So, I’ve made it through Step 2. However, I still don’t understand what’s actually happening. What are we actually trading? Future contracts on the S&P 500 index. Yes. But, what is that? What does that mean? Should I have gotten that from Steps 1 or 2?

I was laid off but still have a 401k with Fidelity. Does anyone have a brokerage account with them and if so is it easy to navigate? I know @Kyle Henris gave us options for brokerage accounts but I was thinking since my money is there why not just use them. Thanking you all in advance fir any feedback 😊

I was practicing on MCL1 crude oil from 4/26/24 - 5/9/24 and it kicked my a$$. Sticking with strictly Superman entries and I lost big. Curious if anyone would be up for giving that time frame a shot to see if anyone else is struggling there. I had 9 losses and 2 wins.

Especially on the psychology side…I started the week at 51,750 on my EA account. Took a loss on Monday..$200, ok no big deal…took a win Tuesday morning for $480..sweet almost at 52, 1k to go! I must have stepped off the wrong platform because I found myself on the loss train..next trade..loss, next trade, loss, next trade….you guessed it…LOSS! Oof..I am no stranger to losing..but hell, it hit hard because I worked my ass off to get close to 52k from almost blowing the evaluation was feeling hopeful to pass soon, and then it was at $51,075. Feelings of fear and doubt set in hard, I felt like Frodo wearing the ring..a heavy weight sitting on my back, thoughts that maybe I don’t have it, maybe I’m not cut out for this…that shit entered my head. I closed down shop, and rewatched Kyle’s mindfulness videos, I played some video games with the kids, played with my youngest daughter (4mos old). I rewatched the Superman video for the 20th time. I threw all the junk out of my head, I studied my trading log notes, entry times, tickers for all my accounts (replay, papertrading, and EA), using those notes I formulated a game plan, I decided to increase my risk to $500, and only take solid setups on the 5 min time frame (no jumping to 2 min, or 1 min, etc) I cleared my charts, and I just went to charting off of fractals only, bringing it down to pure simplicity…I marked my zones, I wrote down my criteria for the 5th time and set my alerts…1st alert went off on ES…had my close above a 5 min fractal and set my order…order never filled as ES slowly made its way to my supply zone, supply zone alert went off, I watched…eventually had a 5 min close below a fractal..I set my Superman block, made my entry, and set profit target for the candle that made the low..then I walked away, I told myself I have no control over price, I made a logical trade setup based on criteria, I was comfortable with my zone placement, and that the trade will play out one way or the other…jump ahead 25 minutes, price ALMOST hitting target, moving back into my stop area, then moving down to my TP, and BAM..1050 win, while this is great the point of this extremely winded post is that the mindset is the most inportant aspect of trading, and the hardest aspect to overcome…I am far from mastering mindset, but this journey is mentally challenging me in ways I did not anticipate. The beauty is through all of this, I have not had the thought of giving up, or letting my emotions take control, while there is fear and doubt in these tough moments, I AM able to complete the mental gymnastics to overcome and come back to the game. If you read this I hope it helps if you too are struggling with the mental and emotional aspects of trading. They are very real, and are not something to set aside if you want to see any form of success with this TRULY PROFESSIONAL SKILL.

I understand the 4:59 EST cutoff during the 1 hour closure but can I trade during hours outside of US trade times?