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DR. VAN K. THARP TURNS TO LIGHT
“In loving memory of Van K. Tharp (1946 – 2022). A beloved leader who touched the lives of so many traders around the world.” – VTI
Our hearts are heavy to share the news that Dr. Tharp, our beloved Van, has turned to light and passed to the other side.
Dr. Van K. Tharp passed away from liver failure on Thursday, February 24, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. His wife of nearly 30 years, Kala Tharp, was at his side. She has lovingly cared for Van during his illness which was first diagnosed in June of 2021.
Dr. Tharp will be remembered for being among the world’s top trading coaches. He is a founding father of the trading psychology field. Van was also a trading concept innovator, a brilliant teacher, and a humble leader. He had a keen, creative mind and a singular ability to be authentic in each moment.
Over the last 20 years, Van experienced a great spiritual awakening which profoundly influenced his life and he wanted to share those gifts with everyone. Van developed a deep trust for his Inner Guidance and came to believe that “God is everything in the universe”. Van would want us to remember that even in our apparent loss at the moment, we are all one with each other and we are one with the Divine.
Van touched the lives of many people across the globe. People regularly sent him letters thanking him for helping them change their lives through his books, home study courses, and workshops.
In the last few months, Van’s health challenges started becoming more obvious and he received an outpouring of love and appreciation from many.
Who then, is Van Tharp?
Professional Coach for Traders and Investors
In the unique arena of professional trading coaches and consultants, Dr. Tharp stands out as an international leader in the industry. Helping others become the best trader or investor that they can be has been his mission since 1982.
Dr. Tharp offers unique learning strategies, and his techniques for producing great traders are some of the most effective in the field.
Over the years, Dr. Tharp has helped people overcome problems in areas of system development and trading psychology, and success related issues such as self-sabotage. He is the founder and president of the Van Tharp Institute, dedicated to offering high-quality educational products and services for traders and investors around the globe.
While Dr. Tharp’s expertise is in the area of finance, his mission is to touch people in a way that changes them for the better. In his books, courses, and workshops, he uses the financial metaphor to do so.
Dr. Tharp uses a combination of skills and education to fine-tune his strategies to coach, consult and teach traders and investors. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in 1975. He is a certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a Certified Master Time Line Therapist, a certified Modeler of NLP, and an Assistant Trainer of NLP. He has used his expertise in NLP to create the successful models of trading and investing upon which so much of his work is based.
Dr. Tharp published the Market Mastery newsletter for over 10 years, and now publishes a weekly e-newsletter, Tharp’s Thoughts.
Speaker and Presenter
The Van Tharp Institute offers workshops year-round to help traders improve performance. In addition, Dr. Tharp has designed special seminars for banks and institutions and has presented these throughout the United States, as well as Paris, Italy, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Venice, London, Vienna, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Hungary, and numerous other places throughout the world. He has toured Asia as a guest speaker with Dow Jones and was the keynote speaker in 2011 at the largest investment conference in Poland.
He has conducted workshops for floor traders at the CBOT, the CBOE, and the CME. He is also a regular speaker to a portfolio and hedge fund managers worldwide. He was a member of the distinguished Investment Advisory Panel of the prestigious Oxford Club-a rare honor only half dozen or so individuals have received.
Dr. Tharp is also a highly rated guest speaker at expositions and conferences throughout the world.
Van Books:
1. The Definitive Guide to Position Sizing Strategies: How to Evaluate Your System and Use Position Sizing to Meet Your Objectives, 2013
2. Trading Beyond the Matrix: The Red Pill for Traders and Investors, 2013
3. The Peak Performance Course for Traders and Investor, 1989
4. Super Trader: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets, 2010
5. Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, 2007
Some Memories of Van:
“Dr. Van Tharp’s exit has been very painful for me. I came across him when I was contemplating quitting trading because I had hit a roadblock, a dead-end, and an impasse. I was 100% frustrated and I wanted to go do something else with my life. Then I came across Van in an old edition of TRADERS’ magazine, and I had a rude awakening. It dawned on me that there are successful traders, professional traders. What are they doing differently? Through Van, I realized that what they are doing differently fly in the face of conventional wisdom, plus what most traders like to do, as people tend to look for a solution to their problems in the wrong places and do the wrong things. Since then, I have hooked to Tharp’s teachings, formulas, thoughts, updates, and newsletters. This is the biggest factor that has helped me reach the top echelon of trading mastery. I gained a lot of life-saving and career-saving knowledge from Van, as well as tips on other markets and cryptos. I had the 3 most important trading coaches, as far as I’m concerned. I lost Joe Ross in September 2021. I lost Van Tharp in February 2022, and only James Altucher remains alive. The loss of Van Tharp is a wound that cannot heal on time… I will sorely miss him. However, I’m glad that he lived a successful and fulfilled life, and he impacted numerous lives. Truly, a man’s worth is measured only by what he gives others. The testimonies below are just a few from an outpouring of testimonies given when the news of his transition was broken.” – Azeez M.
“Dear Van, I will be forever grateful to you for the profound changes you were able to create in so many people. You introduced me to the Red Pill and my life was changed forever (for the better, of course)! I joined your Super Trader program in 2013 and underwent many wonderful transformations. Your guidance was so helpful, and my happiness level soared. I have not been to Cary in over 3 years, but I still miss the love and spiritual energy that enveloped VTI. My heart goes out to my dear friend Kala and the VTI staff. I am so glad you will be carrying on Van’s mission!” – Susan P.
“His books has a great impact on my decision-making. He was a risk management Guru. His contribution is priceless, always wanted to meet him but never got a chance. I am grateful for all the knowledge he has shared through his books and seminars. His work will be helpful for the generations to come…” – Mihir T.
“I met Van in ’97 when he played the marble game at a workshop in Reno, Nv. His positive influence on me got me started on my path of personal development that has also spilled over to my wife and children. I still have a lot of work to do in my super trader journey. Van, Kala, RJ, past and present staff and all the other students that I have met at training over the years have all in some way helped me become a better person. The journey continues.” – Eugene C.
“Thank you all for sharing your stories and experience. I am finding a lot of comfort and peace in all your stories. Nothing will give Van so much joy as listening and reading about all the lives he has touched. You all make him so proud. You are all the reason he did what he did. I told him one day please don’t die, and he said I don’t want to die but then death is all an illusion. He reminded me to always live in the present, do my gratitude meditation and live life. Van lived his life to the fullest every day. During his last days he could hardly walk but would seat and write his new book, he managed to write 4 chapters. It was his life story. He told me the liver cirrhosis was a blessing. There is not enough space to share my experiences with you here, but you all get the picture. Seeing all your responses I am so confident and humbled that Van Tharp’s legacy will live on through you all and all the amazing teachers Van has produced at VTI, RJ, Ken Long, Gabriel, and the list goes on. I will miss him dearly because living with him has been an adventure, you never know what to expect next, it is always full of surprises. He was the kindest, most generous, amazing man I will ever know. I feel so honored and humbled to have been his wife. He was a shy, simple and down-to-earth man. I will miss him so much. But he facilitated my growth to be a strong and independent woman. Will forever be grateful to this genius legend I shared 30 years with. He left me with a lot of tools, to help me continue to grow. Once again thank you all for generously sharing your stories.” – Kala Tharp (Van’s widow)
Source: The exit of a super trader
