Kendra’s Self Discovery & Growth as a Trader in 2024
Our top priority early and always at Market Mamas was to offer up our authentic selves as an example of early to middle women traders. We want to share our experiences with the goal of providing benefit from our trading journeys in our discussions. For this episode, we will zero in on Kendra’s recent growth and expansion this summer (2024)! This real time experience and navigating these waters is where the powerful growth occurs. This vulnerability in real time is our primary value add.
Our recent Market Mamas interview with trading mindset coach Zvi from Whole Brain Trading (https://youtu.be/S8nWX8v5138?si=zgDkVZpf0Sb1IpXW) provided Kendra with a revelation about being a breakeven trader around the month of May. After editing and watching that video once it went public, Kendra felt very uneasy and knew she had to continue to explore why she was not allowing her trading abilities to really serve her. She knew it was not her trading edge, work ethic, or dedication. So Kendra asked for some honest feedback from a trader that she shares her daily executions back and forth, who she trusts and respects very much. My question I posed was, “What do you see as my greatest hindrance to profitability?” To which they answered, “the moves you’re in are very short lived, they don’t have enough room or time to move in the direction that you have decided to flow with.” Also adding, “Perhaps it’s not fully trusting your analysis or seeking to protect your position quickly which can kick you out sooner than you want.” This was very accurate and Kendra was grateful to have that honest feedback from someone she knows truly cares and understands.
Kendra’s first step with how she went about correcting this was coming to terms with the fact that the entire theme of her system was to work to prove that she was worthy and capable to participate. But when it was lights, camera, action, she would not allow herself to really seize the opportunity. She was not bringing the same woman to the table that earned her place to eat, but instead letting this imposter take over that was often operating from an uncertain, unsafe, and untrusting mindset. Kendra had convinced herself that she was being a sustainable trader but was actually just sitting on the sidelines most of the time and her secondary gain she was seeking was safety. Armed with this understanding. Kendra created a Profit Taking Plan titled, How To Get Paid For The Work You Do! This outlined a step by step action plan to help guide her with executing in a style that allows her to be rewarded with a huge emphasis on loving risk more than safety. Another way to put it is, loving the opportunity to win more than the fear of losing. That tweak in her system or process of how she perceived risk and opportunity of Miss Market really opened up like the floodgates for Kendra. It was amazing how just that discovery of those limiting beliefs and an intentional shift in perception had her going to her summer almost feeling like a reborn trader!
“Many times I had to remind myself I am a profitable and purposeful trader, and I’m not here to fill my cup”
~ Kendra Nunez, summer 2024
Another great evolution Kendra experienced over summer was challenging herself to trade 250K evaluation accounts. Adjusting her strategy with account sizes provided a great opportunity for additional growth and strategy adjustment. In addition to that, summer life can really throw mamas off their best game. In the past, Kendra has sort of thrown her time management out of the window and almost abused the extra time she had available to overtrade and stay on the screens longer than intended. But this summer, Kendra did really well at not doing that. Many times I had to remind myself I am a profitable and purposeful trader, and I’m not here to fill my cup.
Now Kendra did have some battle days this summer that she learned from and realized she was either forcing a bias within the worst timing and/or trading when her understanding of direction was not clear. This also usually coincided with market conditions that she doesn’t trade her best in for her trading edge. On those days, her profit taking plan did not work, it did not benefit her to hold to a valid target, or honor my stop loss placement. However, it was really good to be able to see that clearly because it led her to her next evolution, which was to further develop and improve her perspective on participation. She’s said before: she’s all about a strong morning routine and setting herself up for a successful trading session. But sometimes her best intentions and efforts to prepare blew up in her face. Kendra realized this and a need to change how she showed up and the expectations she brings into the market-open. So she’s in the process of shifting her prior stance of “I’m ready to trade this morning” to rather, “I’m ready to see what the market wants to do today.” For her, that puts Kendra in a mindset that is more selective and in control. Because after all, how we participate is really the only thing we get authority over. This can be very empowering from that vantage point.
Additionally, Kendra felt like one thing usually always sets off a chain reaction, and her perspective on participation was a setup for her to get even deeper aligned with staying true to her own style and leaning into how Miss Market speaks to her. Put frankly, eliminate as much of the noise and BS as she could so that she could feel more confident while fully utilizing and growing the amazing skill set she has. During our work with the book One Good Trade By Mike Bellafiore, Kendra capitalized on the opportunity to reflect over her progress even more and seek out further ways to improve full circle from a technical stance. This looked like honoring her daily risk allotment to really cultivating a mindset that positively reinforces what that really feels like. For Kendra, that meant not only is she setting a rule and being insistent about upholding it, but also being encouraged by it so those desires become stronger than the urge to go to the wayside. Like Bella says in the book, “we need to become obsessed with our trading fundamentals!” With that energy and encouragement, she went to work on a Success Pyramid, and a side by side list of What Makes Kendra a Consistently Profitable Trader And What Does Not - both exercises encouraged in the One Good Trade text. In our full episode linked above, Kendra shares these with the disclaimer that they are personal to her, from what she’s gathered from her individual trading data and experience. We are by no means offering trading execution advice of any kind. We all know how many variables there are amongst all of us traders and what works for one trader can be totally different for someone else who is on an entirely different path. What Kendra hoped this offers is an example of how a developing trader such as herself can create the self-coaching strategies and support needed for that continued elite performance improvement that is required for success in trading. Her examples in the episode are a showcase of what the work of becoming a consistently profitable trader looks like. So you are going to want to watch the full episode for the benefit of learning from her work.
Thank you to everyone who is subscribing to our podcast, reading our blogs, and providing us feedback! We are here to talk openly about everything that may help us all level up within our lives, be it day trading or otherwise. We wish you all the very best for your lives!