Going flat…

For now.

I wanted you to hear this from me. As some of you may already know, I’ll be taking a trading sabbatical for the next few weeks. It’s no secret that this year has been tough on everyone, myself included, so as a preemptive strike I’ll be going flat until June 22nd!

Between all day mothering and homeschooling (pizza is a healthy dinner multiple times per week, right?!), the market crash, volatility, mask wearing trips to Costco, and dishes piling up around me — it’s time for me to take a breath of fresh air. 

You may have heard any of these stories before, but do you know the times in my trading career where I’ve lost the most amount of money?

Well, one time it was the month I moved to Austin (back in 2017). I didn’t have internet in my new house yet, most of my stuff was still on a moving truck, and I was trading off of a laptop on an inflatable couch. Oh, and there was a client event that week and my son hadn’t started school yet. Of course, I didn’t want to close my trades out, because “it’ll be fine!” and I ended up experiencing pretty bad trading losses that put me severely behind on my yearly goal. Why? Well, I was spread too thin — and I didn’t know when to call it quits. 

This is a lesson that has stuck with me overtime, and once I start to feel my bucket filling up and I can see it spilling over — I know it’s time for a break. This is a pre-emptive strike, to go out on a high note (CHGG and PTON last week, whoohee!) instead of inevitably scraping up trading losses and falling into a bad cycle. This will ultimately happen when I’m spread too thin. This is a calculated move to step back when the time is right, and to come back even stronger than ever — with my full attention.

Teaching has been a passion of mine that came along well before my trading career and I feel grateful I get to do it as my full-time job. However, the reason I began trading in the first place was for the benefit of my family, and for the option to spend more time with my son, Leo.

Now that we’re further into quarantine, and his homeschool work is piling around me and he’s spending 6 hours a day learning from kids on Youtube how to be dramatic… I know it’s time I take a step back from trading to be with him. Afterall, this is the reason I did this to begin with. And, I have to stay true to that. I’m going to use my time off to make sure that his unorthodox Kindergarten year sets himself up for success for years to come. And who knows, I may throw one or two trading lessons in with math class! 

Me trying to homeschool while watching PTON make new, all-time highs.

What else do I have planned?

Fear not! I’ll be keeping myself busy while I’m gone, and updating you with my projects along the way. Remember when I was talking about Lowe’s and Home Depot being stocks to watch? Well, now that I have time, I’ll be joining the rest of the human race in taking on home improvement projects. I’ll be starting with that can of paint in my garage that’s been screaming at me for over a year, ha ha. 

I’ll also be using this time to write my book, which is set to come out January of next year. It’s a project I’m very passionate about, and I need to truly dedicate time to this so I can be honest and proud of the final result. The topic of this book will be all about things traders do wrong, and how to fix it. One chapter will be about the importance of walking away and taking a break if need be, so what better time than in the middle of a pandemic to ‘talk the talk and walk the walk.’

Trading is still my passion.

To me, trading is a lot like eating ice cream. It’s very satisfying, even addicting, but every once in a while you make yourself sick off of eating too much of it. This year has been incredibly long already, and it’s only May! When this happens, all you do is simply change your dessert until ice cream sounds good again. It’s a reset for the mind. 

Interacting and collaborating with each one of you isn’t a lost privilege on me, and I’m already looking forward to coming back refreshed and ready to jump back into the swing of things even better than before. 

While I’m gone, I’ve prepared special Tuesday editions called the “Tuesday Trade,” that’ll get sent out like clockwork every Tuesday. During these episodes, I’m going to be explaining the how and the why of some of my best trades. I’m doing this because in order to identify solid trades, you have to look at patterns that work — so you can recognize them, and jump on them the next time. I’m also going to be sending out key lessons and a-ha moments that are critical to trading success, which are a direct sneak peak from my upcoming book. So, even though I won’t be in the trading room placing alerts, never fear because the unfiltered trading lessons are still coming. 

As traders, we’re really the only people who understand what other traders go through — especially during times of market — and life, turmoil. So, I hope you stick with me during my trading sabbatical and pick up some inspiration along the way. 

As for me, it’s time to pick some wildflowers, watch the sunset, get a nice restful sleep… and wake up tomorrow completely flat. It’s going to be a glorious feeling.

Thank you for your continued support, and stay safe. See all of you soon.