Last week I met a buddy whose face looked as if he’d swallowed a fly.

When we sat down, I found out he only had 2,000 USDT left in his account. He said he was barely hanging on in the crypto market. I totally get that kind of despair—who hasn’t taken a hard fall in this space?

I told him right away: stop thinking about going all-in to make a comeback. First, use that bit of capital to learn how to survive. This market is like the ocean; you need to learn how to dog paddle before you talk about surfing.

I gave him a few tips—all hard-earned lessons from my own mistakes.

First, if you don’t understand the market, shut down your computer and walk away from the screen. He used to get twitchy, opening trades at any small fluctuation, and what happened? The market taught him a lesson every time. I told him to learn how to hold back and only take action when a real signal appears.

Next is position sizing.

Use no more than 400 USDT per trade, which is one-fifth of your total capital, just to test the waters. Always set a stop loss—get out when it’s hit, don’t get emotional with the market. He used to lose two or three thousand a day, but now with smaller positions, he makes three to five hundred per trade and his account is actually more stable.

Here’s another simple trick—after closing each trade, spend five minutes writing down: why did you enter? Why did you exit? Note every profit and loss. Stick with this for a while and you’ll discover your own blind spots.

A month later he messaged me: his account was up to 15,000 USDT.

This isn’t some miracle—it’s just the natural result of controlling your impulses, managing your positions, and reviewing your trades.

If you’re in a low spot right now, don’t expect one trade to make you rich and save you. The real turnaround starts with accepting the words “take it slow.” The market won’t give you opportunities just because you’re anxious, but it will leave opportunities for you if you stay steady.