comma

I’ll never forget my first big trading day, making $100K—it was a milestone moment, and I couldn’t have been more excited. I was around 27 or 28 years old, and the S&P had only a 15-point range. Back then, that was an active day but nothing out of the ordinary. Still, I executed perfectly, firing on all cylinders. When I wrapped up, the first thing I did was call my dad to share the achievement. My parents were incredibly proud. Later, I headed to the office, where a handful of other traders were hanging out, as we often did. This was during the CME days when locals had offices—we’d gather, play cards, drink, and yes, even smoke inside (it was a different time). I told the group about my incredible day, and everyone congratulated me, genuinely happy for my success. But what stood out was that even on my best day, at least one other trader in that small group had an even better day—just another reminder that no matter how well you’re doing, there’s always someone ahead. As proud as I was, that realization stuck with me. I wanted that feeling to continue. So that night, I celebrated—spent a good amount on dinner—then walked into work the next day and had the worst trading day of my career. -$160K Why? Because, subconsciously, I started comparing. I thought I had leveled up to where those elite traders were, where my best day was just their average. Instead of staying in my lane, I pushed too hard, trying to force something that wasn’t there—and all I did was dig myself into a hole. This experience taught me a valuable lesson: The best traders don’t talk about their success—they just show up and do the work. Stay true to yourself. Be happy for others’ success, but don’t let comparison steal your own. And when you reach a milestone, take a moment to truly enjoy it. Success isn’t about chasing someone else’s journey—it’s about staying on your path and executing at your highest level.