In 2017, I was still working as a valet, parking other people’s Ferraris for tips, when I opened my first trading account with just $7,500.
Nine years later, I’ve made over $25 million.*
This is how I’ll make my next $25 million.*
In my first few months of trading, I’d look at charts on my phone between cars and study at night after my shift. My account size has changed, but many things haven’t…
You’re probably reading this thinking:
“Jack, I don’t have anywhere near $25 million. What does any of this have to do with me?”
You’re probably very focused on your account size. You think results are everything, and you just want to see that number higher, no matter what…
But to build true consistency (and real wealth), you have to have three rules in place before you start trading.
Following these rules got me to $100,000 (and took me from $10 million to $25 million).
Whether you’re sitting on $1,000 or $100,000,000, these rules can help you win.
My first $100,000 was the easy part.
Rule 1: Know what kind of market you’re trading in
Before you trade anything this week, read the room.
Some markets are easy to make money in, others will bury you. A beginner in a good market will outperform an expert in a bad one.
We just had the best month in over two years. The S&P 500 gained over 10% in April. IWM gained 12%.
April was a month for aggression, for pressing your edge (if you have one).
If you were sitting on the sidelines through the most face-ripping major index rally since 2020, you need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself whether this whole trading thing is for you or not.
Rule 2: Trade the sector the market is actually paying for
There’s always a hot sector. Trade THAT sector.
You are probably trading the stocks you like, or companies you’re familiar with. Maybe you’re revenge-trading the same stock that’s burned you over and over and over again in a desperate attempt to claw a tiny bit of your hard-earned money back.
Meanwhile, the red-hot sector blasts off dozens of % without you.
Themes change. For three months it’s data center stocks. Then those start trading sideways and oil takes off. Then it rotates again.
You need to adapt. Be dynamic, nimble, and willing to change your watchlist with the moods of the market.
You’ll make the most money trading the hottest sectors. Not the one you wish was the hottest sector.
Rule 3: The people around you set your ceiling
You can study every night and run every scan and still lose if you’re surrounded by bad ideas.
The people around you set your ceiling on what’s possible.
When I started, I didn’t know a single trader making real money. Everything I learned about what was possible came from getting in a room with Tim Sykes.
Once I saw it up close, my ceiling moved. Trades I would’ve called crazy six months earlier were suddenly the trades I was looking for.
You can’t think your way past the room you’re in.
You have to be in the right room (with the right people).
Change these three aspects of your trading, and I bet you’ll start seeing more green on your screen.
Stay sharp,
Jack Kellogg
*Past performance does not indicate future results, Not typical.
