Gary and Finn: A Tale of 2 Traders. 

In the next few pages I’m going to share an analogy about 2 traders, Gary and Finn. Both 4 years deep in the markets.

They aren’t “real” people per se – but their traits are absolutely real and based on real people I’ve seen struggle and succeed. 

You’re one of them. 

Which one? 

Well… you’ll have to read on to the end to figure that out.

But I’ll tell you this: One makes no money trading. (At least not enough to pay back the amount he’s sunk in challenge fees.)

And the other is crushing it and trading for a living.

This is Gary:

This is Finn:

Becoming.

Recently, I read a great book by Tom Hougaard called ‘Best Loser Wins’.  In it there’s one noteworthy passage that I’ll share here:

Keep this in mind. We’ll come back to it later.

And when we do… you’ll understand exactly why it’s so important.

Quick Backstory…

I didn’t chase trading for a quick wealth fix.

I turned to it because I had to.

See… on May 9, 2022, the market imploded in ways I couldn’t foresee.

…And in just 24 hours, I lost over seven figures—my entire net worth.

“Devastating” doesn’t cut it. I wasn’t just broke; I was shattered—mentally, emotionally, completely.

Entrepreneurship runs in my blood. Trading, for me, was freedom—making money on my terms, anywhere, anytime.

No “safe” paycheck was worth trading that.

Since 2016, I’d been in the markets. It took three years to master trading while juggling other projects.

By 2020, my investments paid off big and I stepped back from active trading, living the real entrepreneur’s dream—not the fake “Instagram Lambo” kind.

I wasn’t ‘rich’… but I had enough to work as little or as much as I wanted and cherish time with my wife and new born daughter.

Then – like a gut punch in the 12th round – COVID and a crypto market crash obliterated everything.

All I could think about was my family—and how our life was about to unravel.

After weeks of sleepless nights, I dove back into trading.

The scene had changed: younger, hungrier, and buzzing with a new gold rush—prop firms.

These companies offered “access to capital” if you passed their trading tests.

They weren’t true prop firms, just virtual capital in simulated environments.

Did I care? No!!

It was the only path I could see in front of me to rebuild our life to how it was.

As a consistent trader, I thought it’d be easy, so I went all-in.

But something had shifted in me.

I didn’t understand it yet.. but I wasn’t trading the same way.

My thoughts were different. 

Emotions were louder.

And the part of me that used to feel centred… started feeling like it was fighting for air. 

It was at this point, without realising it, I had started “operating” as a Gary.

Now… there’s something Gary doesn’t see: A ‘truth’ –  that keeps him stuck, no matter how hard he tries.

It’s not his strategy, not his routines, not his effort or iron-willed discipline.

It’s something deeper.

Something that, once Finn realised it, changed everything about his trading…

Click here to continue… (Page 2 of 4)