There’s no magic formula in trading. But there are a few real, practical things that can change the trajectory of your career. These aren’t hacks. They’re the foundation. And if you build on them the right way, everything else gets easier.

First things first. You need to live below your means. The money you bring in should cover your life, your savings, your investments, and still allow you to live comfortably. That usually means having a job that gives you some flexibility to trade. Something stable. Something that takes the pressure off your trading. Living off trading is rarely a good idea. The goal is to use trading to build real wealth, not to fund your day-to-day.

Next, you have to get very honest about what you’re actually good at in the market. Not what looks fun. Not what other people are doing. What you have edge in. For me, that’s overnight momentum trading and higher time frame overextension trades. I learned both of these from some really good traders early on at SMB Capital. Over time I went deeper and deeper into those two setups. I learned the details most people gloss over. And because I stay focused, I don’t bleed capital chasing other ideas. Most of my day is spent working my regular job, but when something truly stands out, when it’s clearly asymmetric in one of those two buckets, that’s when I step in and deploy my capital.

Another big one: stop using leverage. Leverage forces you to be perfect. And no one is perfect in this game. You can have a great trade idea, like shorting some of the quantum names right now, but you might be early. A few days early is fine if you’re trading responsibly. But if you’re using leverage, being early can wipe you out. You don’t want to build a trading career on needing to be perfect.

You also need to keep your costs low. That means your tools should pay for themselves many times over. I personally spend around $100 a month for Trade Ideas, $6 for Stock Analysis, under $50 for Ask EDGAR, and under $50 for Fiscal.ai. That’s it. If a tool doesn’t directly help me make money, I cut it. Be logical with this. Be honest with yourself. Don’t build a bloated tech stack that makes you feel like a trader but doesn’t actually help you trade better.

And while we’re on risk, avoid shorting hard-to-borrow names. This is where most traders blow up. It’s expensive, the borrow can get pulled, and black-swans are very likely. It looks tempting, but this is not where traders build longevity. This is where they get smoked.

At the end of the day, your job is to think like a Chief Risk Officer. Your primary job isn’t to swing for the fences all that often. It’s to protect your capital so you can keep playing the game. That means managing risk well enough that no single trade can take you out. It means having enough margin in your personal finances that the market isn’t dictating your emotions. It means giving your edge the time and space to actually play out.

If you live below your means, focus on what you’re good at, stay away from leverage, keep your costs lean, avoid dangerous setups, and manage risk like it’s your full-time job, you give yourself a real shot at turning the corner. Not for a month. For good.