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How Paul Delgado Rose Like The Phoenix

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 11/14/2022 5 min read

“It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.”Vince Lombardi

When I met Paul Delgado, he was in a bad place.

He had $47K in personal debt, recently filed for divorce, and forced to move into his grandmother’s house.

Not only did he feel down about his situation, but he felt like he was failing his son, the most important person in his life.

Trading literally saved his life.

Paul took the Millionaire Challenge and made it a LIFE challenge.

He acknowledged his mistakes and took ownership of his life, one of the HARDEST things anyone can do.

Paul crafted plans for trading and life.

He studied hard while balancing the time he spent with his family.

Today, his debt is cleared, he’s got a new car (and residence), spends loads of time with his son, and many hours giving back to the community.

Paul spoke at our Trading Conference this year, embracing his story in front of everyone in one of the most moving experiences I’ve seen.

His story is so inspiring that I want to take some time and share it with you.

Because we all struggle from time to time.

Knowing and feeling that others are out there just like us is important.

And we can use their stories to help us break down the barriers we each face.

It All Starts With You

Tim Sykes pointing at you.
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Trading chat rooms, like the ones for my Millionaire Challenge students, help folks network, discuss ideas, and become part of a community.

Yet, the only one who controls the mouse clicks to buy and sell is you.

Every trader is responsible for their actions and inactions.

When you find yourself in a trade, unsure of what to do next, recognize that it happened because you failed to prepare.

This isn’t a bad thing by any stretch.

In fact, these are the best learning opportunities.

I can teach you all the trading concepts under the sun. But you cannot ignore basic principles like cutting losses quickly and succeed.

At the same time, you can’t get down on yourself.

Yes, losing trades will make you feel bad. But they don’t own you.

Identify Your Strategy

how to determine support
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Paul found his market with one of my favorite setups – panic dip buys.

He loves to grab stocks down 50%-85% off their all-time highs and 25%-50% off their day-highs.

That’s his strategy.

He then designs setups to fit this strategy.

For him, that means buying off previous support areas and higher lows of a previous low set.

He prefers momentum plays with lots of eyes watching.

This is where Paul found his comfort zone and consistency.

Other traders, like Kyle Williams, love to sell short.

You choose the strategy that makes you the most comfortable, fits in with your schedule, and gives you the most success.

Don’t try to copy someone else because they made a lot of money or they hit big wins.

Everyone has to find their own Fleetwood Mac and go their own way.

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But that doesn’t mean you can’t have similar ideas.

Stay Humble

During Covid, Paul lived his life’s mission.

He supported small business restaurants while feeding first responders.

His work with NYC food pantries helped feed tens of thousands of families.

Paul lives his truth!

Trading doesn’t care who you are, how much money you have, or where you are from.

Every retail trader is the same.

I’ve seen brilliant people fail as traders and high school dropouts become millionaires.

If you treat trading like a hobby, it will never be anything more than a hobby.

If you treat trading like a business, then take it seriously.

You have to put in the effort and work, knowing that it takes time to become consistently profitable.

But trading should be a part of your life, not all of your life.

Make sure you take time for the things that matter – family, friends, and community.

Every one of my millionaire students knows when to step back from the keyboard.

Don’t be afraid to take a break and miss trades.

The market will be there when you get back.

Be humble and treat every day like it’s your first.

—Tim


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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”