I can promise you, no immigrant parents decided… Hey, let’s leave Asia, all our
friends and families behind, so my kids can grow up in North America and become day trader.
Hello, my name is Shay, also known as Humbled Trader. I’m a Taiwanese Canadian living in
Vancouver. I was started out trading part time many years ago while I had a full time job in Film
& VFX. Fortunately I got to quit that job many years later and became a full time day trader.
Today I’d like to share with you my immigrant story and how my
upbringing in North America has transformed me to become the full time day trader I am today.
Spoilers, there was a lot of tears, shame but most importantly, a lot of hard work and perseverance.
So if you wanna hear more, then keep on watching. And don’t forget to drop a like
in the bottom of the video if you are interested in hearing more personal stories like this.
So just for context, I was not born in Canada. I immigrated here with my family
when I was around 12. And if there’s anything I noticed at a young age, and upon my first week
living in Canada. Is that I learned the concept of money and wealth quickly. And the reality is,
this was the first time ever in my entire life that a thought popped up in my head.
Wow.. I didn't realize we were poor.
Back in Taiwan, we were just like most other families,
living an average middle class lifestyle. You really don’t need a lot of money to
live a comfortable life in Asia. We enjoyed good food, our home looks the same as everyone else’s.
I went to a public school where all my classmates ate the same school lunch from cafeteria, and we
wore the same uniforms to school. There is really no point of comparison or contrast.
And really, no need to evaluate each other’s financial background.
This completely changed when we immigrated to Canada. And more specifically Vancouver, Canada.
While back in the early 2000’s the housing cost
wasn’t as high as it is right now. It’s still not exactly affordable for immigrant families.
And I know at this point a lot of people are thinking… wait a second,
I thought all immigrants are filthy rich. Like Nick Young from Crazy Rich
Asians. Don’t they just roll off the boat and straight into a lamborghini at the airport?
All I can say is. That's a gross overgeneralization. While I obviously
can’t speak for every immigrant out there, most immigrant families I know from early 2000s,
have a hard time adjusting to North American life, financially.
And don’t get me wrong. I know I was extremely fortunate that my family
still had the means to immigrate to Canada. My parents have always been
frugal with their finances. And I'm extremely grateful for that.
It’s just that after moving to Canada, it was the first time I was sitting next
to very well off kids here. And seeing the new “normal” in lifestyle here in Vancouver.
I see my classmates eating fancy lunches. With desserts, drinks and fruits.
My classmates had big houses, 2 or 3 car garages, big front lawns and back yards
and a basketball hoop in front while we lived in tight little two bedroom apt.
The first few years of financial challenges were tough, however, my family never let that stop us.
We are resourceful. We don’t sit there and whine and sulk, crying that our apartments are not as
big as other people’s houses or that our cheap car doesn’t compare to other people’s Mercedez.
Which by the way, you guessed it, this is still the same Toyota Corolla I am driving,
today. More than a decade later. It’s a true symbol of my immigrant family’s
perseverance. And it reminds me everyday, where I came from ,and how hard I've worked to get here.
And a big part of how I got here is learning from my immigrant parents. Especially
my mom. My mom is eternal optimist. She moved us here for a better life and better future,
and she believed that she needed to set a good example for my siblings and I.
Instead of just saying… “we don’t have money, so we can’t afford this or that”,
my mom turned those financial challenges into lessons for us.
She taught us the value of each and every single cent, and that if we wanted to do something,
such as going out to eat at a restaurant once a month… well you better work for it.
During our first few years in Vancouver,
we collected coupons so we can groceries or everyday essentials at a discount.
My siblings and I all had multiple newspaper delivery routes,
with the help of my mom of course. Together we made around $50-$70
CAD a month. And that's the money we would use to afford to eat out as a family once a month.
We bought everything second hand at garage sales… bikes, sports gear,
pianos. Even in high school grades 10 to 12,
I worked two part time jobs at Tim Hortons and the movie theatre to help pay for bills.
No I regret to say that it wasn’t an
AMC Entertainment theatre, we don’t have those in Canada.
During the early 3-4 years as new immigrants, I only recall seeing my
mom cry once when we almost got kicked out of our temporary summer apartment rental.
I mean, If she doesn’t show us how to solve these financial problems.
Then we just gotta pack up and go back to TW. She has already left her family,
friends and a comfortable lifestyle behind in TW. She has sacrificed way too much to just give
up on this chance to immigrate to Canada for a better life. There is literally no other option.
It was not glamorous, but it taught me and my siblings that you will never make life better for
yourself by sitting there whining and complaining, that you don’t have rich parents, why are you born
in this poor family, and why weren’t given a silver spoon and born into a trust fund.
That was a perfect storm for me to build up the foundation for my future work ethic
and positive mindset. Which is something I carried throughout my previous career
in VFX and later on to day trading full time. I wouldn't have chosen to grow up any other way.
I learned to work hard, and realize that anything worthwhile takes time. I took
the same lessons and applied them when I was applying for college, competing for an exclusive
scholarship, or negotiating salaries once I started working in VFX.
And I think this should be something applicable to everyone,
whether you are day trading or working in VFX or any other career.
I think at this point, many people would easily say, so you’re saying your motivation
for working so hard to make more money and buy more things. And that’s simply not true.
It's from my upbringing as an immigrant,
I found my true motivation to work hard and succeed in my career. And the motivation is
a better life for my parents. They worked so hard to raise us here in Canada.
I want to make my parents proud. I want them to know that all the years of coupon clipping,
and shopping at the clearance section, saving empty bottles and cans and all
the many sacrifices they’ve made so we can live here, in North America, were not for nothing.
I remember vividly one time, all the way back in 2005, I went grocery shopping with my mom
at the very end of the store, because that's where the discounted products
are. These are perfectly fine foods, they just don’t look as perfect or as shiny.
We were picking through the apples there,
and a man pushed through my mom and I and said under his breath,
“if you can’t afford to shop at the front of the aisle then you should just go back to China”.
And this is just one story out of many in our early years as an immigrant.
And I will never forget any of it.
My parents may have spent a few years looked down upon and receiving those humiliating remarks.
But now, I make sure they will NEVER have to deal with that bs for the rest of their lives.
And let me clarify, this was never an obligation. My parents never forced me to take care of them
or expected anything in return from me. This was not an obligation, but a fundamental desire.
This is the real reason I hustled through my early twenties for my career in VFX and
now day trading full time. When you have a greater motivation and purpose than
just yourself. You don’t mind failing multiple times on your way to success, for any endeavour.
And it's through the same work ethic that I made my way up from the bottom
as a junior level 3D artist to a senior in a matter of 2 years.
When I decided to start day trading to supplement my income. I paper traded, tested out strategies,
and yes blew up a few $2-3K trading accounts. But I took those losses as market tuition to learn.
While 90% of all traders looked for shortcuts to get rich quick in trading, like the the alerts,
the signals and secret easy strategies… I did the things no one wants to do, I journaled,
observed the market and not liking any buttons, I saved and analyzed charts,
and repeated the same trade planning process day in and day out.
And when I finally decided it’s time to quit my job in VFX to day trade full time. I didn’t just
quit cold turkey. I worked hard at both hustles and saved up, and prepared for the big transition.
The story of why I quit my career to day trade… probably needs a video of its own. Because just
like immigrating to North America, it was never as simple as it seems. Comment down
below if you want to see a video from me talking about how I quit my job to trade full time.
It’s never been about just making money, sure the money is great don’t get me wrong,
but it's a result of years of hard work, and having a purpose and motivation greater than
just being able to afford the latest iphones, gucci's or buying myself a lamborghini.
I wanted a better life for my parents. I want them to know.
Their greatest investment of their lives, which is me, is paying off.
Well my mom still wants to shop at the clearance section and save all the cans and bottles. And
the car my dad allowed me get him in TW is still a Toyota Corolla 2021.
This is the reason I work so hard. This is how I got through tough jobs in VFX, and in trading
Especially through all the struggles, and all the losses,
both emotionally and financially while transitioning to day trading full time.
Looking back now, I wouldn’t have changed my upbringing in Vancouver
any other way. I am so thankful for all the experiences and all the hardship,
and so grateful to have parents who are strong and taught us true values of money and hard work.
There’s this saying I read somewhere in Taiwan. Thatt really resonated with me:
沒有傘撐的孩子 在雨中才跑得快
It’s the kids with no umbrellas, who will run the fastest in the rain.
While I can not say I grew up with no umbrellas,
because I am so lucky to have two strong parents showing me the way,
I can definitely say for certain that they taught me how to run fast in the rain.
So if you’re going through some tough times right now,
whether it’s day trading or your career, or that you’re going through some financial struggles,
hopefully my story shows you what perseverance and hardwork can lead to down the road.
Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. The easy thing to do is always just complain and sulk. But if
you put in the work and put your mind to it, many years later you’d be so glad you did.
If you guys want to hear more stories about how I quit my job to day trade full time.
Make sure to let me know in the comments section below. And if you want to read more
about my day trading journey you can check out my website at www.humbledtrader.com
This has been a very emotional and introspective
video to make for me personally. So hopefully you enjoyed learning about my journey. If you
did please remember to drop a like and subscribe if you want so see more in the future. Thank you
guys for watching as always. I’m the humbled trader, and I will see you guys next time.