Interview with Alexander Gerchik. First trades, fears, and thrill

What has sparked my interest in trading? I suppose it was the independence factor. When I was just starting my trading journey, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I simply joined a company people were working for. I wasn’t really familiar with the specifics. Imagine that you have never traded before and suddenly you are being taken to the trading floor where you are surrounded by numbers and see dollars flowing in. Yet you don’t really understand what’s going on. It’s an interesting experience.

What made me stay? The answer is simple—it’s passion. I am crazy about trading to this very day.

I wasn’t afraid to change my life, per se. I knew that I didn’t want to live the way I was. I realized that working as a cab driver all my life wasn’t something I was ready to do. I wanted to try my hand at something else.

I wasn’t afraid to turn my life around. That’s the key—you shouldn’t be afraid.

During my first day, I had sh*t my pants, for the lack of a better word. Picture this: you press the button and see numbers flashing all over the place. When I had just started, I didn’t have a mentor like you guys do with me😉.

So, I was obviously anxious. I was a newbie, just like you are. And when somebody is telling me that I have no idea what I’m talking about. Let me tell you, I really do. I know exactly what you’re feeling. Of course, I was afraid to open my first trades because I was responsible for every single dollar.

Now I can say for sure, you need basic knowledge in order to start trading. This is the only way to open trades that make sense to you.

This is one of the reasons why I keep saying that solid training is key to successful and consistent trading. This is why I host my educational webinars on Gerchik & Co YouTube channel. This is why I came up with a special training course for traders to help them learn how to make trades and most importantly understand what they are doing.

My first losing trade… It wasn’t something big. I lost $20. But it hit me like a kick in the nuts. I couldn’t explain what had happened. It’s such a discouraging feeling—not knowing what you did wrong.

What did I do? I took a piece of paper and started listing all of the steps I took in that trade. I didn’t panic. I just wrote down what happened, and why I lost.

I’ve probably opened a million trades in the course of my trading career. So, I honestly don’t recall which one it was...

Or maybe I do… Yes, right, it was DELL. It was demonstrating steady price growth, and so I decided to hit the button. And that’s when I lost $20 for the first time. After that, I didn’t trade DELL anymore because it was too fast-paced for me.

When I began to make winning trades, I didn’t experience any thrill. Because each of my trades was well-reasoned. So, there was no particular excitement. I’m no gambler, after all.

There is only one thing. Increase the volume. Seriously, I was a kick-ass trader. The number of my winning trades in the momentum would go up to 90%. If I had such a bomb dot com expert like Alex Gerchik by my side right now, I would tell myself, “Come on, dude, increase that trading volume. Don’t worry.” I would definitely do that.

But I didn’t have a mentor at the time. I had to deal with the aftermath of my mistakes on my own. That’s why I so eagerly share what I know with the others through my books, webinars, and training courses. So that you don’t have to make the same mistakes that I once did and thus become better.

Listen, guys. If you have a profitable week, don’t be afraid to increase the volume. That’s what I’m telling my students. With that said, you have to still stick to the plan, strategy and keep your risk threshold in check. This and many other essential topics are covered in my Reboot training course.