Growing up poor and living in violent neighborhoods didn’t stop Erik Smolinski from being motivated and curious. Erik only needed to hear a few words about investing including the power of compounding from his high school instructor to light the passion and determination to take ACTION. The discipline, responsibility, accountability, and patience he cultivated as a Marine Corp officer strengthened his ability to stick with his well thought out trading plans and persevere. His use of derivatives strategies help him to minimize painful drawdowns while creating consistent, long term market-beating returns. About Erik Erik is a Marine veteran, options trader, real estate and angel investor. He is a strong advocate for authentic investing information. Erik became a first generation millionaire before 30 through hard work and unwavering dedication to his Outlier mindset. He started investing in 2007 and has spent more than 30,000 hours honing his skillset. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices