How a Brain Tumor and Piling Medical Bills Forced My Career Change — and Now I’m a Verified 7-Figure Day Trader

Some of the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur include the ability to self-actualize through rigorous study, continuous learning, relentless tenacity and the resilience to rebound after setbacks. 

I know this firsthand. At 25, my goals were set in stone. I knew what I wanted: a career in architecture. At the time, I was enrolled in UCLA’s master’s program in architecture, studying and working on projects nonstop, setting the bar as high as I could. The renowned Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne was my mentor. I was at the top of my game.  

Then, overnight, I received the blow of a lifetime: I was diagnosed with a brain tumor that required immediate surgical intervention. When I awoke, staring at the cold, clinical hospital ceiling, I had 150 stitches on the side of my head and was unable to move. However, I was able to discern two searing sentences of a conversation between my mother and the surgeon. 

“What have you done to my son?” My mother railed at the doctor. 

“I have given him 50 more years of life,” the doctor replied decisively. 

From that moment on, I knew I had to make that 50-year gift count. After taking half a year off from my studies, I returned to class with renewed zeal — and mounds of debt. Despite the appearance of gradual recovery, I had a long road ahead. 

Still, I was determined to make the most of every moment. But the medical bills kept piling up, and I was forced to make a drastic change — a pivot to a high-income skill. While searching online, I found day trading, which I understood less than nothing — but not for long. I studied the discipline for countless hours, delving into books, podcasts and YouTube videos until my brain hurt. I became so assiduous and single-minded that I knew I had to go further and immerse myself completely in my new focus. 

By sheer force of will and necessity, I absented myself from everything and everyone I knew. My colleagues and friends thought I had taken leave of my senses. My family didn’t know what had become of me. I sold my car, changed my number and ensconced myself in an office in an LA skyscraper for $230/month. 

“What happened to David?” echoed faintly in my ears, carried by the grapevine. But I didn’t care what anyone thought. I had “burned the boats,” as Hernán Cortés told the Conquistadors in the 16^th century. There was no turning back. I had survived life-altering surgery; now my future was on the line, and I had to shape and claim it. 

To support my new venture, I took on odd jobs as a tutor and an Uber driver. The landlord kept knocking on my door, and the creditors couldn’t wait. While these practicalities held sway, I worked day and night, sleeping on the floor of my office to ensure wakefulness at the market open.  

In my personal life, I became a minimalist — again, not by choice, but by necessity. For example, when the world went into lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, all the gyms were closed, and I had nowhere to shower. So, I resorted to Skid Row. Stoic and poker-faced, I walked through the streets of downtown L.A., intent on reaching my destination undisturbed. I had 10 minutes to shower and then return to monitor my trades. Everything was the trade. 

When I wasn’t trading, I read voraciously and studied into the night, honing my skills, journaling and envisioning. The Law of Attraction was central to my approach. I truly believed — as I still do — that what I projected in my mind’s eye would manifest. And so it did: I became a high-stakes, 7-figure day trader with a 90%-win rate.  

However, success was not an overnight phenomenon. It required rigorous discipline and sacrifice. Some might say my tactics were extreme, but I had no choice. I had to become an autodidact, front-loading all my strategies and literally devising them. The result was a set of proprietary winning strategies that I share in my book, Short Selling Master: Proven Strategies from a High-Stakes Day Trader (Harriman House). 

My objective: to vanquish the 96% failure rate in my industry by providing cogent strategies for success. Today, I have become the mentor I never had, with the opportunity to witness others advance in the field and attain financial freedom.

Some might say that my unique methodology for attaining success — a compelled absence from mainstream society — was extreme. Indeed, that plan took all the fortitude I could muster. In no guise do I advocate such a plan for my students or other aspiring traders. But looking back, I have absolutely no regrets. Hard work and ingenuity led me to where I am today. I hearken back in gratitude while moving forward and lifting others up.