10 Life Lessons from a Former Day Trader
Day trading is the best job in the world—on the days you make money.
You enter a trade, and 20 minutes later, you’re out with a profit. The rest of the day, you’re glowing from that win. But on the bad days? It can feel like the worst job on earth. The trade turns against you, and you feel your heartbeat pounding through your entire body, wishing it would just stop.
Over the years, I’ve walked away from day trading. But the lessons I learned during that intense period have stayed with me—and they still shape how I live and work today.
1. You Can’t Predict the Future (Even If You Think You Can)
Everyone thinks they can. But they can’t.
This doesn’t just apply to trading—it applies to life.
You could be married for ten years, then one day, you’re divorced. No one sees everything coming.
You can tilt the odds in your favor—wear a seatbelt, avoid bridges—but believing you can predict and control the future is a shortcut to unhappiness.
2. Hope Is Not a Strategy
If you find yourself “hoping” a trade doesn’t ruin you, you’ve already made a mistake.
Hope is nice in daily life—I hope the sun shines, I hope this date goes well. But when hope is the only thing holding your plan together, you’ve already lost control of the outcome.
3. Uncertainty Is Your Best Friend
Every opportunity in life is born from uncertainty.
People invent, build, invest, and create because something is unknown and they want to solve it.
Learning to live with—and leverage—uncertainty is one of the most powerful skills you can develop.
4. Taking Risk vs. Managing Risk
There’s a balance.
Some people take too many risks and lose everything. Others are too cautious and miss every opportunity.
Early on, I’d cut trades for tiny profits because I feared risk—then take big losses that wiped out everything.
The trick isn’t to avoid risk—it’s to get better at handling it.
5. Diversify Everything
When I raised capital for trading, I reached out to over 1,000 people.
When I started internet businesses, a dozen of them failed before one succeeded.
When selling that business, I pitched over a dozen companies.
Spread your bets. Bet often. Bet wisely.
6. Learn to Say “No”
In trading, if it’s not working—get out.
Same goes for relationships, jobs, businesses.
We get trapped by “commitment bias,” clinging to things just because we’ve invested time, money, or emotion.
But yesterday’s investment shouldn’t dictate today’s choices. Every moment is a new decision.
7. Protect Your Health
Day trading drains you—mentally, emotionally, and physically.
If you don’t sleep, eat well, move your body, spend time with good people, or practice gratitude, you’ll burn out.
This isn’t just about trading. It’s about life.
Every day, find one small way to become a slightly better version of yourself.
8. Laugh—Often
You have to.
Life will laugh at your plans, so you might as well laugh too.
Humor is armor. Use it.
9. If You Think “This Is Crazy,” You Might Be
I’ve seen it too many times.
A trader gets stubborn. The market moves against him.
He mutters, “This is crazy,” doubles down… and loses everything.
Markets aren’t crazy. The world isn’t crazy. And even your ex, who lied to you about last night? Not crazy—just not who you thought they were.
When you think “this is crazy,” pause. It’s a warning flag.
10. A Single Trade Doesn’t Matter
Good days happen. So do bad ones.
But life isn’t made of single wins or losses—it’s made of billions of tiny moments.
Don’t give one moment the power to define your whole story.
■ ORIGINAL POST: JAMES ALTUCHER, THE ALTUCHER CONFIDENTIAL
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