Want a peek into Jack Kellogg’s multimillionaire trader mindset? Keep reading.
In case you’re not familiar with this stock market phenom, Jack is a $10+ million trader at the tender age of 24. But despite his young age, his road to millions wasn’t easy. It was the result of his incredible drive and a staggering amount of hard work.
In fact, his desire to succeed was so immense that he neglected his life outside of trading while working to achieve his goals. Eventually, he suffered the consequences…
As he recently shared on The Wall Street Coach Podcast, many of the most powerful lessons he’s learned on his trading journey have nothing to do with choosing the right stocks. It’s all about mindset and emotional intelligence.
I urge you to check out the full episode here — and keep reading for some of the top multimillionaire mindset lessons that traders of all levels can learn from Jack.
Just in! A new episode of my #podcast with valet-turned-multimillionaire, Jack Kellogg @Jackaroo_Trades! Discover a side of Jack that few people know & hear how coaching helped him as a #trader on his way to the top. https://t.co/5mZxkcq6x6#thewallstreetcoach #traders #EQ pic.twitter.com/u9vXAgQhxi
— Kim Ann Curtin (@kimanncurtin) December 6, 2022
1. It’s Not Just About Trading Milestones
After setting a New Year’s resolution to start trading in 2017, Jack worked his butt off to learn the ropes and become a great trader. Fast forward a few years. He was reaching a lot of his trading goals — but he wasn’t happy.
Jack says, “I had created a lot of unhealthy habits that I was ignoring. They built and built and it got to the point where I was very unhappy every day. I was in this drought of depression. I was sick and wasn’t looking forward to the day when I woke up.”
These feelings were seemingly at odds with his achievements as a trader. He was crushing milestones that many traders only dream about. Jack realized that he had to take a look at what was going on outside of his trading career.
Jack realized he needed help, so he started working with me as a coach.
Jack recounts, “The first time we spoke I was lying in my room and it was dark and gloomy. Kim helped me through meetings over months to slowly put the light back into my face. Learning my emotions and gaining an understanding of why I feel certain things — these are some of the biggest impacts that coaching has had on me.”
2. Look at the ‘Why’
As I note in my e-book “Ego and Inner Gremlins: How Emotions Impact Your Trading,” the first thing you should do to identify behaviors that are holding you back is take a step into a place of neutrality and curiosity.
For Jack, improving his mindset and his trading both started with a single, non-judgmental question…
Why?
Instead of simply looking at his losses and feeling bad or blaming himself, he began to get curious.
In the podcast, he talks about how true progress as a trader isn’t about whether or not you win or lose — but being able to understand why.
He says, “You’re losing a trade or winning a trade, but why? When you can figure that out, that’s when you’ll start to understand and progress faster.”
3. You Must Be Willing to Commit
While Jack is a big believer in balance and taking time off (more on that later), he’s also a big believer that when you put your mind to something, you should be completely present and willing to work hard.
He says, “Are you putting in 110% effort? Or are you putting 70-80% effort? I Think that nuance in effort is the difference-maker.”
For Jack, a willingness to put in the work is vital to success not just in trading but in life. He continues, “If you put in the work you’ll be rewarded and you’ll enjoy your life more at the end of the day because you have something that brings fulfillment to you.”
4. Take the Time to Learn From + Mourn Your Losses
For Jack, taking the time to process losses is a crucial part of the recovery process.
He says, “If I have a bad day trading, I make sure to analyze my trades and see what I did. I’m upset for an hour or two and then I move on.”
Jack observes, “A lot of people hide from their losses.” The problem is that when they hide from the pain of a loss, they never take the time to analyze or really learn from those losses. So hiding can actually be a lot more painful in the long run — if you never learn from your mistakes, then you’re far more likely to keep repeating them. Over time, it gets harder and harder to hide from that pain (and to deal with the monetary losses!).
Jack says, “The best traders really do dissect their losses as quickly as possible and realize their mistakes.”
5. Want An Edge in the Market? Do This.
One of the most common questions Jack is asked is this…
How did you find your edge in the market?
According to Jack, it’s not about just finding one edge and sticking to it forever. He constantly needs to adapt to and with the market.
He says, “It’s not like I just see a new setup and I’m like ‘oh I know exactly what to do let me make money.’ I have to see people make money a few times in a setup and I need to watch and see what they’re thinking and doing. From there, I can formulate a thesis about why things are working and why they aren’t working and develop a process and edge of my own.”
6. It’s Not Just About Your Trading Strategy.
There are thousands of trading strategies out there. According to Jack, it’s less about what style you follow and more about your mindset.
He says, “It doesn’t really matter what the strategy is, if you don’t have the emotions and discipline to back up your trading you could really trade any edge and not execute well.”
But there’s good news. Jack continues, “Every single day you can work on your emotional intelligence and get better in that field.”
7. Trading Isn’t the Only Thing in Life
Jack says, “If your only happiness is trading then there’s almost a 99% chance that the last year has been really tough for you.”
To his credit, the past year or so has been pretty brutal on traders — from newbies to more seasoned pros.
The old Jack would have been struggling in this market. Trading used to be his life — there was little else that mattered.
But he was willing to take steps to change that. Jack says of his coaching experience, “Kim helped me open my eyes to being more multidimensional and having different areas I care about in life.”
He’s also a lot better at taking breaks now, and says “I find my best trading is actually after I take a break because I have a fresh mindset.”
#wednesdaywisdom from @jackaroo_trades — Check out my newest #podcast interview with Jack here – https://t.co/5mZxkc8vFy#trading #Trader #Mindset pic.twitter.com/ZWwcSxZjSn
— Kim Ann Curtin (@kimanncurtin) December 7, 2022
8. Have a Long-Term Perspective
These days, Jack looks at trading as just one of the pieces that make up his life.
Since he has a long-term perspective, he’s able to keep a level head about the current market.
He says, “As long as you keep working hard and showing up, eventually the market and whatever you might struggle with outside of trading will get better. My maturity as a trader isn’t about one single outcome on a trade, it’s more about me learning.”
Ready to Work On Your Mindset?
I believe that everyone who listens to the podcast episode with Jack is going to grow and stretch and see their EQ raised — he’s truly unstoppable!
If you’re interested in becoming more self-aware, consider seeking out a coach.
If you’re like many traders, you’re too busy beating yourself up for mistakes and perceived shortcomings to really get into a space of neutrality from which you can grow.
That’s not the gateway to real change.
As a coach, one of the methods I use is to help people become more self-aware by turning down the shame factor and helping them develop more self-empathy.
Ready to get started on the journy to developing your EQ?
If you’re interested in becoming more self-aware and developing your emotional toolkit, please reach out today.
