Meet Jakub Prymicz

Jakub has known TMC's co-founder, Irek Piekarski, since age 13! They have a long history both personally and professionally - from playing high school football together, to trading alongside one another over the years, to drinking cocktails in Costa Rica during the launch day of Trading MasterClass back in 2018. Truly, there is no trader more fitting to represent the TMC Club, and everything the club stands for, than Jakub Prymicz. Check out the recent interview TMC conducted with Jakub...

When did your trading journey first begin? 

‍Summer of 2014, when I was scrolling through Instagram late into the night, I stumbled upon pictures of Irek’s trading desk and him working late at night. Up until that point I had no idea what the FX market was. Eight years had passed since I went to high school with Irek and that night I decided to reach out to him. He introduced me to the markets and while the course Irek had sent me cost roughly the equivalent of 1 course at the university I studied at, I knew I wanted to do something else with my life. I purchased the program, justifying it as a university course. I was already paying thousands of dollars for courses which I didn’t enjoy, but which were required, so I paid the few hundreds of dollars for something I might enjoy. The next couple of months I read it more than 10 times. At the time I was balancing university, two part-time jobs and learning to trade during the London session and I would listen to Irek’s webinars from 1AM to 4AM, sometimes even longer!

‍What was it that made you want to pursue trading?

‍It took me a couple weeks from purchasing the online course to opening up a live account. It then took almost a year before I began seeing consistent results. The day I reached out to Irek, he recommended I look into someone by the name of Tony Robbins. From that day on my life changed. Whenever I was commuting, walking, cleaning or cooking, I would always be listening on my iPod to recordings by Tony Robbins, Alan Watts, Earl Nightingale, Napoleon Hill and many others. I became heavily engaged in my personal development. I began spending significantly less time going out on weekends with friends, my goals and values began to differ from those around me. I realized I was on a different path in life, when talking to friends I realized I wanted more than them. Many would only talk about their dreams, I wanted to bring my dreams into reality. I had goals which I was embarrassed to share with people, because I knew they would make fun or say “yeah, right, you wish, be realistic”. I wasn’t going to be satisfied with a 9-5 job, worse, having to ask for permission when I can take a day off or go on vacation. I didn’t want to live a life where I would be waiting for a vacation to come so I could “escape” my regular life.

"Many would only talk about their dreams, I wanted to bring my dreams into reality."

I wanted financial freedom, to help my family and build generational wealth. I saw how money can divide people and cause arguments, I wanted to use it as a tool to build and bring people together! Around March, 2016 I was already seeing consistent trading results. During a webinar with around 80 participants, somewhere around 4 in the morning, Irek went off on a rant about fear. He spoke about fear holding us back in life, the fear of the unknown, the fear to take the next step, he got me fired up. Before ending the webinar, he said, if this rant helps at least one person take the next step in life, then it was worth it. I closed my computer and thought to myself: “Why can't that one person to make a change be ME?”. A couple weeks later I handed in my resignation letter and went on to travel Europe for 3 months, while trading from my laptop. 

‍What is something unexpected that you love about trading?

‍I never expected to head down a lifelong journey of self-development. I never expected trading would be so psychological. It had unveiled how much work I need to put into myself. I didn’t expect to fall in love with reading and the more I learn, the more I realize there is still so much more that is unknown to me. Patience has become one of the more visible skills I have developed over the years. Not only when it comes to entering a trade, but also in life. It taught me to not get upset when things don’t go exactly as planned. I often think to myself, “people overestimate what they can do in a year, but underestimate what they can do in 5 years.” Yet there are many times when being prepared and being in the right place at the right time can lead to incredible opportunities. In those times you need to surrender and be open to what is in front of you.

"I never expected to head down a lifelong journey of self-development. I never expected trading would be so psychological."

‍What are one to three books that have profoundly impacted your journey? Why?

The first self-development book I read, which changed my perspective on life, was “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. This book opened up my eyes to the power I hold inside of myself. The power to make changes myself and affect those around me. It taught me that I’m capable of achieving whatever it is I imagine. I learned about the importance of consistency and allowing for thoughts to come to my mind.

The second book I read was “Secrets Of A Millionaire Mind” by T Harv Eker. This book taught me about my financial blueprint, about my financial thermostat. It showed me how I viewed money and how others may perceive it. I realized that what I thought about money may have been deeply rooted in my subconscious and causing me to make poor decisions with it.

"The Untethered Soul" by Michael A. Singer. The title does a great job summarizing the book. Stop worrying, something “bad/uncomfortable” may be happening in your life at the moment, but what you don’t know is what these events are preparing you for. We never know where our decisions will truly take us, who we’ll meet or where we’ll be. Surrender, take in and be grateful for what is happening to you. 

A few of my other favourites worth giving a read:

12 Rules for life – Jordan Peterson
Total Recall – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

What new belief, behaviour, or habit has helped you gain the most forward momentum since becoming a trader?

Consistency, this was the first piece of advice handed down to me on my trading journey and it has been something I continue to standby. Stay consistent in anything and everything you do, sooner or later the fruits of your labour will show. When times get difficult or you feel burnt out, listen to your body and mind, give yourself the required space and time. But never give up, you only lose when you yourself choose for it be the end. Trading takes time, along the way you’ll learn many new things about yourself. Focus on the long game, set goals you’ll chase to achieve, but remember life doesn’t always give you what you want in the “state/form” you requested it in. Discovering new hobbies and learning new skills has also been positively reflected in my trading. Early in my trading career I realized I cannot spend all day long looking at charts, on days when the market wasn’t presenting opportunities, instead of looking to force trades I put my energy into physical activities. Biking and swimming, two activities which allow me to be moving and at the same time shut off all distractions. For me they’re a form of meditation, many of my best ideas came while biking, swimming or sitting in silence. During a webinar I was once asked what’s one of my favourite/practical things I’ve purchased under $100. After all those years the answer still today remains the same, a journal. Not only does it allow me to go back in time to see where I was months, years ago. But the habit of writing my thoughts out on paper in another form is clearing my mind and organising my thoughts. It’s a time of day when I allow for ideas to come to me, sometimes I’ll write a couple of sentences, but there are days I think I have nothing to write, and end up with 3 pages. 

"Stay consistent in anything and everything you do, sooner or later the fruits of your labour will show."

‍What advice would you give to an inspired, driven individual about to step into the trading world?

‍Start slow and focus on consistency. You’re developing a skill, just like you don’t pick up a guitar and are able to play a variety of songs after a month, same goes for trading. It will take many hours, days, weeks and months of practice and learning in order to develop the skill. Document your progress, make notes and take screen shots. You’ll be amazed at how you’ve developed over the year(s). Do not compare yourself to others, rather use them as inspiration. If you find someone who is already doing what you’d want to be doing then use that as inspiration to know that if someone else can do it/ has done it, then you can as well. Don’t fear the work!

‍How has Trading MasterClass assisted your evolution?

‍I’ve had Irek and Molly on my trading journey from the very beginning. From introducing me to the markets, teaching me to trade, to then inviting me to run webinars alongside Irek. I remember being in Costa Rica with Irek and Molly the day Trading MasterClass was launched and again a few months later running webinars for those in the community. With the constant evolution of MasterClass I was consistently inspired to grow as a trader, polish up my analysis, executions and management. Having the unique opportunity to run webinars in MasterClass, exponentially sped up my own progress. As traders we’re constantly adapting to the market and tweaking our skills. Through running webinars, I become that much more responsible for my analysis and I had a responsibility to clearly articulate my thoughts/views and opinions of the market to help others learn and understand the flow/state and analysis of it. Recording educational videos and verbally expressing your thoughts, not only allowed me to teach others, but also to be much more aware of the thought and analysis process going on within my mind.

"I remember being in Costa Rica with Irek and Molly the day Trading MasterClass was launched."

‍What is your next immediate trading goal?

‍In the past 14 months I have been getting heavily involved with real estate. In 2021 I plan on diversifying my capital and investing in properties both in Canada and Poland. With my trading account, it will continue growing, there is no slowing down. I want to continue helping individuals on their trading journey. And I’ll be open to all opportunities which find themselves on my path. You never know who you’ll meet, what they’ll say and where it’ll take you in life.

‍Any final words of wisdom? 

‍“Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.” - W. Churchill

If trading were easy, everyone would be doing it. Remember, if someone is able to be a successful trader, then you can be one as well! Find someone who is doing what you’d want to be doing and learn from them. Most important, don’t be afraid of the work! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And you are on your own path, don’t compare yourself to others, don’t be jealous of what others have or how quickly they achieved their goals. You are on your own journey, take in the blessings of everyday and be grateful for the ups and the downs. 

‍How can we keep up with you?

‍You can always reach me in the TMC Club or follow me on Instagram @jakubprymicz.