Big money is leverage and knowing how to use it. Daytrading is possible. It can be time consuming and hard mentally. But the most important thing is you need an edge. Period.
no, the most important thing is preservation of capital and predefining your risk before you even get into a trade. Edges are a dime a dozen - most people dont stick with an edge long enough and perform it flawlessly to see its benefits = no discipline.
First rule of Trading for married men: Never tell the wife about trading profits or losses. Boiler Room film quote: "Dont the pitch the bitch" "They're a constant pain in the ass and you're never going to hear the end of it alright?" Women in general are not risk takers. They are nest makers and want safety, men have to go out and hunt, risk life and limbs to bring back home what they kill.
Defining your risk isnt an edge, its a principle you fuckwit. An edge is having a PROBABILISTIC edge of the market doing one thing over another.
6 years * (8 + 10) / 2 positions/year = 54 positions total. This is a potential problem with long term trading: you can be a novice for a long time, especially so in a bull market. With daytrading you will receive much faster feedback - your friend's fault is not acting appropriately on it.