There’s been so much activity in the market recently, and many people are starting to get interested in stocks at these levels. Of course, if you’ve never traded a stock before, there’s a lot to learn.

I recently opened up a discussion with my readers to try to help as many people out as possible… and one question I kept noticing was, can anyone become a trader?

Well, to be honest with you, I don’t think trading is for everyone because there are a lot of questions to ask yourself if you’re thinking about getting started.

However, if you have the right mindset and uncover an edge that you’re comfortable with… then I think it’s possible to become a successful trader.

In an attempt to answer this question to the best of my ability, I want to walk you through my journey from and how I went from someone who was tapped by the Atlanta Braves for tryouts to a trader.

My Journey To Becoming A Successful Trader

Growing up, I never had dreams to become a trader and make money trading stocks. In fact, I was an athlete who thought I was going to go pro.

Fun Fact: “Kowalik” was an adopted last name. My real name is Bond; I changed later in life.

I was a football player in high school… and I also played baseball, of course, when you’re a kid — you don’t really plan for the future in case something doesn’t work out. So I tried my very best to make my dreams come true… and played college baseball.

Heck, I was invited to try out for the Atlanta Braves.

However, reality hit… and my career ended after college. Of course, I was distraught and knew I needed to find something to do. So I decided to pursue a career in teaching.

I became a New York State school teacher for about a decade, and I realized my wife and I were sitting in $250K in debt. Since we were both teachers, I knew it would be a tough task to pay off all that debt.

So what did I decide to do?

Well, I knew the stock market was my ticket out… and that’s when I met Jeff Bishop, and the rest is history.

If a kid from a small town in New York — who didn’t have the skillset to become a trader — can make it in the stock market, why can’t you?

Do You Have What It Takes To Become A Trader?

Of course, I’m not saying it was an easy journey for me, and I think there are some necessary steps to take to be in a position to become a successful trader

1. Find A Strategy That You’re Comfortable Trading. For me personally, I love action and fast-paced stocks. Momentum stocks are my comfort zone, and if you want to learn how I uncover these trading opportunities, check out my new eBook — Momentum Hunter.
2. Uncover Your Edge In The Market. I believe all successful traders have an edge in the market. Basically, it’s their advantage in the market, just like any pro athlete has their strengths, traders are very similar. My edge lies in chart patterns in momentum stocks, and I stick to my guns.
   So I think it’s important for anyone who wants to be a trader to find their edge in the market. It doesn’t have to be chart patterns, it could be anything from catalysts to fundamentals. However, I think chart patterns are a good starting point.
3. Paper Trade. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this happen, a trader studies everything they can about trading and puts their real money into trades before knowing the lay of the land.
   I think that’s the easiest way to put yourself out of the game. Instead, I think it’s important to learn how to paper trade, this can help you get familiar with your trading platform and then you can test out strategies without putting your real money on the line.
4. Journal Your Trades (Even If They’re With “Paper” Money). Every trade I get into, I have details about the trade, and I can go back and look at what I did right and what I did wrong.If you don’t study your habits and strategies, I don’t think there is a high probability of success.When you journal your trades, I think the barebones include:

-The symbol traded, as well as the date and time.
-The theory behind the trade.
-What your edge was.
-Your entry, exit, and stop-loss.
-Did the trade work or not.

Now, I’m a firm believer that if you set your mind to something, it’s possible to achieve your goals. Even though I didn’t go pro and fulfill my dreams as a kid… I did achieve another goal I set out for myself after, to become a successful trader.

The thing is, I’ve detailed how I was able to find an edge in the market in my new eBook, and if you want to learn my techniques to hunt down stocks poised to move, click here to claim your copy of Momentum Hunter.