the happiness project - complete

This book didn't sit long on my bookshelf.  In fact, it never saw the shelf.  I bought it, read it and shared it.

So yes, this was another new addition to the list.  Why The Happiness Project? I was at the bookstore in a particular frame of mind and the book was directly in front of me.  Someone had recently talked about it and I just "felt" like I had to buy it.  Yikes, did I act on a feeling?  What's happening to me?

I didn't blog as I was reading this one, I felt an urgency to get through it and I thought that blogging would slow me down.  Why the urgency? Perhaps because I was too curious to find out if Rubin (the author) found her happiness by the end of the year and more importantly, how she found it. Perhaps because I am struggling with my own level of happiness (or level of satisfaction of my life, to be more accurate). Or perhaps because I was reading along with a friend, and I felt a little inner competition to finish it first.

This concept of doing something for a year keeps being passed around, people doing different things, for different reasons for a certain period of time.  To make a commitment, to try something new, to change your environment, to create "an atmosphere of growth", as Gretchen puts it, all assist in creating happiness. How can we continue to do the same thing for an extended period of time and expect to feel alive?

Rubin's key question to ask yourself is:  In this moment of your life, what makes you feel good, bad and/or right?  The answers may lead you somewhere.

The Happiness Project was interesting and Rubin drew some valid conclusions about her personal findings throughout the year.  More than anything, I think she exposed a real and human side of herself that almost everyone can relate to.  She wrote about her flaws and daily struggles to the public.  This prompts others to take a real honest look at themselves as they see others have the same imperfections.  Rather then deny or hide, they can accept and improve.

She taught, by example, a way to improve ourselves and to reach our potential as human beings.  Simple concepts, not new, but renewed & equally important.

We underestimate the meaning of happiness in our lives.  My definition of happiness was to live according to my values.  More simply, Be Me.

understanding stocks

CANSLIM

This is an acronym for the characteristics of picking winning stocks! Created by William O'Neil, here is what it stands for:

C: current quarterly earnings per share
A: annual earnings increase
N: new products, new managements, new highs
S: supply and demand
L: leader or laggard
I: institutional sponsorship
M: market direction

Are your stocks CANSLIM?  And yes, there is an explanation of each one of these attributes, so if you have any questions, just ask!

Jane Eyre

Up to Chapter 14

I guess we all struggle with wanting more from life.  More than what our present situation dictates.  Jane is already restless, having spent a short while, some three months, as a governess in Lowood, her mind is dreaming, her vision is expanding.  As a reminder, for ALL my followers, she left the boarding school where she lived from the time she was ten years old.  She is now a confident eighteen.  She left because she felt a yearning for something different, something new.  This sensation is stirring yet again within her.

"...I desired more of practical experience than I possessed; more of intercourse with my kind, of acquaintance with variety of character than was here within my reach." (p.114)

The household that she now stays at is called Thornfield Hall.  The owner of the house, Mr. Rochester, has just arrived, he is stern, abrupt, and demanding.  This doesn't seem to phase Jane. Something tells me that there is much more to come between Mr. Rochester and Jane.

Jane Eyre

Up to Chapter 10.

Little Miss Jane Eyre has quite a feisty personality.  Her youth and mental immaturity fault her in not being able to tame it.  In her 12 years of life she has lost both parents, lost her uncle, endured emotional and physical abuse from her foster mother and family, and most recently has lost Hellen, who she befriended at boarding school.  She has endured great loss that only a developed individual can conceptualize.  Cast aside by her "foster' mother and enrolled in an all girls boarding school, she is beginning to flourish. All you need is one human to believe in you and encourage you - for Jane, this was Miss. Temple.  Kind, strict but fair - Miss. Temple has opened her spirit and has given her hope to develop into a deserving and productive human being.

Leave it to a classic to offer some meaningful insights. The hype that is created about new ideas in recent times - it was already said, somewhere, some place, in one of the classics and much more eloquently:

"If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends" (pg. 70)

So - in modern day language -  just believe in yourself and the rest will follow!

understanding stocks

I am reading the chapter that talks about investment strategies to make money s-l-o-w-l-y.  It includes brief explanations of types of strategies - a plan that helps you determine what stocks to buy or sell.  I think I may have discovered my investment style - but really at the end of the day it is trial and error to know what works for your lifestyle in practical terms. And, as we know, there are no guarantees of making money through the stock market.

One of the strategies is "Buy and Hold", simply meaning that if you buy stock in a fundamentally sound company and hold if for the long term, you will realize a profit. This strategy seems to have worked pretty well for Warren Buffet, one of the most successful 20th Century buy and hold investors!!!

Next chapter - how to make money fast!!

understanding stocks

I couldn't have asked for a clearer introduction to the stock market.  It is one of those books that gives you the instantaneous "ah ha" moments.  The author hits the necessary points for a general overview of stocks, the stock market, and how to invest.  I would recommend this book to anyone that has had limited to no exposure to the world of NYSE, Nasdaq, Wall Street, Bear, Bull, Mutual Funds, Bonds, and so on...

The stock market is a new way of seeing and understanding how the world prospers or flounders.

More than one at at time

I am reading three books and, surprisingly, liking each one of them for different reasons:

1.  Jane Eyre - It's a classic, thought provoking & insightful

2. Under the Tuscan Sun - Descriptive, enjoyable (how do you say - delightful to read), and inspiring
This book is somehow soothing to absorb. The way Mayes describes her experience thus far in Italy and the process of deciding on a home to purchase is realistic and interesting. She describes her observations and interactions with Italian people with such love and affection.  I am so curious to learn what comes next.

3. Understanding Stocks - Informative, provides the feeling of "I finally understand how the stock market works".

I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking a clear, concise understanding of the basics of the stock market.  It is a great starting point. Stay tuned for more posts on this book. So, do you know how the term "Wall Street" evolved? I do!