GRIEF

I spent 80+ days with my in-laws since March. I stay with them, when I go near them for business, once or twice a month. It's a notably large amount of time to spend with one's in-laws, and for some it might not be a desired activity, but for me it has been an unusual blessing.  Made all the more poignant by the fact that my father-in-law passed away on October 7, 2009.

A man, many know by his accomplishments, but I know by his character and humanity. A man who cheated death numerous times, most recently making a miraculous recovery from March onwards (his heart stopped for 2 minutes in heart surgery). A man who died suddenly in his son's arms, 4 days after his 50th anniversary.

I grieve that he is no longer there, when I visit. I will sit, as I did this past week, and have dinner with my mother-in-law, an empty chair painfully obvious, the conversation less lively, the talk mainly of memories.

I grieve, for his daughter, my wife, misses him so. His grandchildren, who speak daily of loss, even my little 4 year old girl. Her "I love you daddy" is followed often by "grandpa died...."

I grieve that heaven's gain, seems a disproportionate loss on earth.

I grieve, because I catch myself in moments of joy, laughter and brevity.....and his loss springs back...top of mind....my smile fades...I grow suddenly quiet....

I grieve, because inexplicable triggers manifest....I find myself feeling like I've cried for hours...when I haven't shed a tear at all...when the gap left by a person seems impossibly large.

I grieve not to cope, but as the only option left to me. For denial, or "getting over it" seems foolish and trite. So I face the freight train, horns blaring....I can survive this collision with deep emotion again...like a crashing wave.

I grieve.

50 Years of Marriage

This past weekend, my in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  I was entasked with producing a video for it. As I pored through hundreds of photos, I journeyed through rich and varied lives.  Here it is. It's 6 minutes long. I hope it does something for you.

The Serenity Prayer

If you go to AA or other 12 step programs. You'll know this one.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Just for today.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.


The first paragraph is usually the part that most people know. Authorship is unknown. But just like open source it is open to interpretation, revision and improvement.

I hope you read it, and the purpose of the prayer gives you a glimpse of the peace that you are seeking.

Here's a variation I kinda like too.

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change

courage to change the one I can change,

and wisdom to know it’s me.

Heaven is the Face

I don't talk about matters of faith very often on this blog. I certainly don't talk about heaven very much. For those of you who know of him, Steven Curtis Chapman is a well regarded Christian music artist.

He has adopted several children from China. Last year, one of his adopted daughters was run over by his own son. It is a gut-wrenching tragedy, and one wonders how someone can cope with the loss first, and the circumstances of the loss.

I encourage you to view this video of a song Steven wrote; inspired by his little girl in heaven. Listen, read the words and make sure you get to the end.

Only God can give the strength to endure, to turn tragedy into a song of hope.

Promises

They're easy to make.

"We'll hang out son, go rafting maybe. This afternoon. I promise."

I didn't do it. My son's heart sank. My son trusts me. But each time I break a promise, and disappoint him, I confirm to him, that no one, not even his dad, keeps his promises.

He'll expect it less. He'll do it less.

Friendships. Marriage. Parenthood. There's a lot of implicit and explicit promises made in these relationships.

So, the next time I'm tempted to make a loose promise. I'm not going to think twice. I'm just not going to do it. Because they are important to keep.

And that's a promise.

THE 3RD EAR

My wife has a skill. I call it her 3rd Ear. She has the uncanny ability to track 2-3 conversations in our immediate vicinity, particularly in a restaurant setting. So-and-so were fighting about this, and the table behind us were talking about that.....meanwhile not skipping a beat with our own conversation. It happened last night. It was our 15th anniversary.

Now this is an endearing quality of hers, so I personally don't have an issue with it. Eavesdropper? Yes. Nosy parker? Yes. She is truly an expert observer of human interactions, and takes people watching to a whole new level.

My father also had this skill. My mother told me about her first date with him, where he seemingly was totally engrossed in conversation, yet knew exactly what people were talking about around him, and gave a report to my mother at the end of their date!!!

Should my wife have pursued a career with the CIA? Oh yes. Not only does she have the 3rd ear, she can also assess the relationship status of people at an adjacent table within 10 seconds, by clothing, body language and other social cues that are lost on me. And it doesn't hurt that strangers are very comfortable telling her their most secret personal details within 10 minutes of meeting her.

I never had a chance.

Simplicity

Keep it Simple Stupid. K-I-S-S.

I was sitting at Denny's today, watching my little girl eat her Smiley Alien Pancake (3 pancakes, bacon and whipped cream). While the meal would give a nutritionist a heart attack, the simple pleasure of chatting with my 4 year old as she engaged with her meal (yes she played with her food) reminded me that life is made of choices and moments, and the more you can share those choices and moments, the richer life is.

We weren't meant to live this life alone. Get together with those you love, and do something simple.

THE ANYWAY POEM

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

Things that take time, are good for you, and sort of free

I've got some perpetual objectives in my family: spend more time together, engage in healthy activities, teach them to care about other people outside of themselves. In context of the global recession somewhat, I have the following perspectives:

1. Teach our children to spend less time in front of a screen, whether it's a TV or a computer.
2. Teach them to be something more than consumers.
3. Teach them to spend more time in healthier activities.

"Monkey see monkey do". So it starts with us. Don't switch on the TV or computer until your kids are bed.

So my premise is: What are the things that will substitute the time spent in front of a TV and computer, that is good for you, and doesn't cost a lot of money, and you can do as a family.

1. Spend at least one night a week playing games. Not video games. Games. Monopoly. Card games.
2. Spend at least one hour per week, taking a family walk.
3. Go to the park, bring sandwiches, fruit and drinks. It's called a picnic. Once a month.
4. Find somewhere you can volunteer as a family once a month.

Don't just go to a movie. Don't just go to the mall. Don't just sit and watch TV. Break the habit. I guarantee you. If you do points 1-4 for 3 months, you will have a radically different family life, and you'll save money too! And have lost some weight to boot.

Can't lose.

Greed/Faith may be the opposite of fear but they are not the answer

In the past I have written about market psychology (Greed vs. Fear) and spiritual psychology (Faith vs. Fear). It speaks to our mindset, our disposition, our perspective. But neither Greed nor Faith are the antidote of fear. Faith almost but not quite.

If fear is a state, a condition of insecurity and paranoia, then only an action can overcome it; to change that state. If greed, an overwhelming state of selfishness, then again, it takes an action to alter it.

This action, is LOVE.

Love overcomes fear and love changes greed.

So if you find yourself in either the states of fear this week, defeat it with love.

The Story of Stuff

Once in a while, your fragmented hunches, fears, speculations are packaged by another person in such a succinct, and clear way, that it galvanizes it all. I'm more troubled by what I might need to do, now that I am no longer "ignorant."

http://www.storyofstuff.com

20 minutes of your time. Stark reality of sustainability or the lack thereof. Even if you believe only 20% of it, think of the billions in China and India who want to live the "dream".

Pass it on, provoke thought. Provoke action

SPRING

For us in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter marks Spring.

For us in the North of the Northern Hemisphere, we're talking about the snow maybe, just maybe, melting for the very last time.

The season conjures up colors: greens, bright florals, and signifies: life, rebirth, growth, hope and promise.

So I sincerely wish you all a thaw to all that is frozen, and the blossoming of dormant things, and life to all that might be dead; resurrected.

Happy Easter.

Significance

Do you have burning desire to MAKE IT, or BE FAMOUS? If you asked a kid, I'm sure "I wanna be famous" is the norm not the exception. If you asked a twenty year-old it would probably be affirmative for both.

"Fake it till you make it" is probably more of a life ethos for many, rather than a novelty T shirt line.

SIGNIFICANCE. To matter. To be known. To make a difference. To leave a legacy. A core need of humanity.

Paths to significance are as individual and varied as there are people on this earth. In the book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell (of Tipping Point, Blink fame: two significant books) delves deeply into the stories and insights into the development of significant and exceptional people like Bill Gates. Much of it is accidental, coincidental, circumstantial. But deep inside these individuals was a desire to be significant.

Sure, aptitude, training and context are all contributing factors. Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Hitler all had urges to be significant. But significance was merely the by-product of Jesus, Mother Teresa, and many other influential people to have existed.

Some inspired fear, others inspired faith. Some inspired war, others peace. Some for a time, some for eternity.

So consider what that word or concept means to you today:SIGNIFICANCE.

SOMETHING TO PROVE?

I was a pretty scrawny kid. On outward appearance I could not possibly be a very strong athlete, except for the fact that before adolescence kicked in fully, I was 75% legs. yup, since I was 12, I have been a 31 inch inseam, my legs grew first, and I had the torso of a 3 year old.

The advantages to this freakish body, was that I was super light. On my first cross country run, I came 5th or something like that in my class. My lungs were burning, but as I hunched over, I realised that I could be pretty good at this.

So with no one's encouragement, or even sense of competition, and with no one really knowing, I would awake at first light, leave the front door unlocked, and run for 30 minutes, and sneak back in before breakfast, each day, for months.

In the ensuing years I became a very proficient cross country and middle distance runner. Represented the school and went to track meets.

Then I met this girl on the track team. She was a very fast 200m runner. She was dating this guy who was a fast 50m butterfly swimmer....

Now, suffice it to say that distance running and sprint swimming require some very different skills.

In Phys-Ed, though I was a pretty good swimmer, trying to do 50m of butterfly, all flailing arms, and gulping water, was a bit of an embarrassment.

Now, there wasn't a guarantee that whoever was the fastest under 15 50m butterfly swimmer was going to win the heart of this 200m sprinter, but hey, I was young and dumb and it seemed to make sense.

So.....at first light, I snuck out, and swam. The 50 m butterfly. Perfected my dolphin kick. Got the sweeping arms going. Breathed every other stroke. Timed the final stretch to the wall.

It was a cold November day. The day of the swim meet. The sprinter was there. The 50m butterfly guy, who I will call the Albatross was there. He was about a foot taller than me and had crazy long arms. We both made it into through the heats, the quarters, the semis. He was in lane 4, and I in lane 8 of the finals. I won. I dated the girl. I became part of the swim team for the next few years. My specialty: the 50m butterfly.

Two of my main high school athletic accomplishments, running and swimming.

One spurred on by some strange dysfunctional growth proportion thing, and some surprisingly singular drive to get better at something you're naturally OK at.

The other, by the seemingly impossible task of being the best at something you were the worst at, motivated by the desire to date a 200m sprinter.

Running. I had nothing to prove. Except to myself. I wasn't really even fussed about the competitive element, as I am not naturally a competitive person.

Swimming. I had everything to prove. To win the girl. To show her that there was something spectacularly romantic about a guy who would train daily, cold and alone, to win her heart through besting her boyfriend in a swimming race. So misguided, but ultimately successful.

No one knew that there were such different motivating factors to what seemed to others, as my natural aptitude in becoming really good at swimming and running. Only I did. And maybe my bemused PE teacher, who lost a distance runner and gained a sprint swimmer.

This is perhaps the most long winded prelude to the point of my blog today. What drives you? Motivates you? If you seek success, why do you seek it? Do you have something to prove? Do you do it for your own sense of accomplishment, or are you driven by the approval or recognition by others?

I'm constantly surprised by stories of people who are driven by things like: being called a failure by their father, decide to "show him", and become wildly successful, or accomplish incredible feats.

Or hypercompetitive people, who just want to be stronger, faster, better. Bigger house, nicer car, hotter spouse. A life in context, rather than a life in and of itself.

Do you have something to prove? Has a past hurt fueled your pursuits? Are you disproving the doubts of others in achieving greatness in something?

Or are you at peace with who you are?

FRIENDS BY CHOICE, NOT BY CHANCE

School. Neighbourhood. Workplace. Sports. You meet people. You become friends.

Tennis buddies, poker buddies. Friends you do things with.

People you eat together with, live together with.

Perhaps first by chance, but ultimately by choice.

When life changes, geographic distance come into play. Those friendships are tested. Then you know who are your friends by choice, and who you choose to be friend of.

Belonging

I don't really remember when I got switched on to this, but I'm convinced that belonging and significance is, outside from the great shortage of love in the world, what global society lacks the most, and what we hunger for, in our core.

So let's talk about belonging. My wife was telling about someone she knows, who was adopted, and who was then "abandoned" later in life, when a birth child came a long. I also know someone, whose parents adopted and fostered dozens of children, some from the far corners of the world. The heartbreaking story is that some of these children, some that were saved from certain death, are now turning their backs on the people who have loved them and nurtured them.

These are difficult stories to hear, absorb and process.

I am eternally grateful that I belong to my birth family, and now my own family. I am someone who was, since childhood, was looking for a lifetime companion, and was fortunate enough to find one. I belong to her, and she to me. My children belong to me, and me to them. Its such a symbiotic thing. Not co-dependence. Just being. Together. Individuals. But together.

We long to belong.

PRAYER FOR CHILDREN

I've been contemplating the luxuries of the developed world, and the insane relative privilege that my children are accustomed to. I am planning for the opportunity for their young lives to intersect with the reality of poverty, and the billion children who live in it.

I heard this in a Sunday message, and it was exactly the juxtaposition of privilege vs. poverty that is jarring, and impossible to ignore. Some amazing people who I know, one well, the others by handshake and brief interaction have launched a movement called Compassionart ( www.compassionart.tv ). Another story where those who know, have been compelled to act.

So I urge you to be shocked, disgusted, heartbroken. And may the realities of this poem turn you into an activist for the least of these.

PRAYER FOR CHILDREN by Ina Hughes
We pray for the children who sneak Popsicles before
supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can
never find their shoes. And we pray for those who stare
at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can't
bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who
never "counted potatoes," who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money. And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can't find any bread to steal, who don't have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed, who never rinse out the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren't spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move, but have no being. We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must, who we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance. For those we smother and...for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

THAT TIME OF YEAR

That time of year:
1. Whether happy or sad, good or bad, you reflect on the past.
2. Whether filled with excitement, or overcome with dread, you look into the future.
3. When you are grateful for what you have.
4. When you mourn what you have lost.
5. When the joys of family are celebrated.
6. When the pain of being alone is truly felt.
7. When you think so much about your own predicament, you are forced to think about the predicament of others.

So don't deny the annual ritual, but take stock, take a deep breath, and love those you love. And love those you don't even know.

And most of all, be grateful that you can.

May the end of this year, be filled with as much love, joy and peace as you are hoping for in the next.

I RISE

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

MAYA ANGELOU

FAITH = GREED Pt 2

Turns out Warren Buffett shares my view on buying on fear and selling on greed.

So, how does faith fit in?

Well faith is the opposite of fear. In the markets, greed is the opposite of fear.

Intuitively it means that when things are going well, it's easy to have faith, and it's easy to have greed. The last 10 years have seen the growth of the megachurch and the hyper-debt fueled asset explosion which is now finally unwinding.

Somewhere along the journey, our spiritual life and our material life have become so entertwined, that our faith, I believe has commingled with our greed ie. the love of money. The prayer of Jabez, and other fads that have swept Christiandom pair the two words together.

On one hand, if generosity and social justice is the offshoot of the wealth/faith continuum, then I think that is in general a positive thing, for those in need. However, the spiritual mindset of those who are at the source of this wealth transfer is what I question.

I'm not proposing that we pray for poverty, or lack, as that would be contrary to Bible. God blesses, and abundance is our inheritance. But the messages from the pulpits of some megachurches may be propagating a blurring of the faith/greed line.

Perhaps, instead of praying for more wealth (and to be fair, more to give away) we should be praying for humility and holiness. God is not a genie, and he is not around to grant wishes. He exists for us to worship, to submit, to be a servant of.

So for all those, who are doing well financially and growing in wealth; what are you praying for? More wealth? Take a look at the % you are giving away, and maybe you'll find that the amounts you give away are getting bigger, but the % has not.

So now that times are tough, and those in need are on the rise, and fear is ruling the world, perhaps a response of true faith, in the one who is worthy to have faith in, will take its rightful place.

Peace.

FAITH = GREED Pt 1

OK. The title of this blog is the title of a book that I am working on.

I've been a person of the Christian faith for 16 years, almost exactly. At the time, I was employed by Merrill Lynch, the investment bank. From the outset, I found the greed factor highly refreshing, it was overt and "clean"; not covered up with any real noble causes. Make money for others, make money for yourself.

Upon coming to Christ however, I did have a crisis of whether to stay involved in such a business. My resolution, be a person of faith, and attract the curious.

So suffice it to say that the word Greed, the Gordon Gekko "Wall St." kind of greed, has been well absorbed into my psyche and understanding. As a trader in the markets, you had to understand this word. It was, and is, one of the driving forces from which all self-interest of its participants could be understood. Analyzing the types and levels of greed, was helpful to my work.

The other driving force, is, of course, Fear. Suffice it to say that the systemic global financial risks that exist in the world today, would certainly be worthy of some fear. Fear of the known: things are going to get worse; fear of the unknown: how bad is it going to get. As a market participant, certainly fear is also a great thing to understand: your own, your fellow professionals, and the public.

I also developed quite a simple method of relative success. When I was most fearful, I bought. It worked. Turned out that my emotional decision making was no more sophisticated that a kind grandmother, responding to the headlines of the day. So when I wanted to buy, I sold. When I wanted to sell, I bought. 60/40 success rate was all I needed.

Well that's enough for Part One.

PS. Can't believe I didn't post in September. Must be something to do with moving houses (again) and travelling to Australia and back.

Randy Pausch redux

OK. Again a bit late with this one.

Randy Pausch died July 25, 2008. His last lecture watched a zillion times, Oprah, the book. Whoa. Remember Yul Brynner? Both had ads play after their deaths. Posthumous power. A legacy. A life beyond death. A life beyond yourself.

So many authors, composers, artists. More famous and influential after their deaths, than in their short lives. Jesus most of all. Still rockin it 2000 years later. Technically not dead of course.

If your goals end at your death, then you'll live it like that. If your goals are set in terms of generations, you'll probably choose more carefully, what you do with each day you are given.

Choose wisely.

Simple Prayer

God. Help me be the worshipper you made me to be, the man that I was created to be, the husband that I longed to be, the father that I hoped to be, the son that I have to be, and the friend that I chose to be.

Let it be.

IF

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling...the jungle book guy

ON THE MOVE

No meaningful post here really. But another geographic milestone.

We arrived in Wolseley/Regina Saskatchewan on April 26th from LA. Same continent, different universe.

Almost 4 months, 30,000 kms (at least) of commuting later, we are moving AGAIN.

New city, new house, new school (for the kids).

Another season ends, another season begins.

We are hoping this one will last!

Hope this post finds you well.

MILESTONES

Noticed the date a few days ago. It's been a year since my family and I have changed countries/continents. Amazing.

On July 11, 2007 we hopped on a plane from Sydney to Los Angeles.

On April 26, 2008 we hopped on a plane from Los Angeles to....Wolseley, Saskatchewan. Town of 1,000.

On August 15th, 2008 we will...yes hop on a plane (we're like kangaroos), from Regina to Calgary, Alberta.

Suffice it to say, that I am sincerely hoping that the hopping is going to stop for a while.

Late.

THE MESSAGE OF YOUR LIFE

Many of you will have heard from Randy Pausch. I must have been living in a cave when all that broke, on YouTube, Oprah etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Well check it out yourself.....

A good many years ago I did a branding project for a company. For it I interviewed key management and one of the questions was:

If you had 5 minutes, in a stadium of 100,000, and with 5 billion watching on TV, what would you say/do? What would be your message?

Randy Pausch had over an hour to give his last lecture. And the power of YouTube and Oprah to boot.

Most of us will not have such an audience to tell our message.....but we have our LIFETIME to live it.

What is your message? Are you living it? What a very challenging question.

To be super honest, right now, I don't really think I'm living it....I'm not even sure I know it, in detail enough to frame it and express it to you.

Let's learn our message. Live our message. I'm sure it's bigger than how you are living now.

what's your financial age

You know how you come up with something, and then you check it on the internet, and tons of people have had the same idea.....well a while ago, I was speaking with a friend of mine...who will remain nameless, coz he's a great guy...but I called him a a financial toddler. He was just very financially unaware, and frankly was a serial overspender.

So I thought. We've got our chronological age, but what's our financial age.....do we save, do we have a plan, do we budget etc. etc. do we have financial maturity.

Anyway, so I thought maybe there would be a book in it, and there might be, but I found this incredibly insightful and short quiz on http://www.unbiased.co.uk/financial-age-tool which is on the site for indie financial advisers in the UK. Take the quiz and ponder what it's trying to ask you.

Then look back on my incremental exponentialism blog.....it all ties in!

Big Picture and all the Small Details

I'm old enough to remember listening to American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. His signoff was always significant to me "Keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars." It's a big tangential but related to this post. Because when you look down at your feet, it's not very far away, it's right beneath you. You can see the detail. When you reach for the stars though, it's expansive, limitless, and requires a telescope to see the details.

I told my wife the other day, after a particularly bad decision I made. Please regularly ask me these two questions:

1) Are you keeping the Big Picture in mind?
2) Do you know all the Small Details?

As it has been said, "You need to know where you are going, to figure out how you are going to get there." I'm good at the Big Picture. Projecting, framing, conceptualizing. I'm also pretty good at Small Details. The minutae, the legalese, the things that can trip you up. But I'm sometimes not so good at keeping those two in balance, and context. I can easily get lost in the visioneering, or bogged down in the small details. So I'm happy that I have a wife who will keep me accountable to these two questions, which really help me make decisions, and proceed with my everyday.

After all, its the daily decisions we make that have a cumulative effect of our life's outcome, in technicolor dynamic real-time.

So ask yourself these two questions today.

Maintenance

Turned forty recently, and almost with clockwork precision:

1) Metabolism slowed down
2) Started to go grey
3) Skin not as bouncy as usual.

When you buy a new car, it comes under warranty for a good deal of time. Services are infrequent, and repairs are minor. Come 150,000 miles, and a many years later, maintenance may need to be more frequent, and repairs get more expensive, as do the accompanying parts.....

So what's my point.....as I ponder mortality for the first time in my life, it's come to my attention, that as we get older, we need to more purposefully take care of ourselves, as our physical selves from here on out may decline at an alarming rate without making an effort to keep things working. Yes, I'm talking about eating better, exercising more, and just paying more attention to upkeep.

Take a house for example. You don't even notice the paint flaking at first, but without attention and maintenance, it will quickly deteriorate.

So do something that's good for your body today. Something healthy. Let' live long and healthy lives.

Cheers

LIFE WITHOUT SEAT BELTS

I'm old enough to remember: laying in the back window shelf...yup, where the speakers are behind the rear seats. Usually I would look up at the sky and occassionally, get car sick looking back at the vehicle following us.

Yes I know Princess Di would probably have survived, if she were wearing her seat belt, and Lord knows how many lives have been saved since the advent of mandatory seat belts.

I have a couple of pet hates: the big food/big pharma/big insurance conspiracy, but namely big insurance. I really don't like insurance companies. For those involved in that industry, or have benefitted from having insurance, I don't intentionally want to offend you.

Now insurance feeds off fear. ie. what if negative scenario analysis. Flood, fire, accident......acts of God. Where maiming gets you more money than dying........where they calculate odds to do with your life/death issues.

Yes, seat belts save lives. And your insurance is lower because of them......

But remember life without seat belts? Unbridled, carefree. Think about it. A life without fear. Full of hope. Full of faith. Full of peace.

OPTIONALITY

I used to trade options based on stocks. These were known variously as call options and put options. You might be familiar with employee stock options: the employer gives employees the right to buy company shares at a fixed (usually discounted) price. It gives people ownership. But I digress.

There is inherent optionality in life. Options typically have a fixed expiry date. So does life. It typically has what is known as the strike price, this is the price from which the value of the option is calculated against. We could regard this as where we are at at birth for example. In a call option, the higher the value of the stock, the higher the value of the option. This is typically intrinsic value + time value. So during your lifetime, you have a fixed period of time to create value. You could measure this in $ earned in a lifetime for example.

On a balance sheet, you need to depreciate assets eg. computers. We all know that a computer is not going to last forever. In fact, even if it works fine, it will be incompatible with a lot of new software etc. in only a year's time. So suffice it to say that things don't last forever. Thus they ALL have optionality: a fixed period of time to be of value or not.

So when we expire, will we expire worthless? Or will we expire with a lot of intrinsic value......for those puzzled by this, I'll try and expand upon this concept in due course.

Thanks for reading.