How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary with James Smith

David Mitchell • April 6, 2022

“Ordinary people can be extraordinary people if they want to. The tools are out there.” James Smith


In my now-long lifetime I’ve heard some of the best preachers preach and I’ve heard some of the best motivational speakers speak. 


My guest today, James Smith, is, without a doubt,
one of the greatest speakers I’ve ever heard. 


For over three decades he’s been
one of America’s foremost experts in real estate investing. He’s spoken to, trained and mentored hundreds of thousands of people around the world to be more literate in finance and wealth building.


In today’s episode, James Smith and I will cover:

  • Why you should stop wasting your time and energy on things that have no eternal value
  • Why inflation is going to be the “werewolf from hell” that ends up hurting most of the people listening to this episode
  • What really holds most people back in their financial lives (and how NOT to let it hold YOU back)


“Without hope, you can’t learn. Without hope, you can’t prosper. Without hope, you can’t move forward. And so hope is one of the most important words in my vocabulary.” James Smith


Listen to the episode “How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary with James Smith” now!


P.S. The Word on Investing Summit: Money, Faith & Mindset is happening April 22-23, 2022. Are you coming? Reserve your FREE ticket here while supplies last. You won’t want to miss it!

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By David Mitchell December 8, 2025
Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up.
By David Mitchell December 8, 2025
Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up. 
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The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
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The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
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We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
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What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Show More
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Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up.
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Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up. 
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The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
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The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
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We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
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We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
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Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
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What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Show More
By David Mitchell December 8, 2025
Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up.
By David Mitchell December 8, 2025
Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up. 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Show More
By David Mitchell December 8, 2025
Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up.
By David Mitchell December 8, 2025
Did you know that 80-90% of stock traders fail? This might look like pretty terrible odds at first, but don’t let this statistic scare you. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to be the exception. Let’s look at the seven most common reasons why traders give up. 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Show More