After 27 years in this game—from the Chicago Board of Trade to managing All Star Options—I've developed some pretty strong opinions about what works and what doesn't.
What actually shows up in my P&L year after year. Not theories. Not what sounds good in a book.
So here's what I believe about trading. This isn't necessarily what I think you should believe. Just what I've learned works for me.
I've broken it down into these eight buckets:
Play Offense, Not Defense
The single biggest shift in my trading came when I stopped trying not to lose and started playing to win.
That sounds like a semantic game, but it's not. The energy is completely different.
When you're trading from fear—managing positions to avoid pain, taking profits too early because you're scared they'll disappear, refusing to take intelligent risks because you "can't afford" to lose—you're playing defense. You're investing all your power in NOT losing.
And here's what I've learned: you can't simultaneously fear losses AND trade with full power. The energy is locked up in the fear pattern.
When I started reclaiming that power and directing it toward confident execution, everything changed. Not through reckless aggression. Through clarity about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
Trading from strength means trusting your process more than protecting your account.
Process Beats Prediction
I don't need to know what's going to happen. I need to know what I'm going to do when it happens.
The plan matters more than the prediction. Always.
My edge isn't in forecasting the market's next move. My edge is in following my process regardless of what the market does. Creating space for opportunities, building a plan, then bearing witness as the market does its work.
I'm not forcing outcomes. I'm allowing them.
Cut Losers Fast, Let Winners Run
The math is simple: low win rate, massive winners, small losers, defined risk.
I've stopped giving losing positions second chances. No more "room to breathe" on bad trades. Clear chart violation? Exit. Down more than my threshold? Exit. The setup broke? Exit.
But winners? That's where the patience comes in.
I let those ride into expiration. I harvest the full trend instead of taking comfort too early. Because my biggest winners this year—the 600% gains, the 1,000%+ moves—they all required me to stay in the trade when every instinct said "take the money and run."
The discomfort of holding a big winner is information. It's showing you where you've hidden your capacity for bigger success.
Momentum and Strength Are Real
My favorite setup after all these years? The blue skies trade.
A stock making a fresh all-time high has structural advantages. No bagholders above. Everyone who owns it is profitable and patient. Short sellers are trapped, becoming forced buyers every tick higher.
Strength begets strength. I go where the energy is flowing. I don't try to predict reversals or catch falling knives.
Simple. Clean. Effective.
Do Less, Make More
Some of my best trading days are the ones where I do nothing.
Great trading comes from patience, not activity. From creating space and waiting for your setups. From having the discipline to sit on your hands when there's nothing to do.
The discomfort of inactivity IS the work. The profits come from what you don't do as much as what you do.
I proved this to myself in 2025. The traders who wrote to me about their best years? Multiple people said the same thing: "I did less and made more."
One trader moved to Guam, forced to place orders at midnight and go to sleep before the market opened. He couldn't watch. He couldn't panic sell. He couldn't take profits too early.
And he had his best year ever.
Execution Beats Strategy
After 27 years and exposure to countless strategies and systems, I'll tell you the truth: the strategy isn't the problem.
The work isn't finding the perfect system. It's removing the psychological obstacles that prevent you from executing the strategies you already know work.
Intuition. Presence. Emotional awareness. Self-forgiveness. These aren't soft skills—they're what separate consistent winners from everyone else.
You already have everything you need to succeed. The question is: can you get out of your own way long enough to use it?
Community Is Essential
I've been hosting trader meetups for 13 years now. Recently, I formed a tighter-knit Traders Circle for deeper emotional exploration.
Why? Because physical community with other traders creates growth that solitary screen time never will.
Shared experiences. Honest conversations. Emotional exploration in safe spaces. These aren't extras—they're essential infrastructure for sustainable performance.
Trading can be isolating. Community reminds you that you're not alone in the struggle, the doubt, the fear, or the victories.
The Game Is Infinite
Here's what I've come to understand: when I'm executing from flow state, without attachment to outcomes, playing my edge purely for the pleasure of execution—that's when the magic happens.
The goal isn't to make trading "better" or force bigger profits. It's to recognize that you already have everything you need and to play the game for the joy of playing itself.
This is Phase 2 trading. Not strengthening the illusion that more money equals more happiness. Just executing your process, bearing witness to the results, and staying present with whatever shows up.
The Bottom Line
These beliefs didn't come from books or courses. They came from 27 years of wins, losses, breakthroughs, and setbacks.
They came from finally learning to trust my intuition. From building community. From making the shift from defense to offense. From learning to hold winners and cut losers without emotion.
Your beliefs might look different. That's fine. The work is figuring out what actually works for you—then having the discipline to follow it consistently.
That's the game.
Ready to see these beliefs in action? All Star Options provides real-time idea flow from an active trader who's been doing this for nearly three decades. No theory. No fluff. Just transparent execution. Learn more here.
Sean McLaughlin | Chief Options Strategist, All Star Charts
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