How did you guys do when you first started trading?

Shortly after coming back from deployment... I was 21 at the time. My friend told me about stocks, didn't know a thing about it. He told me I can make big bucks. So I got into penny stocks and I lost like $300.00. I thought this was straight gambling. So I got into learning the technical aspects of it, went to a bunch of seminars and my dad gave me confidence and lend me $500 and I lost that, haha. He wasn't really bummed because we have money. So I had about $10k saved up from the military, joined a prop firm. I lost $3K of my deposit, then I contributed $2K lost that. I put another $2K and I lost that, as well. I literally got up from my computer and balled my eyes out in the hallway. I remember I got home around 10:30 am after being closed out for the day and my mom told me "So how much money did you lose today?"... I was embarrassed. I remember walking up to my trading manager and I told him not to lose confidence in me. I gave him my last $3K and after 18 months, I made $180,000. I paid for my school and I gave my parents money to pay their mortgage. The firm was bust shortly afterward. I joined a prop desk at BNP Paribas as an intern, after that, I went to another prop firm. This firm closed down, as well. After that, I went to BlackRock to trade on their equities desk. Then I left that, I joined BNY Mellon and now I'm at BMO Capital Markets in NYC... Crazy how I joined finance after a buddy of mine told me about trading at my local gym... I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.