Somthing I think about, and often reflect upon the journey most "retail" traders take in this career, including my own... In the early years of discretionary trading, it’s common to spend countless hours studying technical concepts, price action, market profile, order flow, structures, patterns, risk management and whatever else... Over time, traders often become skilled analysts at best, yet the constant pursuit of an elusive edge continues - in a nutshell - 'still cant trade for shit'. The reality is that the general approach and expectations surrounding trading success are fundamentally flawed and often disconnected from how professional traders operate, chasing unrealistic gains or expectations, which inevitably leads to dissapointment (if you havent already blown out - eg Oct 10th). A more effective path is built around process, statistics, and structure. Rather than chasing new strategies or indicators, my own journey shifted towards developing a systematic framework, one that quantifies performance, guides discretionary decisions, and brings consistency and clarity to trade execution and the trade lifecycle, its a continous progressive journey that never really ends. Structure turns randomness into repeatability, and journaling with meaninful data turns intuition into a better decision making process. Most retail traders, for the large part, learn from other retail traders, perpetuating habits and beliefs that limit growth. The real transformation begins when trading is viewed through a professional lens, with an understanding of how professionals approach risk, performance, and process. Once that perspective shifts, so does the mindset imo and the purpose in which I've approached this game. You shift from hoping to win, and instead learn how to perform. That’s the point where trading begins to evolve from chaos into craft. Just some Saturday ramblings...