At two in the morning, the flash from the phone screen hurt my eyes, and a bank text popped up with a string of numbers — 320,000.00 yuan credited. The first reaction was not to celebrate, but to bitterly smile as I thought of the nearly empty bottle of hair growth lotion on the bedside.

It's been 8 years since I entered the circle. From a novice who couldn't understand candlestick charts to now being called "an experienced driver," my wallet has indeed gotten thicker, but I've also gone bald. Behind this profit, there are no insider tips or luck from the heavens—if there were such good fortune, I would have long been living a life of easy wins.

**Those Days Educated by the Market**

In 2016, when I entered the market with $5,000, I had no clear understanding of the difference between blockchain and distributed ledgers. Living in an attic in a village within the city, I would review my trades until dawn with the fan on during the summer, and the density of mosquitoes was comparable to the fluctuations on the candlestick chart.

No one to guide me, and there are no shortcuts. The stupidest method I can think of is to write down my daily operations in an Excel spreadsheet. When I make money, I note "why I dared to buy"; when I lose money, I mark in red "what pit I fell into." This has been going on for a full 1460 days, with no breaks.

The moments that have been repeatedly taught are the most valuable. The greed during market uptrends, the panic during crashes, and the failures of stop-loss due to wishful thinking—every slip-up is clearly recorded. Later on, when seeing a certain trend, similar past cases and their consequences automatically come to mind.

**The Power of Records**

Many people think that trading relies on luck, but the biggest luck comes from developing the habit of data-driven decision making. It’s not that having records guarantees profit, but through recording, one can see their decision-making patterns and risk vulnerabilities more clearly.

The 320,000 entry is merely the result of long-term discipline and the accumulation of reviews. Looking back now, the most valuable part isn't the profitable trades, but rather the patterns found in the loss reviews.