The Boring, Maddening, and Profitable Truth About Trading
Methodology-a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity.
I’m almost done with Part Two of Trend Following today. The plan was to publish it now, because how many damn times can I say: Get out of tech stocks and move into international stocks?
I feel like a broken record. But here’s the thing about trading: Repetition is the whole game.
It’s not sexy. It’s not exciting. It’s not supposed to be. If trading ever feels exhilarating, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Great traders don’t wake up every morning trying to outsmart the market. They wake up, execute the same process they did yesterday, and trust that over time, discipline beats brilliance.
It’s like The Myth of Sisyphus.
“The struggle itself … is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy”
The market gives you a trade, you push it uphill, you execute your system, and then—just when you think you've got it figured out—the rock rolls back down.
Another cycle starts. Another trend emerges. The same process, over and over.
Most traders fight it, try to break the cycle, or look for shortcuts.
The smart ones? They embrace the grind. Because in the repetition, in the struggle, that’s where the edge is.
It forces you to sit on your hands when the market is thrashing around, waiting for the right signal.
It makes you plan your exit strategy years in advance instead of pretending every trade lasts forever.
It makes you start talking about tech underperforming in December last year, even though you were long.
Because process beats prediction. Every. Single. Time.
The Boring Work That No One Sees
Patience and repetition. That’s everything to me.
I’ve never felt naturally talented. No one ever looked at me and thought, Yeah, he’s going to be great at this. But I’ve always believed that if I never give up, I’ll get where I need to be.
Three childhood memories stick with me:
1️⃣ Kicking a soccer ball at my garage for hours after school. I drew X’s where I needed to hit, and I wouldn’t stop until it was dark.
2️⃣ Dribbling a basketball in my driveway every single day. I wanted to be a point guard, and I heard the phrase: You could steal a New York point guard’s girlfriend before you could steal the ball from him. (Don’t try that shit either lol) So I practiced until I didn’t have to think about it, walking to school dribbling and dribbling on the way home.
3️⃣ Riding. I spent 4-8 hours a day for a year trying to land one trick. When I finally landed it, I ran into some random house to call my mom. She had no idea what I was talking about, but I didn’t care. I had done it.
No one told me I was gifted. But I knew that if I just kept going, I’d figure it out.
Trading has always been about that same journey, no matter how long I have done it. I am always a student.
The One Thing That Never Fails
Talent fades. Memory is unreliable. The brain plays tricks on you.
But a repeatable process doesn’t lie.
When you have a system, you don’t rely on gut feelings, you don’t chase trades, and you don’t let emotions decide your next move.
You execute, over and over, no matter how boring it gets.
And if you have that?
You can’t lose.