On his 23rd birthday, my multi-millionaire student Jack Kellogg went to the bank and withdrew $100,000.*
Can you guess why?
Hint: it wasn’t to buy a car or throw some insane birthday party…
Usually, birthdays are about receiving. But this year, Jack wanted to give back.
I recently shared how much has changed in my life and the stock market since my last birthday … For Jack, the difference between this birthday and the last is even more profound.
In late April of 2020, Jack was just over $330,000 in trading profits.*
In November 2020, he passed the million-dollar profit mark.*
As of April 2021, he’s over $6.5 million in profits.*
Jack’s growth has been incredible … These results are definitely not common. Despite having plenty of money to buy himself whatever he wants, he chose to celebrate his birthday differently…
Table of Contents
Not Your Typical 23rd Birthday Celebration
Jack could have bought a new car or a new house for his birthday. He didn’t.
Instead, he went to his hometown and gave his parents $100,000.
In case you haven’t seen it already, check out the full video chronicling Jack’s gift to his parents. Fair warning: Grab some tissues … It might make you cry.
That’s right. This millionaire Trading Challenge trader decided to give rather than receive on his birthday.*
I couldn’t be prouder … Since I found success as a trader and teacher, I consider it my duty to use my platform for good — and to promote the power of giving back. Jack gets it.
Here’s the full story…
“I Don’t Feel Selfish Anymore.”
That’s exactly what Jack said when he decided to give his parents $100,000 on HIS birthday.
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For Jack, one of the greatest gifts of financial freedom is the ability to stop focusing on himself so much and make a shift toward doing things for others.
That starts with paying homage to his roots.
Jack is an only child. Growing up, his family had limited means. However, they worked hard to give him everything he wanted — from video games to clothes to quad bikes.
But more importantly, they gave him love and support. They worked hard to give him a good life.
Despite their differences, his parents also stayed together to raise Jack. They divorced after he left home.
In retrospect, Jack can see and appreciate the sacrifices his parents made for him.
In making a financial gift of $50,000 to each of his parents, he’s hoping to help improve their lives as thanks for helping him become the man and trader he is today.
From Valet to Millionaire Trader*
To understand Jack’s motivation, it may help to know a little bit more about his trading story.
Jack is a former valet who didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. He was pursuing a few different directions, but nothing really took.
Then he made it his New Year’s resolution to start trading in 2017 and joined my Trading Challenge the same year.
He was an extremely dedicated student. Jack was obsessive about studying and improving.
After testing out a few trading styles and strategies, he decided to stick with the OTC market. That’s where he started to find his footing as a trader.
You need to check out the entire story — I have it all for posterity in this four-part YouTube series. Watch them all!
- Confessions of a Valet Turned Millionaire Day Trader Part 1
- Confessions of a Valet Turned Millionaire Day Trader Part 2
- Confessions of a Valet Turned Millionaire Day Trader Part 3
- Confessions of a Valet Turned Millionaire Day Trader Part 4
“Selfish” to Selfless
I disagree with Jack calling himself selfish. But I do understand what he means about making sacrifices to make trading work.
He worked tirelessly to make his trading goals a reality. He sacrificed time with family and friends to keep getting better every day. That mindset and his willingness to grind as hard as he could helped him get to where he is today.
Now that he’s passed the million-dollar mark several times over, he’s not into punishing himself.* He wants to preserve his capital (one of my top trading rules!) … But he also wants to enjoy what he’s earned and focus on what matters.
As he puts it, “Now, it’s about my health. My family. My girlfriend. Those things are truly important to me.”
In that spirit, he planned a special surprise for his parents.
Note: Jack’s girlfriend Mariana is also an impressive trader in her own right. She recently crossed the million-dollar profit mark.* Learn more about her in this video:
Better to Give Than Receive
This year, Jack told his parents that he didn’t want anything for his birthday. That wasn’t exactly true. He wanted something … But it wasn’t a present.
He wanted to give back. Here’s why he wanted to give them $50,000 each…
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Improving His Mom’s House
Jack’s mom is a school bus driver and still lives in his childhood home. It’s a well-kept house, but it could use some updating. The windows are old, the kitchen is outdated, and the house could use upgrades throughout.
Growing up in a small, humble home like this inspired Jack to work hard to create a more secure life for himself. Now that he’s done that, he wants to help his mom live comfortably. He’s hoping this $50,000 will help her upgrade her home.
Making His Dad’s Dreams Come True
Jack wants his dad, an electrician, to be able to enjoy and treat himself well with this $50,000 gift.
Years ago, when Jack was struggling to find direction, his dad urged him to take a practical path. He suggested Jack follow him in the electrician field and make a solid living.
Jack still pursued trading … But he doesn’t have a ‘told you so’ attitude or feel like he proved his dad wrong. Jack knows his dad was motivated by love — he wanted safety and security for his son and didn’t want to see him fail.
Jack already knew it would be hard … His dad’s hesitation was yet another reminder. If Jack hadn’t been so aware of the odds stacked against him, he might not have studied so hard.
Now, Jack wants to help make his dad’s dreams come true.
Jack knows his dad has been lusting after a boat … He wanted to surprise his dad with $50,000 so he could buy the boat and generally treat himself well.
Note: I love that my students are so motivated to give back to their parents! Want more? Here’s another story about David, a student who bought his mom a house with his trading profits…
Here's video of my https://t.co/EcfUM6l2S3 student Paul surprising his mom with a new house after a record 2020…how cool is this?! I TRULY LOVE SEEING THIS AS WE SHOULD ALL TREAT OUR PARENTS WITH GIFTS LIKE THIS AFTER WE WORK OUR BUTTS OFF FOR YEARS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS! pic.twitter.com/j6RjwB1dyd
— Timothy Sykes (@timothysykes) January 10, 2021
A Priceless Gift…
Be sure to watch the entire video (here’s the link again) to see how Jack’s parents react when they each receive his generous gifts.
Seriously, when his mom looks at the briefcase full of cash and says, “What do you mean it’s for me … it’s YOUR birthday!” Incredible.
But what’s truly priceless isn’t the fact that Jack gave his parents money.
I love seeing his generosity and heartfelt gesture. He has a lot of respect for where he came from, and he got a lot of joy from giving back. (I can relate — I find giving back SO rewarding. Here’s where my latest Karmagawa donations at work.)
Looks like Jack got just what he wanted for his birthday…
How Motivated Are You?
For Jack, it felt a lot better to give than receive on his birthday.
I hope this story demonstrates the incredible things that can happen when you’re dedicated and willing to work hard…
Jack spent years working from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. When he wasn’t trading, he was studying, making watchlists, memorizing stock charts, or generally obsessing about the market.
His years of hard work paid off for him … On his most recent birthday, he was able to give his parents roughly their respective yearly salaries in cash.*
Regardless of determination or hours logged studying, Jack’s results are not typical. But I want everyone to take note of his work ethic and humility and the joy he found in giving back.
Are you ready to work hard? Consider applying for my Trading Challenge.
Happy belated birthday, Jack. I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to see what your future holds!
How does Jack’s birthday story motivate you? Leave a comment below … I love hearing from you!
Disclaimers
*Please note that Jack Kellogg’s trading results, as well as Mariana and David’s, are not typical. Most traders lose money. It takes years of dedication, hard work, and discipline to learn how to trade. Individual results will vary. Trading is inherently risky. Before making any trades, remember to do your due diligence and never risk more than you can afford to lose. I’ve also hired Jack to help in my education business.
This level of successful trading is not typical and does not reflect the experience of the majority of individuals using the services and products offered on this website. From January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, typical users of the products and services offered by this website reported earning, on average, an estimated $49.91 in profit. This figure is taken from tracking user accounts on Profit.ly, a trading community platform. Timothy Sykes has a minority shareholder interest in the platform. The typical success rate of users was based on the following methodology:
- From January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, 849,078 trades were uploaded to Profit.ly. 633,891 trades were “verified” (corroborated with trade account data).
- Instructor trades are ignored.
- Average P&L / trades is obtained by calculating total P&L and dividing by the total number of trades
- Average trades per account is obtained by counting the total number of trades and dividing by the number of accounts (mean function)
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