I know a lot of of the pros in this space uh really come from that or take the most amount of money from that space.

54:35So that's also a whole new area I'm going to want to check out. I haven't set myself any like payout goals in that area cuz I think it just doesn't make sense. Y um but yeah, for this year the 250k impal it's getting into the f further getting into the future side of things and next year I'll think of a new number um probably for like specifically the prop trading right and then aside from that there's obviously other goals more long-term um that are not specifically necessarily um linked with um with prop firm trading.

54:54Yeah. Nice. What? Talk to me a little bit about the transition between CFD and futures because I've been someone that's only traded CFDs for the longest time and I I I think that there are a lot of people in this space and much like yourself seeing a lot of things happen in the future space. Um, what have been the biggest differences that you're trying to prepare for either strategically or mentally that's going to help you to make that transition smooth?

55:21Yeah. Um, so I know already, of course, now based on my experiences in the CFD space that doing things like journaling and actually logging those trades as opposed to just hopping onto the platform, taking a long here, short there is probably going to be smart, right? Um, obviously with the experience as well. Um, but aside from that, it's ob it's it's it's just a different kind of industry in the sense that the rules are completely different.

55:47The rule set it's it's just a different field that you play on. So, you can't hold trades overnight, which sometimes happens for me. Um, you're going to have to take more base hits in general. Um, so I'm going to have to adapt my style more so in a way where I'm not going for these kind of bigger home run trades. Um, but more so take my two R here, two and a half, two and a half R here, or max three maybe, you know, be in and out by the day.

56:12Obviously, especially with some firms having also trading draw down like you just can't afford to have a five hour win, go back to nothing, right? Y um so a lot of it is just to do with um first of all like adapting the trading style. So I obviously kind of have to in a way even like create a model for it. Not necessarily a new model. I'll base it off of what I'm doing now.

56:37But um just adapting the rules and tweaking it to the point where it works, right? Which is something that is going to take a bit of time in in obviously by default, right? So that's one thing. then um getting fully in sync with the rules um and also with the platforms because it's new platforms I've never traded on.

56:54So uh I think that's also something that people overlook you. It's also a skill to be able to um yeah be able to work on MetaTrader 5, for example, to actually be able to execute in in pace cuz sometimes you have to be quick, right? All those kind of things. And the same goes with the futures platform. So it's new platforms um where you have to first kind of learn to be able to um handle them and all those kind of things. So, there's definitely a few things to work on, but I'm sure that based off of my experiences with the CFD space, and obviously it's it's still trading, so it's just kind of an adaptation as opposed to I'm learning something completely new.

57:27I'm sure I'll be able to pick up on it quicker than with the CFD side of things. Um, but I'm just not pressuring myself into any time and because luckily I'm not in the position where I have to, right? Yeah. Yeah. Fair. Fair. Quick question for you. Are you actually tracking your trades properly or are you just taking them and then moving on?

57:45Because if you're not reviewing your data, you're not actually improving. This is exactly what Tradezilla fixes. It's an automated trading journal that connects directly to your broker, pulling all the information about the trades that you are taking. This is the absolute best way to get a full breakdown in terms of how you're actually performing. You can connect an unlimited amount of accounts, including all your prop firm accounts, with their prop firm sync feature.

58:03You can even use the back testing function and the trade replay feature to figure out what's actually working in your edge. Tradzella now has AI integrated into it. This is the one tool that's going to drastically improve your performance as a trader. Head to tradzella.com and use code PFT for 20% off. That's tradzella.com and code PFT. Um, how much do you think personality plays a role

58:31in trading? And I I'll give this context. I know that question probably sounds very left field. I this is something I was thinking of when you were describing like adapting your edge going from CFD to futures because obviously when we we did the strategy breakdown you were talking about how you have kind of I don't know if you would classify these as like the home run trades but your kind of minimum criteria is that kind of one to three R.

58:46Yeah. Yeah. If you were having to take smaller base hits and have to reduce that R potentially and you're moving away from I guess your comfort level with what you're used to doing with CFDs. Do you think that's going to be something that you're going to be able to adjust to in terms of your personality? Um, I'm definitely going to be able to adjust to it. Um, I'm pretty sure in that, but it's going to take some time and and some experience to do so obviously.

59:14Um, and as you say, with the uncomfortability, that's just something that in trading like the the great of the space I think have mentioned it plenty of times. um like yeah um being uncomfortable or becoming uncomfortable is kind of important in that um aspect. I think once you're doing something that feels uncomfortable, especially also in trading, you're probably doing something that's right or that's good for you. Um and that's kind of a thing that also held me back maybe from doing it a bit sooner because it is kind of like a bit of a you know having to get into all these kind of new things and becoming having to become uncomfortable again a bit, right?

59:53you have something that kind of works for you. All you really have to do is kind of adapt and um just, you know, slightly um pivot things when the market kind of tells you to. Um but now it's something that you have to put in a bit more effort again and um work on these earlier steps a bit more again. Um but I'm sure I'm going to be able to do it. Um but yeah, definitely 100%.

1:00:15It's going to it's going to take some time. And I I think you I feel like you share almost the same mindset that I do, which is like I always found the best part about trading is it's just a constant game of personal development. Yeah. Like I I found to get to a stage of consistency, it's it's actually less about like even the the technical ability, but it's more so about the person that you have to to become to apply it.

1:00:35Yeah, 100%. And that that aspect of there never being a kind of top to the mountain has always been something that I've enjoyed. Like I my my fiance always says, "You don't like peace, you like problems." And I feel like I need a challenge to solve all of the time. Like I think if I had nothing to do and no problems in my life and nothing to to work on, I I would get very very bored. And so as much as like my life can be chaos at some points, I like new challenges and new problems.

1:01:02So when you describe the whole transition and obviously sitting in that degree of, you know, being uncomfortable, it's something that I resonate with a lot. But it sounds like you probably share a similar mindset as well. Yeah, 100% 100%. I mean, it's kind of also how many humans or I think we humans in general are wired, right?

1:01:22That's why we never really get satisfied when we reach a goal. We always think when we reach that goal, we'll be happy, but it turns out it doesn't. It turns out that actually kind of like the journey and the the path that is really um what kind of is the fulfilling bit basically. And yeah, you just kind of develop new challenges, right?

1:01:35And that's cool. Like that's a great thing about it. There's so many things to conquer in the trading space. Um, so there's still plenty of stuff we can work on and work towards. Um, it's definitely going to take time. There's always going to be a bigger Yeah. mountain to climb, as you said. 100%. 100%. Yeah. All right. Um, Harry, I want to start to wind things down slowly.

1:01:55I got a couple things that I want to run by you that is becoming a little bit of a tradition at the end of each project. Um, so one of them is very simple, very nice and easy. We're just going to do I've got maybe like three or four quickfire questions that I want to throw your way. Um just want to get your honest raw thoughts and take on it. Okay.

1:02:15Um first one, do you have a favorite trading book? Are you into books a lot? 100% 100%. No, I'm I'm I'm I think reading is a great habit. Um not even just trading books in general, like it's just a really good habit to have. Um best trading book for me personally is um the one from Tom Hugot.

1:02:32Uh best loser wins. Best loser wins for me. Like I' I read quite a few, but that one was the one where I just found it the most accurate on point, you know, like, yeah, you nailed it. Like it's it's I think to the tea. It quickly became one of my more recent favorite ones.

1:02:48Largely because obviously it's psychology based, just right up my alley, but also it's it's very modern. Yeah, exactly. It's not so old school as many of the other ones. It's harder to resonate with. Yeah, 100%. So I I like that as well. I'm glad you resonate. Um, what do you think is one I I probably know the answer to this one. One habit that improved your trading the most. Um, yeah, I guess you could say journaling and and properly logging the data. Um, that's probably one of the Yeah.

1:03:14Nice. Um, what's one piece of advice you wish that you knew at the start of your journey? Um, I think um to really fully understand that I'm going to need some patience and that it's then it that it's an actual skill that's going to take time to learn. Um because obviously you hear it often, right? Obviously people say it often. Um like the ones that are actually like serious about it, but it's kind of really hard to fully understand what that means.

1:03:39And you always think that you think of yourself as somebody that could do it quicker or whatever or bypass that. But I think if someone somehow would have been able to actually nail it into my head that okay, look, it's going to take some time. You know, you're going to have to be patient and you're going to have to Yeah. spend those two three years until you see the first um success. I think that would have helped a lot because I wouldn't have felt so pressured and so negative at times and I would have been much more in tune with the process and just like okay cool you know made some progress today nice we move next as opposed to like uh yeah every day you're just kind of a bit sad and down because you still haven't gotten the results.

1:04:19Um, so I think that's just a general thing that would have helped me a lot and I think it would have would help other traders if they would actually fully understand, you know, that they need some p patience. It's not going to be super quick and like any other skill, you're going to have to put the time into learning it. Yeah, 100%. I I think a lot of people, and I think you mentioned this at the start of today, they're attracted to the the kind of glamorized version of social of trading that they see on social media.

1:04:37I think you can trading lifestyle and all that sort of stuff, it will really help with the patience by product as well. So, yeah, I like that. Um, last one I want to throw your way. What is one thing that you do that keeps you consistent on a day-to-day basis? One thing that keeps me consistent on a daily basis would probably be the daily journal because it's something I literally do every day. Nice. Um, so that would probably be one of the things that um just helps a lot.

1:05:12Yeah, I thought you would either say that or the gym. I thought it'd be one. Yeah, I thought you weren't training related. I would have said so. Fair enough. I probably threw you off with that one. Yeah, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. Cuz then again, I also don't every day go to the gym. It's like four or five times a week.

1:05:29So, something I literally do every day where I trade is is that. So, fair enough. Yeah. Fair. Okay, cool. So, last section for today. Um, we're doing this segment

1:05:41called Confessions of a Trader. Okay. And this is where essentially I compile messages, thoughts, conversations that I've had with people over the years into a message for our guest. I'm going to read it out to you. Think of this as somebody confessing their truth about trading. Okay? And I want your true false or something. Just like I want your your honest advice. Yeah. Or your raw thoughts about opinions. So I just imagine you're somebody telling me this is my opinion and I say to you, well, I think this and this of that.

1:06:08Exactly. Exactly. Okay. So, um, today's confession is I've been trading for about a year and I keep switching strategies. Every time I take a few losses, I assume the strategy doesn't work and I move on to a new one. I feel like I'm constantly starting from zero. How do you know when a strategy when a strategy actually doesn't work? Let me start that again.

1:06:33How do you know when a strategy actually doesn't work versus when you're just going through normal losses? Um, yeah, that's a great question, but that's something that I hear from so many people and so many people struggle with it because they're always looking for that um, you know, for that golden kind of edge. Um, there's many ways to trade profitably and there's many ways to success. Um, so you have to eventually just commit to something. What I always think is good to do is try to find a strategy that just kind of naturally suits your tendencies and also your lifestyle obviously, right?

1:07:04If you're still working, maybe swing trading, something like that. Um, and then just put the time in and work on it. It's going to take some time. And how can you know if it works or not? Well, the thing is like the edge kind of lies in yourself a bit, right? I think honestly there's you could probably trade successfully with almost any style. I'd assume, right? I mean, I don't know 100% but I'd assume so. Um, but the kind of magic happens when you actually spend long enough time in it because then is when you journal the data, you log the data and when you work on those things, tweak it into the way where it then actually works.

1:07:28often like the profitability comes in those small tweaks that you make along the way, but you only be able to make them when you've spent long enough time and done it for long enough, right? So you you it sounds like you have the opinion that it's the trader that makes the strategy work and not the other way around. Exactly. 100%. Because um there's actually a lot of traders who maybe for example like that break even stage and the only thing they're lacking is maybe like a minor tweak in what they're doing um to make it profitable, right?

1:07:56That would take them over the the hurdle. Um, so yeah, you are able to control quite a lot in that sense. Um, so I think you definitely kind of tweak the strategy in a way where it makes it work for you. Yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful. Thank you so much for coming here today, man. Thank you. Honestly, it's been a pleasure. Um, you've had so many nuggets of wisdom that I think you've shared with the people here today. So, I hope so.

1:08:25I hope so. Honestly, I think there's going to be a lot of value from today's episode. So, genuinely massive thank you for coming down today. No, thank you for the invitation. It was really nice to be here. I appreciate it, man. Yeah, guys and girls, it is that time again. Over to you. What was your biggest takeaway from today's episode? What was the one or multiple things that Harry shared that's going to help you to change your perspective and get you to become more consistent with how you're approaching the markets?

1:08:48Let us know in the comments. We'll be reading every single one. And if you want to drop your trader confession into a future episode, let us know down below. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode. Make sure you like the video if you enjoyed this. Subscribe to the channel for more episodes like this and check out some other episodes. They'll be on the screen around you. I'll see you guys in the next one.