Alright folks, time for a reality check.

It’s easy to get caught up in the weekly barrage of headlines, especially in this day and age. Here lately, it’s been all about coronavirus, Trump, the primary election season, and more. And any time you blink, the market hits new highs.

The point is, with everything that’s going on in the world, it’s easy to sometimes forget that we’re in the middle of the longest bull market in history.

I’ve had a few people ask me about this over the last few years… whether I’m worried that the end of the bull market is near… why I would continue to buy stocks as they reached new highs… whether I’m concerned about a recession…

The simple answer is no, absolutely not.

Remember, we’ve been asking ourselves these same questions for years now. And in the meantime, those who let those questions deter them from being active in the market have missed one hell of a ride.

Not me. I’m done with that kind of thinking. This is what that kind of thinking got you over the past 10 years…

The truth is, nobody knows when this ride is going to be over. But we have a pretty good idea — based on data — that there is absolutely no grounds for concern about the market simply because we’re at new highs. In fact, the data suggests that all-time highs are usually followed by more all-time highs.

Josh Brown and Bill Sweet of Ritholtz Wealth Management made a great video a while back about this. This was based on a compilation of their research over the years, and it’s turned out to be true. I encourage every reader to check out their work once you’re done reading today’s essay.

Reset Your Mind

The point is, if you find yourself glued to the TV or your phone, wondering how the laundry list of “big things” happening in the world will affect your portfolio, just… stop.

Know this: The world will never stop turning. Likewise, it will never stop giving you reasons to be concerned.

I don’t say this to trivialize how it might affect your portfolio. But the truth of the matter is, it probably won’t. The truth is, YOU will affect your portfolio far more than any of these externalities. Which stock you pick; whether to buy, sell or hold a position; how much to allocate to different sectors and positions… you get the idea. These things all matter to your portfolio so much more.

When you think about it this way, it’s kind of liberating, isn’t it? You’re the captain of the ship.

I’m not saying you should bury your head in the sand. Rather, only worry about what you an control.

From American Hero To Award-Winning Options Guru

And any good ship is only as powerful as its armaments. That’s why we here at StreetAuthority have long advocated that our readers add new weapons to their trading arsenal. One of our favorites: options.

For those who aren’t familiar, my colleague Amber Hestla is one of the most well-respected options experts in the country. But in her former life, she was a military intelligence operative. The transition from that to a career as one of the most respected independent trading analysts in the country may seem odd, but once you understand the parallels between the two disciplines, it makes perfect sense.

In the military, Amber was trained to use her analytical skills to assess threats and mitigate danger on the battlefield. By making calculated moves, she and her team were able to meet their objectives without taking on an excessive amount of risk.

That lesson proved important — after all, lives were at stake. But as fate would have it, Amber began taking an interest in finance during her service in the military, primarily because she wanted to take control of her financial destiny.

This sort of expertise is rare. It’s not every day you come across someone in their field who is highly successful without any sort of formal training. Amber, however, is that rare, special breed that you often find among those who are at the top of their field: self-taught, unconventional background — perfectly conditioned to bring the sort of outside-of-the-box thinking required to stand out from the crowd.

Fast-forward a bit, and Amber began utilizing her training and skills to develop an indicator that allowed her options trades to mimic her goals on the battlefield: maximize success, minimize risk. She called it the ITV indicator.

The Indicator Behind Amber’s 90.9% Success Rate

I won’t give away the details of the ITV indicator just yet. We’ll save some of that for another day. But several years ago, Amber submitted the results of the bonus ITV trades she recommended to her Income Trader readers between Sept. 20, 2013 and Sept. 26, 2014. (ITV bonus trades are an extra, added benefit given to Income Trader subscribers at the end of each week.)

This was an example her life’s work as a trader. And in 2015, the Market Technicians Association saw fit to award her the prestigious 2015 Charles H. Dow Award, which highlights outstanding research in technical analysis.

Amber won this award for good reason. The trades identified by it have made money for Income Trader subscribers 90.9% of the time. And remember: we’re talking about options here.

It just goes to show, however, that contrary to popular belief, options are not solely the playground of risky traders looking to make a quick buck. In fact, Amber and her readers are trading for income — not for crazy triple-digit gains.

If you’re thinking about enhancing the income-earning potential of your portfolio, I’d highly encourage you to check out her article tomorrow. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a track record better than Amber’s. And if you’re thinking about trying Income Trader, you can do that here.