I Want to Be The Best Trader Possible. Where Do I Start? Dr. Tharp recommends you begin your path to better trading and investing with the Peak Performance Home Study Program for Traders and Investors.
When you start your trading education process with this home study course, you will gain a more solid understanding of yourself as a trader or investor — which is fundamental to success in the markets. Even as we have added a range of quality products to our portfolio over the years, Dr. Tharp continues to recommend completing this course as the foundation for your trading success. He believes it’s so important that his Super Traders spend the first entire phase of their program working through The Peak Performance Home Study Course very carefully — before they are allowed to take any of the technical courses that we offer.
Benefiting from The Peak Performance Home Study is not dependent on your level of trading experience. It does not teach a trading system nor is it specific to any time-frame or market or style of trading. A seasoned trader who has been managing millions for over a decade will find it as helpful as a new investor with a small personal account or even someone who has yet to place a single trade. How could this be? The focus of this course is YOU! YOU are the biggest factor in your trading success.
The course covers critical psychological areas for every individual. What has been your worst enemy in the markets so far? Self-sabotage? Fear of pulling the trigger? Over-trading? These common issues are based on your personal belief system and they can be identified, examined, and rectified. Every facet of the Peak Performance Home Study Course factors into trading and investing more successfully. If you have found that trading well is difficult or impossible, imagine how you would feel making stress-free, sound decisions in the markets that produce profitable results in the short run and in the long term. Isn’t that every trader’s goal?
Our clients have been telling us for years and they continue to tell us that this course (which comes with a money-back guarantee) is worth much more than the investment in its cost and time to complete. Many traders have gone through the course multiple times, learning more about themselves each time they take it! Frequently, we also hear how this powerful program not only helped them build more effective trading skills but also enhanced their entire life.
After completing the Peak Performance Home Study Dr. Tharp then recommends you can start your system development work. If you work on trading systems before you complete the Peak Performance Home Study Course, you are likely to find the same issues popping up in your trading that have plagued you so far. Until you identify and clear out your biases (which are partially or totally hidden from you at this point), your system development work is likely to keep giving you unsatisfactory results.
Taking Your Trading to the Next Level
To become a truly great trader, you need a solid psychological foundation and an understanding of what great traders do (the trading process) both of which you’ll receive in the Peak Performance Home Study Course, as well as the Peak Performance 101 Workshop. [Note you can take the Peak 101 workshop before the home study if that is what you’d like, but one is not a substitution for the other.]
A Plan for Your Trading Business and System Development
Once your personal psychology is aligned, begin the next essential piece to successful trading: developing a trading business plan. Treating your trading as a business and building an individualized plan specific to your goals and objectives is covered in both the Peak Home Study and Dr. Tharp’s Business Planning audio series. But this is covered best and most extensively in the Blueprint for Trading Success Workshop. There is also a good chapter on this topic in the book, Financial Freedom Through Electronic Day Trading.
When your overall plan for your trading is finalized, you need to create at least three trading systems that not only fit you but work in different market types. Most people want to start here, at the technical side of trading; however, we advise against it.
If you don’t take the time to work on yourself at the core of your trading, all of your psychological biases and issues will negatively impact your system development. Only after you’ve completed the Peak Performance Course, developed a strong understanding of Tharp Think, and have a finished business plan do we advise that you start to develop trading systems that fit you. It is at this point that we recommend you complete the How to Develop a Trading System that Fits You Home Study Course or purchase one of our Systems Workshops.
Within the scope of system development, it’s crucial that you understand the major component of position sizing strategies™. As a novice in the area, we recommend you begin with the Introduction to Position Sizing Strategies E-Learning Course and, once completed, move on to Dr. Tharp’s Definitive Guide to Position Sizing. You should also download the Position Sizing Trading Simulation Game and begin playing the first three levels (these are free) alongside your book and E-learning work. The Position Sizing Game facilitates a simulated trading experience, practicing your position sizing strategies, with absolutely no risk involved. Once you better understand the topic, we suggest that you upgrade to the full game (levels 4-10) to master proper position sizing strategies.
These suggestions are just our recommended guidelines and should not discourage you from starting at a point that suits you best. Where you are now, where you want to go, and the time and resources you are willing to devote to your journey will determine what alternatives are best for you.
If you are completely new to trading consider Dr. Tharp’s ABCs for Trading course. If you are very experienced and want to speak with someone on specific areas you need help and what might be the best fit for you, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to help.
The Books
If you have not done so already, be sure to read Dr. Tharp’s books. Trading Beyond the Matrix is Van’s most recent work and would be great to read even before doing the Peak Home Study Course. His longtime classic, Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, is the perfect groundwork for understanding position sizing and system development. Super Trader is filled with short chapters that cover all of these topics as an overview. Financial Freedom Through Electronic Day Trading has one of the best chapters on business planning that we have (though the edt strategies in this book are a bit out of date).
For more information, check our free resources which include free videos, newsletter archives, and blog articles. You may also read through the Tharp Concepts for Successful Trading.
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