From Teacher to Trader:
Lana’s Trading Journey with IDTA
Interview with IDTA Member Lana G
Meet Lana – a busy mum of two from New Zealand who transformed her financial future through futures trading!
In this video, we sit down with Lana—a dedicated teacher, busy mum, and health enthusiast from New Zealand—who shares her honest and inspiring journey into the world of futures trading with IDTA. From having zero trading experience to becoming a confident, calculated trader
Watch as Lana shares her complete trading journey:
- How she discovered futures trading despite no prior experience
- The emotional ups and downs of learning the markets
- Her breakthrough moment that turned losses into consistent profits
- Developing better risk management and mindset
- Practical advice for balancing trading with a busy family life
Transcript:
Dani: Hey Lana, how are you going?
Lana: I’m great, thank you. Awesome, thanks for joining me today. So if we could just start with a little bit of background about you, who you are, where you’re from.
Where am I from? Well, I’m from New Zealand. Who am I? I am, well, in my late 30s, I’m a teacher, I have a young family, I’m passionate about health and fitness, that’s kind of where my interests have laid most of my life, so spending a lot of time keeping, yeah, exercising, keeping myself fit. And yeah, that’s kind of it.
Yeah, I’m in the trenches with two kids at the moment, so yeah, that takes up a lot of time.
Dani: How old are your kids?
Lana: They are seven and nine.
Dani: Yep, busy ages.
I’m just ahead of you, nine and 13, so I get it, I really do. And so health, fitness, teaching, that’s all very different to trading. So what got you intrigued with futures trading?
Lana: Good question.
We were part of, what do you say, like, I don’t want to say an investment group, that’s probably not the… We were part of an academy where they kind of educated you on how to manage your finances better and how to, I suppose, make wealth, well, develop your wealth, whether that be from a personal standpoint or a financial standpoint or all together, that was when we came across CAM and IDTA because they were part of the partners as part of that group.
So, yeah, that was how we got into it. I suppose I was lucky enough to meet CAM and Kelly at one of our functions that we were at and automatically, you know, clicked with them and we got along really well.
And I was like, actually, this sounds pretty cool. I liked the, I don’t want to say the roboticness of training. I suppose there’s just kind of a formula.
And if you could follow the formula, then it’s going to work. And I was going, OK, that sounds like a bit of me. And we were looking for opportunities to kind of make money on the side and increase our income strength.
So, yeah, that was my reason for joining, I suppose.
Dani: Yeah. Awesome.
So you never traded before?
Lana: No, no previous experience. Yeah.
Dani: So you joined for those reasons, which was awesome.
What was your first impression when you first started?
Lana: Well, I said I was lucky enough to meet CAM and Kelly, so I had some good conversations with them and Peta because they were all over. So I just really liked them, I suppose, and hearing about their stories and what they’d been up to. And I was kind of like, OK, yeah, I reckon I can get them out to this community.
And so I think that was what my first impression was. I was like, OK, I really like these people. And I feel like I can learn something off them.
Dani: Yeah. So relatable. Just normal people.
Did anything surprise you about the course, about coaching, about your journey so far, community?
Lana: I think I probably didn’t think that it was well, no, that’s probably not right. So I knew it was going to be hard.
I think I just didn’t know how hard. And I kind of thought that I was going to master this, you know, automated version of myself I could produce and learnt that you can’t do that. You know, your human nature and emotions get in the way a lot.
And so I think that’s probably my biggest surprise. I think I’ve learnt a lot about myself and how I react and behave and choices I make in moments, which has been quite enlightening, I’d say. Yeah.
Dani: It’s a bit of a personal growth journey as well, you would say?
Lana: Yes, absolutely.
Dani: And has your trading confidence, how you’re reading the story of the markets, has that improved over time?
Lana: A hundred percent. I find that trading is definitely about layers of information, and you definitely can’t get it all one shot as much as you think you can study a lot in lightning speed. And then you’re up to, you know, then you’ve got it all.
It definitely didn’t work like that for me anyway. So, yeah, definitely. I think the way the LTRs is kind of set up and that sort of stuff, you can just kind of every time I listen to an LTR, there’s always some little gem I pick up off everyone.
And that just kind of adds to your understanding of any aspect of your trading to be fair, whether that’s your trading plan or whether that’s how you’re entering trades or whether that’s your market analysis or how you’re looking at support and resistance, I think. Yeah, that’s definitely helped a lot in those regards for sure.
Dani: Would you say that you’re a calmer trader now than before?
Lana: Yeah, definitely.
Dani: So how’s your mindset improved over time then?
Lana: Yeah, I think initially it was pretty good because I thought I understood the mechanics of trading really well. And I think I did. I think I definitely did.
I understood trade setups pretty well and I understood, you know, what strength would look like and what weak would sort of look like and what support and resistance would look like. But then, yeah, once you take a few losses, then it really comes to its true form, I suppose. And I definitely became a very emotional trader for a period of time.
And I was revenge trading and I was, you know, making choices. Just, oh, I’ve just got to get some money. I’ve got to get some money and entering trades I shouldn’t have entered.
And then the flip side, right? And then you can get nervous and then you kind of strangle trades at the same time because then you’re petrified of losing. So my emotions took a massive hit for a while. And now after going through that phase, I’m definitely a lot more calm.
I’m definitely a lot more precise about when I get into a trade, when I don’t get into a trade, I still make those mistakes. Of course, those emotions still overcome me at times. But for the most part, definitely a lot more calculated and I can keep a level here throughout a trading session.
Dani: Yeah. Amazing. You definitely evolved as a trader then.
That is part of the journey to go through all that. How has your risk management, risk to reward changed over time?
Lana: Yes, I was very kind of like a I was just trying to hit roughly 40 ticks on a trade. That was kind of how I was originally targeting things.
Then I did the advanced trading course and then I was kind of trying to take larger targets. But I think at that time, I hadn’t learnt well enough when to enter those larger trades. And so I got wiped out a lot.
And then now, as I said, through that time, I’ve learnt how to know when to set a one to one trade, when to take a shorter trade, when to try and run the market and all those choices based on what’s going on at the time. And knowing where the market is likely to stall or likely to maybe give you a bit of a pushback and whether that pushback is going to wipe you out. And that would be where you’d manage my or where I’d manage my stop.
Or if you just see certain things happen in the candles and you’re like, oh, yeah, I don’t like that rejection, then bring your stock up closer. So, yeah, definitely got a lot better at managing losses while sitting one to one or larger targets.
Dani: Yes. Do you have more realistic expectations about results and in terms of accepting losses, it’s just part of the trading plan. And with balanced risk to reward, you’re going to have more losing trades than, say, going for tiny targets.
So how are you feeling about win-loss ratio, losing trades in general, part of the trading plan?
Lana: Yeah, I think I’ve definitely I think a big mind shift for me was just accepting that there was something to learn from a loss. So once I was able to kind of just be like, no, that’s OK. That I lost.
And but why did I lose was important. But then obviously, sometimes there’s not a reason. Sometimes it’s just it happens.
Right. And as you say, like just being able to take that on the chin and know that not every trade is going to go to target. I’m not going to have a perfect win rate.
And yeah, I have noticed that once I got off that 40 to take trade expectation or target and sit in one to one’s or larger targets and running markets, it definitely doesn’t even make a difference anymore. I think when I look at my stats now, like looking at the win-loss ratio is not even a step that I focus on anymore.
Dani: So yeah, that is awesome.
That shows a huge amount of growth because when you’re so focused on win-loss ratio, it’s usually because you’ve got such a skewed risk to reward and you can’t afford to take a loss because it will wipe out multiple, multiple winning trades. So that shows a huge amount of growth, Lana. So that’s amazing.
So if you could go back and tell your former self something when you started with ITTA, what would you say?
Lana: I would say that you definitely have to accept that there is going to be phases to your trading. You’re going to go through a phase where you’re learning all the basics and you kind of feel like everything’s OK. And then you trade some and trade works out.
Trade looks great. Your stats look great. And then you go live and it just goes tits up effectively.
Well, it did for me anyway. Or it looked good for a little bit. And then my losses wiped me out.
And so I kind of definitely went through a period of time where I was losing money, 100 percent. And then working through that, working through my psychology and working through my knowledge of the market state was really important during that time. And to be honest, I was going to give it up at that point when it was when I lost money.
And I was like, I don’t know if I can get this because I was just taking hits after hits after hits. And I was like, mate, I could use that money to pay for half my holiday that I was about to have. And I was like, what am I doing this for? I’m giving up, you know, two hours of every evening and with a busy family.
I was like, is this even worth it? So that was actually really tough. But then you come out the other side, right? Like you if you were for me, you are like by reflecting and learning and focusing on my psychology and understanding the market state better and trade entry choices. Then it just then all of a sudden it was just it was like a light bulb went off.
And now we’re at the other side where I’m looking back and going, OK, I’m glad I pushed through that. Now, I’m not hugely profitable, but I’m profitable. And trading plan works.
So that’s, you know. Which is what a lot of traders can’t say. So that is huge.
Dani: OK, that’s great. Celebrate that. What would you say to anyone that’s on the fence deciding to join IDTA?
Lana: Um, just give it a go.
Like I think like anything, you’ve just got to try stuff to know whether it’s for you or not. And yeah, just take that. Yeah, I think that you can’t make a call unless you try.
Dani: Love that. Thank you so much for joining me today and I wish you all the best.
Lana: Thank you.