Success Never Goes Straight up but You Don’t Have to Just Endure It

We’ve all seen that image: one panel shows the naïve pathway to success—an arrow pointing cleanly up and to the right. The next panel shows the truth—a tangled mess of loops, setbacks, leaps, and stumbles.

Some of the most successful people in the world have admitted to plenty of setbacks. Thomas Edison failed more than 1,000 times before finally inventing the light bulb.

Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, the company he founded, only to come back 10 years later to transform it into one of America’s corporate behemoths.

Stock market success can look a lot like this too.

Markets don’t rise in straight lines. They lurch higher, collapse, overcorrect, and rebound. And the reasons behind these moves often have little to do with fundamentals, such as sales or earnings growth.

This week brought a stark reminder of how quickly things can change. Israel’s attack on Iran has left the market recoiling as I write Friday morning.

That kind of news-driven volatility is always unpredictable. What is predictable, however, is that volatility will be a major feature of the markets moving forward.

But to those who understand it, volatility isn’t a problem…

It’s an opportunity.

Let’s look at a sector and a stock that has been on a wild ride this year – quantum computing and IONQ.

Below is IONQ’s chart year to date.

If you’re unfamiliar, quantum computing uses ones AND zeroes to perform calculations instead of a one or a zero, like traditional computing. This technological shift – though seemingly small – enables quantum computers to process information millions of times faster than today’s most advanced supercomputers.

IONQ is at the forefront of this radical technology.

You can see above the stock took a 55% dive since the beginning of the year, only to shoot more than 100% higher from that low, bringing its year-to-date return to 15%…before subsequently dropping again to where it is today.

Earlier this week you may have seen a story highlighting how Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes quantum computing is at an “inflection point.” Huang said Wednesday that “we are within reach” of using quantum computers for “areas that can solve some interesting problems in the coming years.”

This caused IONQ to turn north again. Quantum computing may indeed be the future, but as you can see, the ride to future profits is going to be bumpy.

Not unlike the chart showing the realistic pathway to success.

But you don’t have to endure the market gyrations blindly. You can stay invested for the long term, while also profiting from the ups and downs you know are coming in this volatile market.

When Stocks Snap Back

Let’s look at the IONQ chart again, only this time, I’ll include the Relative Strength Index chart below it. For those who don’t know, the RSI is a momentum indicator that assesses the speed and magnitude of recent price changes.

Generally, stocks that drop below the 30 threshold are oversold and likely to bounce back. Stocks above 70 are overbought and more likely see a drop soon.

You can see above that around March 10 this year, IONQ was very oversold, and shortly thereafter, snapped back. Then, in late May, it was extremely overbought, and a downturn soon followed.

You may or may not be a believer in quantum computing stocks, but movements like those demonstrate how stocks can “snap back” after getting pulled in extremes one way or the other.

Master Trader Jeff Clark has made his living, and his reputation, in such reversions from extremes.

For newer Digest readers, Jeff has made a career out of navigating (and profiting from) volatile markets. He accurately predicted every major volatility spike this century: the 2007-’08 global financial crisis, the COVID crash and the 2022 bear market.

Each time, he’s helped readers trade that volatility successfully. While others were panic selling or just sitting on the sidelines and hanging on for dear life, Jeff racked up more than 1,000 winning trades during volatile times – and it’s all thanks to his “chaos pattern.”

Jeff has taught everyone – from college students to grandmothers – how to trade the right way to generate income and hedge risk.

Today, I’m happy to share an interview with Jeff and my colleague Keith Kaplan, the CEO of our corporate partner, TradeSmith.

This week’s Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran is another stark reminder that markets can lurch without warning—even if nothing has changed in earnings or valuations.

But markets rarely grind higher with no ups and downs. Jeff uses that space to profit.

At the Digest, we’re fans of Jeff’s short-term trading approach. The ability to capitalize on volatility provides a great way to generate cash flows – it’s a skill every investor should have in their toolbox.

You can use these funds for this summer’s vacation, or next year’s college tuition, or just to pad your nest egg.

Jeff recorded a free video explaining how he has mastered this technique over 40 years and how you can do it too. You can click on this link to watch it now.

Volatility doesn’t have to be something you endure. But to profit from it, you need an approach to building wealth that isn’t purely about buying and holding stocks for the long term.

Keith did a great job helping explain why Jeff’s method of trading can be an effective way to meet your financial goals. Click to watch the video now before we remove it on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend,

Luis Hernandez

Editor in Chief, InvestorPlace

P.S. During all the market volatility that followed President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2, Jeff led his subscribers to 19 winning trades out of 23 in his newsletters.

You can do that kind of trading too. Click this link to learn more.