Today on SteadyTrade, dig into an eye-opening and inspiring conversation with Alex Bustos, trader, and host of the B The Story podcast. 

Alex’s goal is to share his journey with other traders. He hopes that in doing so, others can learn from his successes and failures. 

In the episode, the entire crew — Tim Bohen, Stephen Johnson, and Kim Ann Curtin — share some real talk about trading with Alex. You’ll pick up tips, trading psychology observations, and so much more! 

Note: Love these interview episodes? You might enjoy these too: Ep. 135 with James Altucher and Ep. 126 with Jack Schwager. 

Who Is Alex Bustos? 

According to Stephen, “We generally look for handsome, well-groomed men to be on the podcast … and you fit the bill!”  

But don’t worry: this interview goes way beyond looks. 

Alex worked hard and found success in his life. Once he became a VP and had some extra money, he wanted to create more wealth. 

He tried flipping a house, but it took too long. That’s when he turned to trading … He thought it would be a way to make fast money. 

Alex discovered Tim Sykes and started following him — but his mindset was all wrong. He can be honest about it now: he just wanted to get rich quick… 

He was gambling, not trading. He had extra money to burn, and burn it he did. Once, he lost over $6K in a single trade. 

Alex talks frankly about what he had to go through to really get serious about trading. Tune in to learn about the humbling changes he had to make to work toward consistency. 

Advice for New Traders

Tim and Stephen put Kim on the spot in the interview as the “greener than green” trader of the group. What kind of advice does Alex have for the newest newbies out there? 

The group discusses the best way for new traders to get started. There are even a few thoughts about whether it’s good or bad for new traders to learn “the hard way” — losing real money. 

They all talk about the benefits of paper trading. But can this be a more powerful tool once you know how it feels to lose real money? 

Trading Psychology

Alex is completely honest about how trading psychology has tripped him up in the past.

He addresses some relatable sentiments. There’s the time his trading fees and losses made him think he’d been robbed … And then there’s how FOMO pushed him into mistakes like foolishly risking too much.

What’s key for him is his transition. That happened when he realized that consistency is more important than one-off profits. Or as he puts it: “I used to care about money, which is why I sucked.” 

Once he realized that staying consistent was so important, he had a huge — and powerful — mindset shift. That helped him see things much differently. 

Compare = Despair? 

Alex talks about comparison and how it’s often a bad thing … But there are some exceptions.

There can be some benefit to constructive self-comparison. For instance, figure out how you can improve who you were yesterday … then positively compare yourself to who you want to be tomorrow. 

Should You Trade Full Time?

Alex and the crew get into the benefits of NOT trading full time. They talk about the security of having a “real” job … including how it can help you avoid overtrading. 

According to Alex, having limited time to trade helped him get serious about being the strongest trader he can possibly be. He talks about how he found his own strategy within the micro-caps. Listen to the episode to find out what he looks for in charts.

Got a Question?

Can you relate to Alex’s story? Have a question or comment?

If you have questions or comments, please send a line. Remember: If your question is chosen as an on-air topic, you could win a SteadyTrade mystery gift box. Drop a comment below or hit us up on YouTube.

Thanks for tuning in to the SteadyTrade podcast. Stay tuned for weekly episodes featuring the hottest topics for aspiring traders.

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