About
Steven Dux
MY STORY
Steven Dux is a day trading educator who has made over $11 million in verified trades, shared account statements publicly and had them audited by third party accounting firms. He is in the top 1% of day trading educators in the world and teaches a flagship educational program called The Freedom Challenge. Dux is also the founder of StockCraft, an all-in-one trading platform that helps you trade like a Wall Street pro, with or without the suit.
I looked in the mirror, red-faced and sweat dripping down my forehead. A weight in each hand, my arms were numb. I looked good; bigger than ever, toned and muscular. Once more, I pushed myself to the limit. I should have felt great. I didn’t. I wasn’t good enough.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
- …FOR MY GIRLFRIEND, WHO BROKE UP WITH ME.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
- …FOR MY FATHER, WHO WAS WAITINGTO PROVE ME WRONG.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH
- …FOR THIS COUNTRY, WHICH BACKED ME INTO A CORNER AND GAVE ME SO FEW OPTIONS.
I'D HAVE TO RETURN HOME TO CHINA.
My studies would come to an end, and my F-1 Visa would end with it. I had no job prospects here in the U.S., not with my visa. Not that I had any reason to stay… My former girlfriend gave me a reason, but she had left me.
I figured hitting the gym each day would make me feel worthy, but as I look in the mirror, I feel as worthless as ever. It’s just a distraction. Just like all those endless nights of studying the market has been. Stuck in that dead-end night shift that nobody else in college wants, I finally found something exciting to pass my time. Trading was my way out.
IF I COULD MAKE IT WORK, I COULD STAY IN
THE U.S. AND PROVE MY FATHER WRONG.
I would escape the path he wanted for me, and pave my own. Plus, I’d be able to execute on all those amazing ideas that could change the world for the better; the ideas my classmates and I would daydream about in school.
Well, that was the plan. The problem is, I invested all my tuition for the year and lost half of it practically overnight. So here I am, in the gym once more, trying to prove something to myself.
BOUNCING BACK
FROM ROCK
BOTTOM.
This was my low point in life. I felt alone, and I felt like I had run out of options. Soon, I’d have to return home to China, and face my father’s “told you so” tone. I would have to go back to the place that insisted I fall in line and follow the rules. In America, I felt able to explore my own path.
But even that had run its course: No girlfriend. No money to invest. No money, period, after my father cut me off. No options. Desperate, I had one final play. If it failed, I’d have to sell my car and likely return to China. Whereas if it paid off, just maybe, I could build the life I’ve always wanted.
Finally, a little luck. I managed to turn $27,000 into $60,000, and in less than a year, built it to $1.3 million.
MY JOURNEY INTO TRADING HASN’T BEEN AN ORTHODOX ONE.
Nothing in my life so far has, as you’ll see if you keep reading and you will be able to learn:
How I moved to America at 14-years-old, leaving my parents and brother behind in China (and the only life I’d ever known).
How this obsessive curiosity became my secret superpower into building a successful
Trading career (and turning $27,000 into $7.5 million).
How I’ve always had an
obsessive curiosity about how things work, figuring out why they do (and questioning if there’s a more efficient way).
How developing an ulcer
helped me appreciate a
passion for travel, the ocean and, in time, led me to ealize the life I truly wish to live.
MAKING THE MONEY I DID, DIDN'T MAKE ME HAPPY.
I felt happier than I did during that low point in my life, but I would still look in the mirror and feel incomplete. This didn’t change until I started to help other people do what I do — just without all the mistakes, pain and wasted time and money.
I focused on three things:
Optimizing systems and strategies to maximize profit. I find most of the information out there overcomplicated and unnecessary. I hack these strategies, and rework them so they’re more efficient, effective and profitable.
Condense complex information into simple, actionable steps. I simplify systems, strategies and processes, so you don’t get lost in the details and miss the important steps that create 80% of the results.
Help people learn about trading stocks in the most efficient way possible. You don’t have to live in your office to be a good, successful trader. I strive to help you make more from less, and give you only what you need, when you need it.
MY STUDENTS WORK WITH ME
BECAUSE THEY APPRECIATE THE JOURNEY I’VE BEEN ON.
I’ve built a reputation on what to do, based on experiencing what not to. But to understand how I learned to do this — and where my resilience and persistence came from — we must go all the way back to where it all began…
MY EARLY LIFE
The problem with this was, I wasn’t the best student. From a young age, I would ask questions. Teachers would tell me, “this is what you need to do to get a good grade.” But I struggled with this. My mind always wandered to, “Why do we need to do it that way? What would happen if you put this and this together, instead?”
In China, teachers don’t like this. They want you to follow the rules, not question them. They told the other parents about me, who in turn warned their children to stay away from me. They were worried I might set a bad example. Looking back, this was where my anger began; the same anger that would later drive me to prove everyone wrong, and ignite my Trading career. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
I wasn’t the worst student in school.
With my father back home, life got harder. As with most traditional Asian families, we all had certain roles to play and expectations to meet. My father was to be the leader; my mother, the caregiver; and for me and my brother, we were expected to do well at school.
In certain subjects — like Physics and Chemistry — I often scored 100%. But in other subjects, which I didn’t enjoy — like Maths and English — I would perform poorly. It was during these subjects that I hated, that my curiosity took control. I questioned everything; I wanted to understand how and why something worked the way it did. I didn’t accept the answers they gave me, which led me to come up with some crazy ideas.
Like the time my friends and I built a new garbage can, which automatically recognized if something was recyclable or not. It was a great idea and it worked well. But nobody — not the teachers, nor our parents — cared, because it didn’t make money or would help us get into a good school. I grew more and more frustrated. Nobody seemed to care and nobody wanted to listen. All they wanted was for me to listen to them and do as they said.
