This is a special episode. A fellow trader/listener interviews the host of the podcast.
EP 012 Transcript
Welcome to the Affirmations for Traders podcast, a special space created, especially for you to listen to affirmations that make a positive impact to support you in your trading journey. I'm Tessa your host, like many of you as a trader, I understand the struggles of this journey very intimately. I believe that by adding the power of affirmations to your toolbox, it can be the game changer that you're looking for to help you improve your trading potential and to develop yourself into a better trader.
You're listening to episode 12 of the Affirmations for Traders podcast.
Tessa (00:00):
Welcome to the Affirmations for Traders podcast, a special space created especially for you to listen to affirmations that make a positive impact to support you in your trading journey. I'm Tessa, your host. Like many of you as a trader, I understand the struggles of this journey, very intimately. I believe that by adding the power of affirmations to your toolbox, it can be the game changer that you're looking for to help you improve your trading potential and to develop yourself into a better trader. You're listening to episode 12 of the Affirmations for Traders podcast.
Tessa (00:41):
This is a special episode where a fellow trader, friend, and listener whose name is Ian, actually interviews me. Ian was kind enough to give me some feedback and he thought it would be nice if I could share a little bit about myself, about my background and such. With a little more encouragement and gentle of push from Ian. I finally agreed to do it because, well, I think he's right. Just a little warning. The audio quality on my end is not as good as I want it to be. And also, I sounded a bit nervous since it was my first time being interviewed for something like this. And also, there will be no affirmations in this week's episode, but we will definitely continue with our regular program next week. Here it goes. Have a good week!
Ian (01:30):
Hello, Tessa. Hi. I want to thank you for inviting me, to your podcast and have a chance to interview you and get, for your audience to get a, to get to know you better.
Tessa (01:43):
I want to thank you.
Ian (01:45):
Yeah. So just, if you'd like to share with us, kind of who are you and how did you get into trading?
Tessa (01:53):
Thank you, Ian. And for the listeners, again, I'm Tessa the host of the Affirmations for Traders podcast and, a little bit about myself. I currently reside in the greater Seattle area in the beautiful state of Washington. I've basically lived in the Pacific Northwest for about a decade now, but I grew up in sunny, Southern California and lived there most of my life, going to school there, graduated from college and worked in the field of, corporate finance. So, I've been living on the west coast all my life basically. And, my parents came to the states, from Vietnam actually. And we came, to the states as refugees, from the Vietnam war. And I was just, a little toddler when my family started over with our lives here in the states. And, with what's happening in Ukraine right now, it, it brings back a lot of memories, even though I was so young, but I, I remember just a lot of the struggles that we had when we first arrived here, just starting over and I just really understand the pain, the suffering and the unrest that's going on right now.
Tessa (03:11):
And it's, it's just really sad and I didn't mean to get into all this, but it's the reality that's going on right as we're doing this interview. But so how did I get into trading? How it started was I just was very unhappy with the job that I was in at the time, and I wanted a quick way out. So, I left my job and learned how to trade stocks, like many traders, I thought this was the answer to all the problems and that I would be able to replace my income, and everything would be good. But, no, instead of replacing my income, I did the opposite. I created negative income and lost a lot of money. But I wanted to, I didn't want to give up right away. I wanted to find a way to protect my positions from the large gaps that stop losses
Tessa (04:08):
sometimes couldn't do, even when you have stop losses in there. So that's when I discovered options, I started to learn everything I could on how to use options as part of a strategy to limit the losses. Eventually I learned to use options in many more ways than to just protect my stock positions. And then as I learned more and more about options training, I was just more fascinated by this instrument. As you know, I'm not a numbers person naturally, right Ian? I like to engage my, my creative side a lot more and I, I needed something a little more stimulating and I was very, that's why I was very intrigued by options trading because you can use a little bit more creativity and options versus stock trading. But learning to trade the options was super challenging and difficult, super challenging. And, but it was so interesting to me with so many different strategies and combinations to apply, compared to trading stocks and that somehow it suited my personality and style of trading a lot more. Trading options can be just as risky as trading stocks
Tessa (05:18):
if you don't know what you're doing, and it could be like a slow, steady death. so yeah, long story short, I back then I lost a lot of money and, I didn't know what I was doing, but I was determined to learn and push through. And it took me a few years to build my own trading strategies and trading process. Being in the field of corporate finance, I naturally used what I knew best, which was Excel. I used Excel spreadsheets to help me create models and build out my options trading strategies. And the biggest changer for me was to finally be able to incorporate risk management as, a big part of my trading process. And that actually stopped the bleeding from my prior years of losses, which then allowed me to preserve my capital so that I could still be in the game long enough to continue learning, trading and improving. And then I was able to really focus on my strategies.
Ian (06:30):
You shared with us, what you've done in the past. I imagine some number of years ago, are you still trading options today?
Tessa (06:38):
Absolutely. I am. I trade options as an additional stream of income. I have other streams of income and projects, and that's what I'm comfortable with. To me, it makes sense to keep a part of my income steady by doing something else, to have another stream of income so that it could take the pressure off of me. I like to diversify and, and it allows me to, to really focus on improving and getting better and better, with, building up that side income from options trading. But one thing I'd like to say about this, too, is even though I trade options for additional side income, and I have other streams of income, I treat trading like a business. Meaning I run it like a business, not like a hobby or a part-time job. My particular trading style does not require me to trade every single go day. I hold my positions on an average of three to six weeks and I take it very seriously. That's why I have a trading process and develop trading plans. It's part of how I treat it like a business. So, I put a lot of emphasis on trading processes and trading plans and risk management in the talks in the podcast episodes, because I know it's critical.
Ian (08:05):
Yeah. So, you certainly, through your experience learned a lot and learned about the necessity of creating, trading plans and, and risk management to improve the probability of, success. And so, what made you choose to start Affirmations for Traders?
Tessa (08:26):
I started applying affirmations a couple of years ago, with writing out my affirmations. I'd pick one or two affirmations that I wanted to focus on and write it out in a notebook over and over again about 10 times. And there's just something powerful about physically handwriting out the affirmation, putting pen to paper. I know, you know, there's a whole science behind it and I'm not a neuroscientist, but, but I know that, somehow it engages your brain on another level than if you were to just type out, you know, type out words or type out the affirmations. So, when I write the affirmations out and repeat it out and visualize it, as I say it, and really believe it, it feels really real, reinforcing and it, and it's even therapeutical. And then over time, when you, when you say the affirmation and you visualize it, you believe what, what you're saying.
Tessa (09:21):
So, I wanted to do something different and, and create a trading related podcast, dedicated to affirmations and doing it my way and my style. It's a creative outlet for me. It helps me to focus in my own trading journey, but I also wanted to contribute somehow to the trading community. And so, this is my way of doing it by starting this podcast. And the podcast is still relatively new. It started in January 2022 and most people in the trading community have not heard of this podcast yet. Right now, it's growing organically. I have done very little promoting because this whole thing about promoting is a slightly new area for me, and I'm a bit of a private and introverted person. But I know it's important to promote. I'm also confident though that the listeners that find this so valuable, will help spread the word and, and share the podcast with other fellow traders.
Ian (10:23):
Well, great. Who is your, target audience? Who are you trying to reach?
Tessa (10:28):
Good question. I, I believe the people who seek out to continue developing as a trader from a mindset and, you know, trading psychology standpoint would be attracted to the podcast. And so those listeners would be my primary, target audience, whether they trade stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto, whatever. The matters of the mindset are shared issues across all types of traders. And there are those who may stumble across my podcast by accident and may end up being interested in continuing to listen. My podcast is just open to everyone, to anyone with an open mind.
Ian (11:13):
Hmm. And how long does it, usually take for you to produce a podcast?
Tessa (11:20):
Well, I think about my listeners a lot and, and I obsess over them and how I, how I can continue to add value to their trading journey. So, my listeners are on my mind for at least three to five hours a week, if not more. And because that's how long it takes to create one podcast episode that runs just under 10 minutes. So, it takes about, yeah, between three and five hours for one episode, because it takes, it does require some time and really deep thought and consideration. And to write up what I want the topic to be about. Throughout the week as I'm trading, I keep my listeners in mind when I go through my own trading, and I think about what they might be going through and also what might help them. Did I answer your question?
Ian (12:10):
Yes. How was your podcast different from other trading related podcasts?
Tessa (12:19):
Every podcast has something to offer, you know, in different ways. And for example, the Affirmations for Traders podcast doesn't dive deep into actual trading strategies and, you know, examples, or, I mean, it's not focused on interviewing guests, although this is a consideration I may have for the future. But the purpose of the podcast is to focus on primarily developing the mindset and having the right attitude for trading through affirmations. And that's how it's different from other trading related podcasts.
Ian (12:51):
I see. So, how would a trader best use, the podcast?
Tessa (12:57):
Every listener may choose to approach the podcast differently depending on their unique circumstances and needs and what they want to get out of it. I mean, for example, for me, in my earlier days of trading, I used to listen to, I mentioned, Rob Booker's the Trader's Podcast in his earlier episode. I was hooked because it was really entertaining to me. And he was super funny, and I learned a lot from that show, but I needed to listen to that type of show at that time, because it helped me to stay connected mentally to my trading and the trading community. As far as for Affirmations for Traders, I can only suggest an example of a possibly effective way, which might be to listen to it consistently, as consistently as you can, and to be intentional about the development of your mindset for your trading journey. The commentary and the affirmations that I share helps to get the trader into the appropriate mindset for trading, but it's not just the affirmations alone. It's takes action along with affirmations. When you combine the two, then it's really effective, affirmations and action. Now, when you combine affirmations, action, and accountability, then it gets even more powerful. And there's actually a Trading Accountability Program that's in the works right now that would help with that. But there's more information on that on the affirmationsfortrader.com website. So, I hope that answers the question.
Ian (14:28):
Yes, yes. Very much so. so, do you have a vision for the podcast, what would you like to see, in the future?
Tessa (14:36):
Good question. I think the podcast will continue to evolve over time. I do envision a community that will grow through the members of the podcast where traders can connect with each other, and with me and to share their struggles and goals to improve and develop themselves as traders. Because I, I want a way to enable more engagement with my listeners and the more listeners we have, the more easier it'll be for that to happen at some point. And I honestly would love to hear from my listeners and hope that they reach out to me because I would love to get their feedback, thoughts, and comments, and also hear about their trading journey. And I would love for the listeners to also help shape the show.
Ian (15:31):
Yes.
Tessa (15:32):
And the goal, the goal, you know, is for the podcast to be another valuable tool to make a difference in a trader's journey.
Ian (15:40):
Right. Do you have some advice, that you would give to a new trader just starting out?
Tessa (15:50):
There's a lot that I've shared throughout the podcast episodes so far, but if there's one thing that really stands out today in this moment, it would be this. Trading is one of the hardest things to do in the world.
Tessa (16:08):
It's different. Yes, and many traders don't make it, and that's just statistics. There's not just one or two things or one or two magical things that you have to do to make you successful at trading. There's a lot. There's a lot of time and work you have to put into learn, practice, and do, and then learn, practice, and do, and then learn, practice and do...over and over and over again. And it takes a certain mindset to do this. And I hope that the Affirmation for Trader's podcast can help add to the trader's development in becoming a better and successful trader and to enrich his or her trading journey.
Ian (16:55):
Yeah. Well, I, I certainly, am looking forward to, future podcasts of yours and, and diving into more ideas and strategies that you'd like to share with us. And do you have any closing remarks that you'd like to discuss?
Tessa (17:12):
Well, I'm just glad that you encouraged me to be interviewed by you because I think this is a great way for my listeners to also learn a little bit more about me. And it was fun doing this. I just can't believe how much I've talked through this. I can't believe this is the most I've talked, I think than in any episode. And oh, and by the way, Ian, you're not getting away with this! I can't wait to interview you next time about your trading journey and what you are into now.
Ian (17:49):
Yes, very much looking forward to it.
Tessa (17:52):
Great.
Ian (17:53):
Thank you. Yes. Well thank you for sharing, all of that with your listeners and, we look forward to connecting with all of you again in the near future.
Tessa (18:04):
Thanks Ian.
Ian (18:05):
Thank you.
You were listening to Affirmations for Traders. Thank you for listening. And I look forward to doing this again with you next week. Take care.
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