The trading journey
The Real Trading journey
We’re not here to sell you dreams. No outlandish claims. No false promises.
Our mission is simple: to prepare you for the real journey ahead. If you’re ready to put in the work, we’ll walk alongside you—offering the support, structure, and coaching you need to shorten your learning curve and build real, lasting skill.
But let’s be clear from the start:
If you’re not willing to commit at least two solid years, you’re better off not starting at all.
This path is demanding—but for those who stay the course, it can be deeply rewarding. To help you visualize what lies ahead, we break it down into:
5 Emotional Stages you’re likely to experience
4 Practical Phases of growth every trader must go through
The 5 "Emotional" Steps
1. Uninformed Optimism
You’re intrigued by trading and it all seems promising at first — an easy way to make money? You follow alerts, copy others, go off tips. Whatever your “brilliant idea” is, at first it seems to work and this fuels your confidence.
2. Informed Pessimism
Reality sets in. Losses grow, doubt creeps in, and the learning curve feels steep. You realise trading is harder than expected and start questioning yourself.
3. Valley of Despair
This is the make-or-break moment. Your confidence hits rock bottom. Most traders quit here — or start system-hopping. But if you push through, real growth begins.
4. Informed Optimism
You’ve refined your strategy and your understanding deepens. You start spotting better setups, tracking your data, and seeing signs of consistency. Mistakes still happen, but you’re on the right path.
5. Success
You’re now consistently profitable with at least one system. You trade with discipline, know your numbers, and focus on refining execution, routine, and results.
If you survive the Valley of Despair and choose to push through, you are likely to be near the end of Pratical Step #1 going into #2:
The 4 Practical Steps
1. Explore
2. Focus
3. Refine
4. Optimise
Want to get more specific?
For most new traders, the first few years typically follow a realistic learning curve that looks something like this:
This table below comes from my free Ebook “The Trading Puzzle” which you can request HERE
This timeline assumes you’re are putting in enough hours, working hard and have the ability to solve the problems you’ll face along the way. It is easy to get stuck in old habits, which can significantly slow your progress from one stage to the next.
You may be thinking that these timelines are too conservative and that you can make it work faster. While it’s true that “intensity can distort time”, there’s a limit to how much you can realistically shorten that learning curve.
Want a second opinion?
Check out Ep.22 of the Chat With Traders podcast
In this interview, Mike Bellafiore of SMB Capital shares what he expects from new traders at his prop firm—specifically, that a full-time trader should start showing signs of consistent profitability by the end of their first year. And that’s for those who make it. Many fail to reach that and give up or are let go.
Think about that: one year of focused, full-time effort equates to roughly 2,000 hours (40 hours/week × 50 weeks).
And that’s 2,000 hours with access to top-tier education, mentorship, and coaching—resources most retail traders don’t have. And some still don’t make it.
Let that sink in… Now ask yourself:
If you’re learning part-time, how long will it take to accumulate those same 2,000 hours?
And how much longer if you don’t have quality education or mentorship?
Feeling like you're just one A-HA moment away from breaking through?
Sometimes you just need to talk things through.