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What
is Involved in Peak Performance Trading?
by
Van K. Tharp
There is so much
involved in developing peak performance, that I recommend that all
traders have a business plan. We recommend that the business plan
cover all of the following areas.
- Your
vision.
- Your
purpose.
- Your
objectives.
- A
thorough self-assessment of your strengths and weakness, based
upon real trading logs that you collect (if you haven’t done
so already).
- A
thorough assessment of the big picture of the fundamentals.
- A
complete understanding of your beliefs about the market.
- Procedures
for getting empowering beliefs and mental states behind you.
- A
documentation of your research procedure for developing new
systems and determining how to analyze their effectiveness.
- Your
procedures for developing and maintaining discipline.
- Your
budget and cashflow systems.
- Other
necessary systems such as marketing, back office record keeping,
etc.
- Your
worst-case contingency plan.
- System
1 – which is compatible with the big picture.
- System
2 – which is also compatible with the big picture.
- System
3 – which might come into play should the big picture change.
If you have all of
those things, then you have a chance of doing well. But this means
that your business plan becomes a tool for you to continually use to
improve yourself and your trading. All of these topics were covered
in some detail in our teleconference on business planning, and you
can now get that series on CDs—including some sample plans that I
critiqued during the last session.
You will notice
that at the top of the list I include "vision." One of the
keys to real success in trading is commitment. Before I coach a
trader, I look for commitment. Those who are not committed to do
what it takes, usually commit financial suicide when they try to be
full time traders. Now, I have no idea how to give people
commitment. It’s more like something they are born with—not
something I can coach.
However, I do have
some clues to how you can develop it in yourself. The key to doing
so is to develop your vision and purpose. Your vision is your dream
life. What do you really want to accomplish, be, and have in your
life to know that you’ve done your best? What is your dream life?
I’d write this out in detail.
And you also want
the purpose behind the dream life. What are the "whys" in
your life? This is what gives it the real motivation and commitment.
Why do you want the things you want? Write down as many whys as
possible. You’ll know you have it correct when you are so excited
about your dream life that you must do something right now.
So get started this
week with just this one aspect of developing your business plan for
trading or investing...start by writing out your vision.
About
the Author: Trading Coach Dr. Van K Tharp, is widely recognized
for his best-selling book Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom
and his classic Peak Performance Home Study Course for
traders and investors. Visit him at www.iitm.com
for a FREE trading game or to sign up for his FREE weekly
newsletter.
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