If you have a dream, hold on to it and don't give up.

Meet Sofia Medeiros

EVO is super proud to have Sofia representing the community. She is another incredibly inspiring individual who quickly cultivated all the traits of a professional trader, resulting in her becoming funded within just 7 months of joining us in January 2022. The future is looking extremely bright for Sofia and we cannot wait to see her continue to evolve as a trader. Check out the full interview with Sofia below.

When did your trading journey first begin?

So, I have a Master's Degree and I thought I would work in that area that I studied for the rest of my life. However, when I was first introduced to trading in August 2021 I could see the potential opportunities and decided that I wanted to live my life like that. I first started with Binary Options and then the academy I was training with introduced me to Forex. I didn't feel like I was learning much with this particular academy and a friend told me about EVO, so I decided to join the EVO family in January 2022 and that's when my real trading journey started.

What was it that made you want to pursue trading? 

To be honest, it was the thought of having the freedom to work whenever I want to work without having a boss in my ear all the time. If one day I feel like I'm not physically or mentally capable of working, I just close the laptop and take a rest, unlike a normal job where you still have to go to work. 

What advice would you give to an inspiring individual that's about to start trading? 

My advice to someone is that first of all you must know that trading is not easy and it takes a lot of dedication. There will be times when you probably feel like giving up - I'm talking from experience here. However, you have to keep pushing, as each day that passes you begin to learn more & more, meaning you are one step closer to achieving your goals (whatever those are). 

There were many times when I felt like giving up.... I like to view my own trading journey just like the charts. Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down and I can tell you now there will be many lows when you are learning because sometimes you think you understand it and then when you apply it onto the charts it's much harder than you thought. So you have to review the lessons and strategy, and backtest it to really gain that confidence and understand what are you doing wrong because it works - it just takes time. 

Don't give up when the hard times hit, stay focused, and one day you will be thankful to yourself because you never quit. It all comes down to believing in yourself and knowing that it is possible if you continue to work towards it.  

What do you believe are the three most important characteristics of a successful trader?  

You need to be committed, you need to view trading like a business and you need to be very patient.

It's not every day you see that perfect opportunity, so you need to be patient and wait for the best setups to develop and not be greedy. If you lose you lose, don't try to compensate that losing trade with a tonne of entries because it only gets worse. 

That all sounds easy on paper but its a constant daily battle - you have to learn how to regulate your emotions. 

How long after joining EVO did it take you to become a funded trader? 

So I joined EVO in January 2022 and was working a full-time job for the government at the time. After work, I would come home study the lessons, and take lots of notes. 

Then after several months of learning the concepts I decided to test my skills and practice on a couple of funded trials in preparation for the real challenge. 

I managed to pass every single one successfully and I work better under pressure so I was like 'ok I'm going to do this, I have nothing to lose' and I decided to purchase a real funding challenge with MFF. 

I had a lot of support from my boyfriend and after I paid for the challenge, in my mind it then became real so I just really focused, kept telling my myself 'I am going to do this, there is no other way' and I managed to get it done. 

How has EVO assisted your evolution as a trader? 

The course itself is super well structured and simple to follow, so much so that if someone has no prior trading experience they will pick it up very quickly as opposed to just watching YouTube videos. 

For me what made the biggest difference was the one-to-one coaching calls I had with Ollie. There were times when I felt like I had no motivation and thought this isn't for me, but Ollie has a way of lifting you up, making you feel calm and guiding you in the right direction.

Trading can truly be hard at times but having a mentor that is there to support you when times get tough makes a huge difference. 

How do you remain balanced to avoid overtrading and also the fear of execution?  

I keep my risk per trade to a minimum which helps me accept losses and focus on the bigger picture as losses are simply unavoidable sometimes. 

I also journal all of my trades and I also keep a mental diary so that I can keep track of all of my emotions so if something doesn't go to plan that day I can review and improve. 

I never stress about one losing trade, as I know its easy to recover from and I have a maximum loss limit of two trades per day. So if I have two losses for that day, I just finish for the day, go to the beach, take a walk and distract myself to keep that positive energy flowing.

What is your next immediate trading goal?  

Right now I'm really focused on improving my trading mindset and psychology so I can keep working towards scaling up my funded account. 

One aspect that I'm really enjoying with trading psychology is that I can apply it to all the other areas of my life and I honestly feel like a very different person in only the last year.... I feel calmer, I don't think negatively about things anymore simply due to the content I am reading and digesting about trading and it's really helping me in all aspects of my life. 

I'm moving to Canada with my boyfriend next year which I'm really looking forward to, so we will see how just trading the New York session goes!

Do you have any final words of wisdom? 

In the path to becoming a trader, there are many ups and downs but it is in the lows we shape ourselves as people and it is in the highs we see the value of our efforts. 

If you have a dream, hold on to it and don't give up, believe in yourself and always try to stay as positive as possible. 

In trading, its a whole process, everyone has to follow their own pace and we are all going to experience moments of doubt and question whether we are capable of doing great things and being successful but if others can do it, then so can I.

I'm no different to those that are successful. Anything is possible as long as you are committed and dedicated.