Hi John nice to hear from you. This thread is getting off topic as it is supposed to be about the Peak Performance Course which the guys who are writing to complain haven't done. Think about this. The ultimate trader won't be in a box. They will have no particular limits not being held back by beliefs that can limit them. The way to have have control of your emotions isn't to ignore them, suppress them and hold them back. They will control you then as your mind will always be on them. When you resist something all of your attention is on this "something" which means it is in control. IIt might not be conscious anymore but it will always be there. To overcome this "something " instead of resistancing it, embrace it, love it, feel it, and let it out. When you learn to accept it and no longer fight whatever is bothering you it has no more power. This is an incredible feeling. The majority of the world are suppressing their emotions and have formed beliefs from some of these emotions. These emotions and beliefs control us even though we may no longer be conscious of them. One of the processes of clearing is to discover what we are suppressing. When someone tells me they have no issues either 2 things are going on. They are in complete denial and are resisting or they have done a ton of work on themselves to remove all of the issues. now your comment about religion I'm not really going to touch much. as this message board with have all kinds of debates it is usually a subject not to bring up. One thing though I know in most religions is having a belief that hated, anger, jealously, towards anything is bad. Well they are just emotions and look at the above sentences about resisting. If you resist them and not allow them out they can have some control of you. (if you just said no they don't once you read this than you are resisting not accepting. ) When you can imbrace them and let them all out the emotions inside us all that most would consider negative become no longer issues . They are just neutral experiences. rtharp
I am a "graduate" of Dr Tharp's Peak Performance Course. The benefits of the course in the equity trading domain are considerable and it has paid for itself many times over. More importantly for me, the general lessons learned and psychological exercises have implications and benefits that are much more broad reaching. I am clearly a better father, husband and human being as a result of applying Dr Tharp's teachings to all aspects of my life and my happiness and contentment is at an all time high. May have been the best thing i have done in the last 10 years, and is certainly the best money i have spent lately. cheers, ken long
Conceptually they are linked and there is overlap, however the PPC goes deeply into exercises that affect belief systems and emotions and reactions to stress etc. The books deal on the cognitive level and the design and operation of trading systems that manage risk etc Concerning the naysayers on this thread I would simply make the following observation: Certainly there is plenty of information in the world and much/most can be gathered for free. here's the rub: my research time is worth 200 bucks an hour. for 600 bucks i get an integrated package of material and exercises which have proven results, with a money back guarantee if i am not satisfied. Now, how much time would i spend gathering, sifting, comparing, processing, integrating and applying the "freeware"information that would let me essentially duplicate Tharp's body of knowledge? i am sure it would take me more than 3 hours. Its a course that works for many professional traders as you can already see in this thread. Does it work for everyone? Hell does medicine work for everyone? with all due respect to Sterling, do i think his beliefs would let the course work for him? well, i dont know, it might, because the course works at the level of fundamental beliefs. it does require a committment to let the process work tho. i am certain i could make any instructional package fail if that was my goal. i commend him for vigorous expression of his point of view. its a question of finding what fits you. i personally found the course to have a good ROI in a very short time. I go thru the course and exercises annually. I train my children in how to apply the techniques, and that is as high a recommendation as i can give, because they are my highest priority, and i am very careful to screen what i endorse at the gateway to their brain. so as you evaluate the decision to try or not try the course, you should treat it as any other trade: assess the risk/reward, and calculate the expectancy of the trade. Seems to me the guarantee gives you the ability to manage risk effectively, and there is sufficient evidence that the rewards of the course represent considerable potential for gain. The only risk i see is the time committment which once spent cannot be recovered. So in my judgement the right question to ask is: How can a 4 month guided exploration into your beliefs, values, behaviors and habits be time lost? I would say that if you live in a state of perfect self knowledge and are a master of your own emotional states and can navigate the stormy seas of a dynamic world thats beyond our direct control, sure you could convince me that the course would not be of benefit. But you dont have to convince me, i am uninterested anyway, since i am busy trying to achieve that same state of wu-wei ("effortless action") thats my take on it. cheers! ken ps: the commentary on trade or teach (but nt both) is foolish, and what i would expect of undergrads who are thinking on their own for the first time. it assumes that people are robots whose only interest is making the most money possible all the time. absurd.
"here's the rub: my research time is worth 200 bucks an hour. for 600 bucks i get an integrated package of material and exercises which have proven results, with a money back guarantee if i am not satisfied" Who else is going to pay you $200/per hour to do research ??? (besides you !!!) I know I bust my balls for $60/hour albeit I make overtime.....
when i consult with businesses my fee is 200/hr when i decide on how to spend my time learning new things, i base my decision on how to approach the task using 200/hr. this helps me figure out whether i want to spend time doing primary research or buy packaged information for a specific purpose. i am a lieutenant colonel in the US Army and have developed expertise in business process reengineering and logistics automation among other things. as a sidelight when i am on vacation from the army, i occasionally freelance as a management consultant and hire myself out at 1500-2000 bucks a day to folks who leverage my knowledge. that works out to about 200 bucks an hour. it is not worth my time to try to recreate certain packages of knowledge even though the raw materials are out there in the world waiting to be found. so a risk free 600 bucks makes sense for me based on the time dynamics i have noted above. It gets me to the action stage of implementation quickly, whereas it takes a lot longer, with more risk for me (and my psychology) to spend a lot of time in primary research in areas that are not in my main area of concentration (or my "key competencies") similarly, if my trading strategy does not return 200/hr, then i am better off earning money other ways than by trading
Mr. Farley: The market provide the perfect mechanism to confirm just how screwed up someone's life really is. I agree 100% with LOL.
"how did I know I could quit my other job and trade for a living? I didn't know; untill I read Van Tharp's book. Afer reading that book I never have to worry about being a choke. " What a crap!! That's big, big BS,sales pitch. You never ever solve the so called issue by reading the book. They call it clearing nowaday? I wonder what they are going to call it 2 years from now. Robert, there was a discussion on NLP subject long time ago. You are always quick to point out that you can solve psychological problems in 5 minutes or so. To me that's really offending because I've done that tonne of work (you talk about) and I am still not where I want to be. When I asked about serious authors on NLP you kept quiet. I like your posts but here you will never convince me you are not working for your father. To Dr. Tharp ( I bet he reads this message board) I like your books but please give me the names of serious gurus of Great Western Magical Tradition called NLP!!
rtharp You may want to let your dad (or whoever) know that there is some kind of problem with ordering at their website. I've tried to order the peak performance course several times this week, and I always get an error. I contacted them earlier this week, but it's still not fixed.
Cesko, Although not addressed to me, I would be happy to answer your question. My brother is a practitioner and I've learned a little about the source of NLP as a result. The official developers of NLP are Richard Bandler and John Grinder . They studied the work and life of Milton H. Erickson MD, the founder of the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. Erickson was legendary in his ability to heal when others couldn't. Other participants from the early days are Robert Dilts and Judith De Lozier, and Todd Epstein . Do a search for these names and see what you come up with!