I recently came across a fascinating story that shows how different successful trading can be. It's about a mysterious Japanese trader named Takashi Kotegawa, who started with only $13,600 and managed to turn it into over $150 million. Crazy, right?

What’s interesting about Takashi Kotegawa is that he remained virtually unknown, despite his legendary success story. There are hardly any photos of him online, and he gives no interviews. Some even speculate whether he’s real at all. But the numbers speak for themselves.

Kotegawa began trading around 2001 on the Japanese stock exchange, right when the dot-com bubble burst. That was actually perfect for him because he specialized in profiting from falling prices. His strategy was fairly simple: he looked for stocks that were at least 20 percent below their 25-day moving average, used RSI and Bollinger Bands for confirmation, and then entered when signs of a reversal appeared. He often closed his trades the same day.

What truly made Takashi Kotegawa famous was a single trade in 2005. J-Com Holdings had just gone public, and a trader at Mizuho Securities made a gigantic mistake: he intended to sell a stock for 610,000 Yen but instead placed an order for 610,000 shares at 1 Yen. The price plummeted. Kotegawa grabbed 7,100 shares and made $17 million in a single day. That was his legendary trade, earning him the nickname J-Com Man.

But what impresses me even more than the numbers is his personality. This guy earned hundreds of millions and still remained down-to-earth. He didn’t buy the most expensive cars or watches, and he didn’t flaunt his wealth. The only major purchase was reportedly a new apartment because his bedroom became too small. He’s someone who trades out of genuine passion, not for the money.

Takashi Kotegawa shows that it’s not about the size of the starting capital but about patience, discipline, and the right strategy. Sure, he had some luck with his biggest trade. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the most impressive intraday traders of all time.