Steve Meyers Market Update
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Quote of the Day
Notes from Into The Wild
Posted by Kevin H in Movies, Personal Growth recently.
Into The Wild is story about Chris McCandless' experiences after graduating from Emory University. Instead of taking the conventional route after graduating college, Chris left his upper middle class family to "LIVE LIFE".
[Chris was] an American wanderer who adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and hiked into the Alaskan wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude.
Notable Quotes:
"I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong."
"[written into book] Happiness only real when shared."
"Mr. Franz I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one."
-Christopher McCandless
Despite all this jazz by Hollywood, which is extremely convincing while you are watching the movie, I was disappointed to discover that his journey may not have been as remarkable as was presented in the film.
Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote: "I am exposed continually to what I will call the 'McCandless Phenomenon.' People, nearly always young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [...] When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament [...]
This just brings me back to reality. I was really feeling this movie, but this romanticized Hollywood movie probably isn't what it is all cracked up to be and the above passage helped me see that. Still, there's got to be more than life than working that 9 to 5.
King of Pop: Michael Jackson Dead
Posted by Kevin H in Personal Growth, Quotes from Famous People recently.
Michael Jackson Dead?
How did this happen?
King of Pop Michael Jackson reportedly died Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital where he was rushed around 1 p.m. PT by paramedics, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The reaper does not discriminate. It doesn't matter who you are.
Life life to the fullest and appreciate every minute of it.
Dumped AAPL (0.62% Gain)
Posted by Kevin H in Gains Lessons Learned recently.
I entered AAPL on the 12th of June at $136.44. Exited it today at $137.28. After commissions and fees I ended up with a 0.62% Gain.
Obviously, I would have liked to have squeezed a bigger gain out of it. But, the STO started to change. The first bounce back from the 17th failed.
There are better opportunities out there than for me to "hope" this one will go up.
In Between Chapter 6 (Finishing College) and Chapter 7 (Job)
Posted by Kevin H in Personal Growth, Visual Inspiration recently.
I officially finished my undergraduate education about three days ago –Class of 2009. I walked out of the graduation ceremony not knowing in which direction I will be taking my next steps in my immediate life and maybe even more frightening what the future may hold for me. I work towards living for the present, but in today’s society it’s hard to not think about the future. I consider myself one of the more lucky undergraduates who managed to secure a relatively competitive job; still, I have approximately three months before that begins. What do I do to prepare myself for the next chapter in my life?
Three months to gather and direct myself in the right direction. It’s a terrifying thought. For about sixteen years, I’ve had an obligation to sign up for classes to take. After elementary school, there was middle school, then high school, and finally college. It was somewhat of a set path. School was my life and grades were a way of keeping score. Now that they are gone, I am left to carve another path. There is no designated road map and the paths are limitless. I can travel and see the world, volunteer, improve my golf swing, and anything else imaginable. I did give this some thought before I graduated, but ultimately I have settled on just enjoying what time I have before I start working. Let the chips fall where they may, I suppose.
Tiger Woods said, “The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today.” I am always looking to become a better man and to change for the better. Whether that means honing my stock trading skills, my golf swing, or being more considerate and humble, it’s all part of becoming better. But, sometimes we forget what we learn and revert back to what we were like before. That’s why it’s important to revisit some of the core values we all so work to live through.
I was fortunate enough to come across a post by Tim Ferriss. In this post he embedded a video of his talk about stoicism. More specifically he talked about defining your fears instead of your goals. His five minute talk is best summed up by Mark Twain’s quote: "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”. The reality of most situations is that we can recover from whatever happens. Humans are extremely resilient and it’s proven by the longevity of the time we’ve spent as a species on Earth. I suppose I can say that it is better to have tried and gotten hurt then to have done nothing at all. Carpe Diem!