Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
MY 6 MOST MANIPULATIVE LINES
There is a saying that “Persuasion is more effective than force” and while most of us would tend to agree with it, the trouble is the thin line that separates persuasion and manipulation. (the same thin line that separates caring and controlling) and the thing with manipulation is that it is usually done among people with intimate relationships, the most common is between parents and their children, and it runs both ways. Below are some expressions which I consider to be manipulative. I’m sure you’ve heard these before, either being said to you or you telling others at some point in your life. this compilation is my opinion based on my experience, I’ve added some comments to make it amusing (at least) hopefully you’ll enjoy reading even if you don’t agree with it. (and if you do-next time somebody tells you…)
1.) I LOVE YOU
This one I’m sure we all agree, win hands down, as one of the most manipulative expression of all time, it has been used, misused and abused, for selfish interest.
2.) THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
Another expression that has been abused, and is all so familiar among kids, and while I don’t question the intention, there are times when we are intelligent enough to asses the situation honestly, and objectively, is it really for your own good or more for the one saying it?
3.)IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT…..
Your career, your studies, your…. etc. and of course my favorite, “if you really love me, you would”… (fill in the blanks)
4.) CAN YOU DO ME A FAVOR?
* When someone buttonholes you with this approach, beware! The use of this sentence is unfair; it’s blackmailing. The speaker traps the listener, who has to listen to the request or be rude. And in giving consent to listen the listener is placed in a dilemma by the word favor. He has to grant something against his own best interest, or to appear in an uncharitable light. Watch out for him.
and don’t you find it equally manipulative if not annoying when said in the vernacular? “Hanggyo lang kini kung mosugot ka”.
5.) IT’S ONLY A SUGGESTION
The most common opening for unsolicited advise, but let’s face it, even when we say that, we don’t admit, that deep inside, we expect our advise to be taken at face value. Maybe we should follow it up with- “TAKE NOTE WHO IS MAKING THE SUGGESTION”.
6.) IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE
No I’m not saying this isn’t true because I subscribe to this wisdom, but not when you’re invited to a free Orientation seminar for a direct selling company, or an association/organization, and suddenly the seminar takes longer than originally scheduled and you have to excuse yourself because of your other obligations, or they will schedule another meeting which just happens to be in conflict with your other commitments, when organizers will suddenly lay that expression on you…how convenient.
*Peoplewatching; research briefs on human behavior. Academic Publishing Corp.
1.) I LOVE YOU
This one I’m sure we all agree, win hands down, as one of the most manipulative expression of all time, it has been used, misused and abused, for selfish interest.
2.) THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
Another expression that has been abused, and is all so familiar among kids, and while I don’t question the intention, there are times when we are intelligent enough to asses the situation honestly, and objectively, is it really for your own good or more for the one saying it?
3.)IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT…..
Your career, your studies, your…. etc. and of course my favorite, “if you really love me, you would”… (fill in the blanks)
4.) CAN YOU DO ME A FAVOR?
* When someone buttonholes you with this approach, beware! The use of this sentence is unfair; it’s blackmailing. The speaker traps the listener, who has to listen to the request or be rude. And in giving consent to listen the listener is placed in a dilemma by the word favor. He has to grant something against his own best interest, or to appear in an uncharitable light. Watch out for him.
and don’t you find it equally manipulative if not annoying when said in the vernacular? “Hanggyo lang kini kung mosugot ka”.
5.) IT’S ONLY A SUGGESTION
The most common opening for unsolicited advise, but let’s face it, even when we say that, we don’t admit, that deep inside, we expect our advise to be taken at face value. Maybe we should follow it up with- “TAKE NOTE WHO IS MAKING THE SUGGESTION”.
6.) IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE
No I’m not saying this isn’t true because I subscribe to this wisdom, but not when you’re invited to a free Orientation seminar for a direct selling company, or an association/organization, and suddenly the seminar takes longer than originally scheduled and you have to excuse yourself because of your other obligations, or they will schedule another meeting which just happens to be in conflict with your other commitments, when organizers will suddenly lay that expression on you…how convenient.
*Peoplewatching; research briefs on human behavior. Academic Publishing Corp.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
PINOY HALLOWEEN
It’s Friday morning October 30, and we’re buying candles and flowers in order to avoid the rush hour crowd on Saturday, in preparation of All Saints and All Souls day, like most Filipinos. I grew up in that tradition, in my younger days, it was to visit the grave of our departed grandparents, and now my late mom. The routine has always been, to go to the memorial park early in the evening, light up some candles, pray, eat our dinner there, do some bonding with old family friends and relatives, who are likewise in the cemetery for the same reasons, and go home by late nightfall, it wasn’t that crowded yet. But lately a lot of things have changed, and not just the crowd, we now go early in the morning, (more to find a good parking space) pitch our tent, (yup) eat lunch and dinner there, and stay late in the night, or like others, spend the night there. Some memorial parks actually go as far as put up a Halloween festival, with dance contests, talent shows, complete with food concessionaires, and even those selling masks, and a fireworks display, late in the evening, this is probably to entice more clients, to have their umm resting place there.
But wait, isn’t Halloween an American tradition? That maybe true, however, since it just happens to precede All Saints and All Souls day, a Filipino tradition, in which Filipinos honour and remember their dead, it’s not surprising that Filipinos have adopted it as well (among other things American). And with our penchant to make every non-working holiday a celebration, it’s not surprising we have adopted and celebrated someone else’s as well.
Come Nov. 01 (All Saints) and Nov. 02), Filipinos go to the cemetery to gather, and remember their dearly departed, it’s a family affair, and for once, it’s not just the sadness of losing and missing a loved one, but a celebration of seeing those who are still alive albeit already living in other places or some other country, who have come back to visit as well. And since Filipinos traditionally celebrate it at the cemetery, Halloween gets an authentic boost when we celebrate it there as well.
(above) It’s not summer camp. It's All Saints Day and they're preparing to spend the night here at the cemetery, just like most Filipinos on Nov. 01 and 02. It’s a family affair, so everyone is in for a treat.
Aren’t day supposed to come out only at night?
The, (L-R) aswang, white lady, and kapre, creatures of Philippine folklore that have made our Halloween distinctively pinoy, no witches and broomsticks here.
Creatures whose world has turned upside-down.
not only can they get to come out at daytime, they get own the damn road as well
When you hold a Halloween dance contest on All Saints day-at the cemetery, you can be sure, the spirit of Michael Jackson lives on.
It’s a non-working holiday, and in the middle of the semestral break, come Nov.01 and 02, everyone’s’ dying to go to the cemetery
Lest we forget... it’s a time to remember our loved ones, who have gone ahead of us.
Bwa ha ha ha ha
But wait, isn’t Halloween an American tradition? That maybe true, however, since it just happens to precede All Saints and All Souls day, a Filipino tradition, in which Filipinos honour and remember their dead, it’s not surprising that Filipinos have adopted it as well (among other things American). And with our penchant to make every non-working holiday a celebration, it’s not surprising we have adopted and celebrated someone else’s as well.
Come Nov. 01 (All Saints) and Nov. 02), Filipinos go to the cemetery to gather, and remember their dearly departed, it’s a family affair, and for once, it’s not just the sadness of losing and missing a loved one, but a celebration of seeing those who are still alive albeit already living in other places or some other country, who have come back to visit as well. And since Filipinos traditionally celebrate it at the cemetery, Halloween gets an authentic boost when we celebrate it there as well.
(above) It’s not summer camp. It's All Saints Day and they're preparing to spend the night here at the cemetery, just like most Filipinos on Nov. 01 and 02. It’s a family affair, so everyone is in for a treat.
Aren’t day supposed to come out only at night?
The, (L-R) aswang, white lady, and kapre, creatures of Philippine folklore that have made our Halloween distinctively pinoy, no witches and broomsticks here.
Creatures whose world has turned upside-down.
not only can they get to come out at daytime, they get own the damn road as well
When you hold a Halloween dance contest on All Saints day-at the cemetery, you can be sure, the spirit of Michael Jackson lives on.
It’s a non-working holiday, and in the middle of the semestral break, come Nov.01 and 02, everyone’s’ dying to go to the cemetery
Lest we forget... it’s a time to remember our loved ones, who have gone ahead of us.
Bwa ha ha ha ha
Saturday, October 31, 2009
THE PARADOX OF WISDOM
1.) IT IS SAID: First impression is lasting
BUT: Do not judge a book by its cover.
2.) IT IS SAID: The squeaky wheel gets oiled.
BUT: The nail that sticks out gets hammered.
3.) WE ALWAYS SAY: I will cross my bridge when I get there.
BUT ITS BETTER TO: Dig your well before you’re thirsty
4. IT IS SAID: Only fools go where Angels fear to tread.
BUT: The biggest risk of all, is to take none at all.
5.) IT IS SAID: Fortune favours the strong
HOWEVER: And the meek shall inherit the earth.
6.) IT IS SAID: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
BUT: Out of sight, out of mind.
7.)IT IS SAID: He who hesitates is lost
BUT REMEMBER: Look before you leap.
8.) IT IS SAID: Two heads are better than one.
BUT: Too many cooks will spoil the broth.
9.) IT IS SAID: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
BUT: No Pain-No Gain
10.) THEY SAY: The Pen is mightier than the sword
BUT : Action speaks louder than words
PS: Look who’s talking?
THOSE WHO SPEAK
“Those who speak now know nothing;
Those who know are silent.”
This word, as I am told,
Were spoken by Lao-tzu
If we are to believe that Lao-tzu
Was himself one knew,
How come that he wrote a book of five thousand
words?
BUT: Do not judge a book by its cover.
2.) IT IS SAID: The squeaky wheel gets oiled.
BUT: The nail that sticks out gets hammered.
3.) WE ALWAYS SAY: I will cross my bridge when I get there.
BUT ITS BETTER TO: Dig your well before you’re thirsty
4. IT IS SAID: Only fools go where Angels fear to tread.
BUT: The biggest risk of all, is to take none at all.
5.) IT IS SAID: Fortune favours the strong
HOWEVER: And the meek shall inherit the earth.
6.) IT IS SAID: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
BUT: Out of sight, out of mind.
7.)IT IS SAID: He who hesitates is lost
BUT REMEMBER: Look before you leap.
8.) IT IS SAID: Two heads are better than one.
BUT: Too many cooks will spoil the broth.
9.) IT IS SAID: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
BUT: No Pain-No Gain
10.) THEY SAY: The Pen is mightier than the sword
BUT : Action speaks louder than words
PS: Look who’s talking?
THOSE WHO SPEAK
“Those who speak now know nothing;
Those who know are silent.”
This word, as I am told,
Were spoken by Lao-tzu
If we are to believe that Lao-tzu
Was himself one knew,
How come that he wrote a book of five thousand
words?
Friday, October 16, 2009
THE 10 SIGNS OF AGING FOR MEN
1.) You are now starting to wear reading glasses
2.) When it comes to music, sports, gimmicks, and even fashion, you think the
70’s and the 80’s rule.
3.) Your favourite music collection is mostly made up of vinyls (and in
fairness, it was been proven that vinyl has superior sound quality than CD’s)
4.) You no longer like wearing printed t-shirts (you prefer plain colored ones)
5.) Sticking racing stickers on your car or motorbike is in bad taste.
6.) You now frown when young women wear sexy clothes inside the church.
7.) Your average annual beer consumption is declining.
8.) Forget new age, your idea of a chill out music is still Pink Floyd’s “Dark
Side of the Moon” album.
9.) Your parents, teachers and especially the principal were right all along-
freedom goes hand in hand with responsibilities.
10.) You just come to realise, that despite its flaws, the system actually
works, and more than that-you are now part of it!
2.) When it comes to music, sports, gimmicks, and even fashion, you think the
70’s and the 80’s rule.
3.) Your favourite music collection is mostly made up of vinyls (and in
fairness, it was been proven that vinyl has superior sound quality than CD’s)
4.) You no longer like wearing printed t-shirts (you prefer plain colored ones)
5.) Sticking racing stickers on your car or motorbike is in bad taste.
6.) You now frown when young women wear sexy clothes inside the church.
7.) Your average annual beer consumption is declining.
8.) Forget new age, your idea of a chill out music is still Pink Floyd’s “Dark
Side of the Moon” album.
9.) Your parents, teachers and especially the principal were right all along-
freedom goes hand in hand with responsibilities.
10.) You just come to realise, that despite its flaws, the system actually
works, and more than that-you are now part of it!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
INVESTMENT PROPSAL: What should I do to marry a rich guy?
A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum:
I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above. You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York . My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married? I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you? Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit. If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden ( ? ) , $250k annual income is not enough.
I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:
1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)
2) Which age group should I target?
3) Why most wives of the rich men is only average-looking? I've met a few girls who don’t have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys
4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)
Ms. Pretty
Awesome reply:
Dear Ms.. Pretty,
I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyse your situation as a professional investor. My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here. From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you.. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.
Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of 'beauty' and 'money': Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square. However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year.. Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worried 10 years later.
By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a 'trading position'. If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or 'leased'. Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with $500k annual income. This has better chance than finding a rich fool.
Hope this reply helps. If you are interested in 'leasing' services, do contact me...
signed,
CEO J.P.. Morgan
DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL TERMS (POST SUB-PRIME)
BULL MARKET – A random market movement causing
an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius
BEAR MARKET – a 6 to 18 month period when the
kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewellery, and the husband gets no
sex.
VALUE INVESTING – The art of buying low and selling lower..
P/E RATIO – The percentage of investors wetting
their pants as the market keeps crashing.
BROKER - What my financial planner has made me.
STANDARD & POOR – Your life in a nutshell.
STOCK ANALYST – Idiot who just downgraded your stock.
STOCK SPLIT – When your ex-wife and her lawyer
split your assets equally between themselves.
MARKET CORRECTION – The Day after you buy stocks..
CASH FLOW – The movement our money makes as it disappears down the
toilet.
WINDOWS – What you jump out of when you're the
sucker who invested in PIP, Franc Swiss, and Legacy Plans on the same year
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR – Past year investor
who's now locked up in a nuthouse.
PROFIT – an archaic word no longer in use.
SOURCE: Forwarded email
I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above. You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York . My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married? I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you? Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit. If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden ( ? ) , $250k annual income is not enough.
I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:
1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)
2) Which age group should I target?
3) Why most wives of the rich men is only average-looking? I've met a few girls who don’t have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys
4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)
Ms. Pretty
Awesome reply:
Dear Ms.. Pretty,
I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyse your situation as a professional investor. My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here. From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you.. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.
Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of 'beauty' and 'money': Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square. However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year.. Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worried 10 years later.
By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a 'trading position'. If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or 'leased'. Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with $500k annual income. This has better chance than finding a rich fool.
Hope this reply helps. If you are interested in 'leasing' services, do contact me...
signed,
CEO J.P.. Morgan
DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL TERMS (POST SUB-PRIME)
BULL MARKET – A random market movement causing
an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius
BEAR MARKET – a 6 to 18 month period when the
kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewellery, and the husband gets no
sex.
VALUE INVESTING – The art of buying low and selling lower..
P/E RATIO – The percentage of investors wetting
their pants as the market keeps crashing.
BROKER - What my financial planner has made me.
STANDARD & POOR – Your life in a nutshell.
STOCK ANALYST – Idiot who just downgraded your stock.
STOCK SPLIT – When your ex-wife and her lawyer
split your assets equally between themselves.
MARKET CORRECTION – The Day after you buy stocks..
CASH FLOW – The movement our money makes as it disappears down the
toilet.
WINDOWS – What you jump out of when you're the
sucker who invested in PIP, Franc Swiss, and Legacy Plans on the same year
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR – Past year investor
who's now locked up in a nuthouse.
PROFIT – an archaic word no longer in use.
SOURCE: Forwarded email
Friday, August 21, 2009
Some common Investment Terms simplified
Asset allocation refers to the method of deciding how much money to invest
And in which investment vehicle (i.e. stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc.)
Diversification Based on the wisdom of “not putting all your eggs in 1 basket” it is a strategy where an investor puts money in several kinds of businesses or tools to protect his investments in case the market suffers a downturn. This could be a mix of shares in the stock market, mutual fund, or government securities like bonds and treasury bills. To illustrate a point, going back to basics (of investment) If your risk profile is conservative, supposedly so should your investments be, but because the lesser the risk-the lesser returns, you could also be losing out on potential income offered by higher instruments. The solution: Diversify-use 2 or more tools to achieve a common goal, say child’s future education, you start out with safer (but lower income) savings like a typical educational plan, then as your income increases, you compliment it with a higher return (but riskier) type of instrument, like Mutual Funds, to compliment the (the low income)educational plan, or if you’re the aggressive type, you start with the Mutual Funds, then back it up with an educational plan, as a back up support. (this is just an example to illustrate a point)
Portfolio A person’s investment in several instruments like stocks, equities, mutual funds, bonds, treasury notes, etc. consists of his portfolio – a term which refers to the investment collectively.
Fund manager A person who advises or helps manage an investor’s portfolio. Some financial institutions provide professional fund managers to clients as part of their investment package.
Liquidity refers to how fast investments or other assets can be converted to cash. Investments in the stock market and mutual funds are normally considered liquid because they can be easily sold to the stockbroker or issuer, while real state investments and jewelries take a while to dispose of .
Principal is the amount an investor originally uses invest, the premium he paid, or to buy securities or stock shares. It can also mean the amount a borrower applies for a loan, It also refers to the value where simple interest rates are computed, and so is the amount paid for the issuer of treasury notes and bills (usually the government) upon maturity.
Return on Investment refers to how long it takes to recover the amount of money an investor has put into a business or other money-making vehicles – higher returns at lesser time is ideal.
Term refers to the length of time your money has to be tied up to a deposit account or investment vehicle, which could either be for short, medium or long term. Terms could indicate the investment’s yield(interest or earnings – e.g., for bonds longer terms may offer higher interest rates) while pre termination (the withdrawal ,closing, and redemption of the investment before the agreed specified term, time deposits, and mutual funds for example ) may require you to pay a certain amount as fee or penalty.
Inflation refers to the increase in the prices of commodities in relation to the capacity of people to purchase such goods, to illustrate, say, if we had a 10% annual inflation, that means, that the same basket of assorted groceries that you bought for P100 last year will now cost you P110 – it is said that money may no longer be able to buy in the future what it can afford today. A Higher inflation rate diminishes the ability of the investment to yield higher returns. if the inflation rate is at 6-7% and your investment is earning you less than that, you’re basically losing money.
The Power of Compounding
One of the things you need to know about building wealth is the power of making regular periodic investments and reinvesting rather than spending the profits.
The results you will with this discipline are surprising. Let’s say you start with nothing, and decide putting P5000 of your income into an investment account every month, and you commit not to touch your money in investment. That means you can’t take withdraw any funds until you’ve reached your long-term goal. Based on an 11.8%, interest on average, annually over the past 10 years. If you achieve that same return, you’d have P1,140,000 after 10 years. But it gets better. You’ll have P4,860,000 if you stick with the plan for 20 years and a cool P17 million in 30 years.
The process described here is a combination of two powerful investing strategies: compounding and peso-cost averaging.
Compounding is simply reinvesting rather than spending your profits. By doing that; you capture the future returns on your reinvested profits as well as on your original investments.
Cost averaging was actually adopted from gambling, (in Las Vegas) it goes like this-If you had a $1000 to gamble in a casino, you should only bet $1 dollar per deal, that way you increase your odds a thousand times, but you should never gamble more than a dollar even if you keep winning, and stop when you’ve already bet a thousand times, (the original capital you brought in-it also involves self discipline) that way, if you win, you’ll end up with more than $1000 but if you loose, you won’t loose more than a thousand. Taken in the financial context of investing it means that you buy stocks at the same amount at regular intervals, fixed monthly investment buys more shares of a mutual fund or stock when prices are low, and fewer shares when prices are high. For instance, if you were investing P5000, you’d get 500 shares if a stock were trading at P10, but roughly 555 shares if it dropped to P9. Done regularly on the long run, it drives the average cost down, so you make more money.
Discipline Required. The hardest part of implementing these strategies is making the regular monthly investments. It’s easy to procrastinate adding to your account if the market is down or if you could use the cash for something else.
The best way to make sure that the regular investments happen is to automatically deduct a fixed amount from your monthly salary and directly invest it in a mutual fund account every month.
SOURCE:Inquirer.net, "Take Charge of your Money".
And in which investment vehicle (i.e. stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc.)
Diversification Based on the wisdom of “not putting all your eggs in 1 basket” it is a strategy where an investor puts money in several kinds of businesses or tools to protect his investments in case the market suffers a downturn. This could be a mix of shares in the stock market, mutual fund, or government securities like bonds and treasury bills. To illustrate a point, going back to basics (of investment) If your risk profile is conservative, supposedly so should your investments be, but because the lesser the risk-the lesser returns, you could also be losing out on potential income offered by higher instruments. The solution: Diversify-use 2 or more tools to achieve a common goal, say child’s future education, you start out with safer (but lower income) savings like a typical educational plan, then as your income increases, you compliment it with a higher return (but riskier) type of instrument, like Mutual Funds, to compliment the (the low income)educational plan, or if you’re the aggressive type, you start with the Mutual Funds, then back it up with an educational plan, as a back up support. (this is just an example to illustrate a point)
Portfolio A person’s investment in several instruments like stocks, equities, mutual funds, bonds, treasury notes, etc. consists of his portfolio – a term which refers to the investment collectively.
Fund manager A person who advises or helps manage an investor’s portfolio. Some financial institutions provide professional fund managers to clients as part of their investment package.
Liquidity refers to how fast investments or other assets can be converted to cash. Investments in the stock market and mutual funds are normally considered liquid because they can be easily sold to the stockbroker or issuer, while real state investments and jewelries take a while to dispose of .
Principal is the amount an investor originally uses invest, the premium he paid, or to buy securities or stock shares. It can also mean the amount a borrower applies for a loan, It also refers to the value where simple interest rates are computed, and so is the amount paid for the issuer of treasury notes and bills (usually the government) upon maturity.
Return on Investment refers to how long it takes to recover the amount of money an investor has put into a business or other money-making vehicles – higher returns at lesser time is ideal.
Term refers to the length of time your money has to be tied up to a deposit account or investment vehicle, which could either be for short, medium or long term. Terms could indicate the investment’s yield(interest or earnings – e.g., for bonds longer terms may offer higher interest rates) while pre termination (the withdrawal ,closing, and redemption of the investment before the agreed specified term, time deposits, and mutual funds for example ) may require you to pay a certain amount as fee or penalty.
Inflation refers to the increase in the prices of commodities in relation to the capacity of people to purchase such goods, to illustrate, say, if we had a 10% annual inflation, that means, that the same basket of assorted groceries that you bought for P100 last year will now cost you P110 – it is said that money may no longer be able to buy in the future what it can afford today. A Higher inflation rate diminishes the ability of the investment to yield higher returns. if the inflation rate is at 6-7% and your investment is earning you less than that, you’re basically losing money.
The Power of Compounding
One of the things you need to know about building wealth is the power of making regular periodic investments and reinvesting rather than spending the profits.
The results you will with this discipline are surprising. Let’s say you start with nothing, and decide putting P5000 of your income into an investment account every month, and you commit not to touch your money in investment. That means you can’t take withdraw any funds until you’ve reached your long-term goal. Based on an 11.8%, interest on average, annually over the past 10 years. If you achieve that same return, you’d have P1,140,000 after 10 years. But it gets better. You’ll have P4,860,000 if you stick with the plan for 20 years and a cool P17 million in 30 years.
The process described here is a combination of two powerful investing strategies: compounding and peso-cost averaging.
Compounding is simply reinvesting rather than spending your profits. By doing that; you capture the future returns on your reinvested profits as well as on your original investments.
Cost averaging was actually adopted from gambling, (in Las Vegas) it goes like this-If you had a $1000 to gamble in a casino, you should only bet $1 dollar per deal, that way you increase your odds a thousand times, but you should never gamble more than a dollar even if you keep winning, and stop when you’ve already bet a thousand times, (the original capital you brought in-it also involves self discipline) that way, if you win, you’ll end up with more than $1000 but if you loose, you won’t loose more than a thousand. Taken in the financial context of investing it means that you buy stocks at the same amount at regular intervals, fixed monthly investment buys more shares of a mutual fund or stock when prices are low, and fewer shares when prices are high. For instance, if you were investing P5000, you’d get 500 shares if a stock were trading at P10, but roughly 555 shares if it dropped to P9. Done regularly on the long run, it drives the average cost down, so you make more money.
Discipline Required. The hardest part of implementing these strategies is making the regular monthly investments. It’s easy to procrastinate adding to your account if the market is down or if you could use the cash for something else.
The best way to make sure that the regular investments happen is to automatically deduct a fixed amount from your monthly salary and directly invest it in a mutual fund account every month.
SOURCE:Inquirer.net, "Take Charge of your Money".
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
FAREWELL TITA CORY!
We know where you are now-we hope you can take the time to hear our collective sigh as we say...THANK YOU!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
BASICS OF FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
How would you like to spend your later years, (still) working for money? or making your money work for you?
THINGS TO CONSIDER: (NOTE: WHILE ALL OF THEM IS OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE, THIS IS STILL ARRANGED ON A “FIRST THINGS FIRST” BASIS)
1.) Investment Objective the first thing to consider, and just to clear a common misconception, YOU DO NOT INVEST simply to make money, you invest to achieve aparticular financial goal or objective, it could be your child’s future education, your retirement fund, even a future travel abroad (yes). It’s better than savings, because your money works and earns at the same time, (that’s why it’s called investment) thus maximizing its value. A good illustration would be dollar investments, most Filipinos (especially OFW’s) invest their dollars with the intention inventually taking advantage of it’s rising value (vis a vis the peso). And that makes sense, but still much better if you invest your dollar with a future objective that is denominated in dollars-it could be your child’s future studies abroad, a planned overseas trip 5 years from now, your retirement fund, (you can just imagine the advantages if your pension is in dollars, at least you can include a once in a lifetime dream trip abroad). A word of caution however, investments also involve risks, while your money will earn, it might also suffer a loss, especially in a crisis.(like the one we’re having now) That’s why there is such a thing as, Financial Planning, and why investment is only a part of it.
2.) Time Frame Investment tools work best over time, and that is at least 5 years or more, anything less than that and we’re talking savings, like time deposit and savings accounts. Because by their very nature, (the imbalance between your present income and future expense) your investment goals should be in the distant future. The general rule is: the more time you have, the more risk you can take (with your investments, since as the logic goes-you have more time to recover in case of a downturn, and more risk equals more gains, ) but I prefer the other one: the more time you have, the less amount you need to set aside, making it more affordable for you, which makes it the best argument for starting early, starting NOW.
3.) Amount to be Invested A good starting point should be at least 10% of your income (gross if possible) that should erase your "I can't afford excuse", provided of course, that you start cutting down on unnecessary expenses. And as your income increases (it should) you could then diversify (another reason why you should do financial planning or hire someone to do it for you).
4.) Risk Profile (YOURS) When it comes to money, are you averse to taking risk? Or are you aggressive, and willing to take CALCULATED risk? After all, you worked hard for it. As a rule, if you’re the conservative type, so should your investments be, and vice versa (supposedly).
5.) Investment Tool This pertains to the type of instrument ideal for your needs, taking into consideration all the three factors above. As rule in Financial Planning, your investments should look like a pyramid (the one in Egypt, not the scam) with savings like, insurances-accident and health, educational plans, pension plans, Philhealth, SSS, (even memorial plans) etc. serving as a foundation and making up the bulk at the bottom, with the higher yielding and riskier tools, like stock market investments, at the top.
SOME COMMON INVESTMENT TOOLS
BONDS A bond is a loan that you, the investor, make -- you lend your money to a government, municipal authority, or company in exchange for a fixed amount of interest paid to you regularly. You don’t get to own a part of the lending entity. At maturity date, your investment is paid back to you at par value — the amount written on the bond certificate. Bonds have long been established in Europe and the US, where this type of investment has done better than cash investments in terms of returns. Bonds suit conservative investors since they can get a regular stream of income over a number of years. The risk lies in payment defaults, so choose bonds carefully.
STOCKS Refers to buying shares of ownership in a publicly listed company” The stock market is very volatile therefore riskier-prices of stocks fluctuate in response to the times .but it can also be more profitable, as your returns can be anywhere from 20-30%. Stock investments should be held over the long term to ride out fluctuations.
EQUITIES rather than directly investing in the stock market. Equity funds are investment funds invested wholly in stocks and are run by full-time professional fund managers who watch over the portfolio and make trading decisions daily. They know which stocks are doing well since they analyze the market daily. Investing in equity funds will allow you to diversify your investments, since the fund invests in not just one stock, but in a mix, you will also be spreading your risk, since you won’t be exposed to just one company stock. So even if one stock loses, others may gain and you will have a net gain. You will also be highly liquid since you can turn your investment into cash anytime you want by withdrawing from the fund, in some cases, at a small fee. Equity funds may be in the form of a mutual fund run by a financial company, or a unit investment trust fund you can access through a bank.
MUTUAL FUNDS If directly investing in money market, stocks and bonds seems tedious, time-consuming, and baffling, consider getting into mutual funds. A mutual fund gathers together investment placements from many investors, which the fund manager then invests in money market, stocks, and bonds based on their market study. Investors can choose where it will be invested-equities, bonds (fixed income), or balanced (mixed) fund.This is also allows investors to diversify rather than just focus on one investment vehicle (to spread the risk). With a potential for good long-term growth, it has become the better alternative to Time Deposits offered by banks (which is why banks came out with their own version called the "Unit Investment Trust Fund")
TREASURY BILLS you loan your money to the government, to finance public expenses, for a short term, say 30 days a year, And are risk- free, since they carry the government’s full and unconditional guarantee, (and all the government has to do is collect money thru taxes to pay it back) interest rates can go as high as 4% per annum.
TREASURY NOTES similar to treasury bills, except that they require a longer investment-from 2 to 25 years,-but you can enjoy coupon interest payments, usually handed out in arrears, longer term equals a higher interest rate.
UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST FUNDS (UITF’S) Mutual Funds exclusively Offered by banks.
Investments should be viewed as a long-term strategy for achieving financial goals, and to build up wealth. The more you leave it alone, the more it will grow and work for you. (“Take Charge of your Money”; Citibank)
THINGS TO CONSIDER: (NOTE: WHILE ALL OF THEM IS OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE, THIS IS STILL ARRANGED ON A “FIRST THINGS FIRST” BASIS)
1.) Investment Objective the first thing to consider, and just to clear a common misconception, YOU DO NOT INVEST simply to make money, you invest to achieve aparticular financial goal or objective, it could be your child’s future education, your retirement fund, even a future travel abroad (yes). It’s better than savings, because your money works and earns at the same time, (that’s why it’s called investment) thus maximizing its value. A good illustration would be dollar investments, most Filipinos (especially OFW’s) invest their dollars with the intention inventually taking advantage of it’s rising value (vis a vis the peso). And that makes sense, but still much better if you invest your dollar with a future objective that is denominated in dollars-it could be your child’s future studies abroad, a planned overseas trip 5 years from now, your retirement fund, (you can just imagine the advantages if your pension is in dollars, at least you can include a once in a lifetime dream trip abroad). A word of caution however, investments also involve risks, while your money will earn, it might also suffer a loss, especially in a crisis.(like the one we’re having now) That’s why there is such a thing as, Financial Planning, and why investment is only a part of it.
2.) Time Frame Investment tools work best over time, and that is at least 5 years or more, anything less than that and we’re talking savings, like time deposit and savings accounts. Because by their very nature, (the imbalance between your present income and future expense) your investment goals should be in the distant future. The general rule is: the more time you have, the more risk you can take (with your investments, since as the logic goes-you have more time to recover in case of a downturn, and more risk equals more gains, ) but I prefer the other one: the more time you have, the less amount you need to set aside, making it more affordable for you, which makes it the best argument for starting early, starting NOW.
3.) Amount to be Invested A good starting point should be at least 10% of your income (gross if possible) that should erase your "I can't afford excuse", provided of course, that you start cutting down on unnecessary expenses. And as your income increases (it should) you could then diversify (another reason why you should do financial planning or hire someone to do it for you).
4.) Risk Profile (YOURS) When it comes to money, are you averse to taking risk? Or are you aggressive, and willing to take CALCULATED risk? After all, you worked hard for it. As a rule, if you’re the conservative type, so should your investments be, and vice versa (supposedly).
5.) Investment Tool This pertains to the type of instrument ideal for your needs, taking into consideration all the three factors above. As rule in Financial Planning, your investments should look like a pyramid (the one in Egypt, not the scam) with savings like, insurances-accident and health, educational plans, pension plans, Philhealth, SSS, (even memorial plans) etc. serving as a foundation and making up the bulk at the bottom, with the higher yielding and riskier tools, like stock market investments, at the top.
SOME COMMON INVESTMENT TOOLS
BONDS A bond is a loan that you, the investor, make -- you lend your money to a government, municipal authority, or company in exchange for a fixed amount of interest paid to you regularly. You don’t get to own a part of the lending entity. At maturity date, your investment is paid back to you at par value — the amount written on the bond certificate. Bonds have long been established in Europe and the US, where this type of investment has done better than cash investments in terms of returns. Bonds suit conservative investors since they can get a regular stream of income over a number of years. The risk lies in payment defaults, so choose bonds carefully.
STOCKS Refers to buying shares of ownership in a publicly listed company” The stock market is very volatile therefore riskier-prices of stocks fluctuate in response to the times .but it can also be more profitable, as your returns can be anywhere from 20-30%. Stock investments should be held over the long term to ride out fluctuations.
EQUITIES rather than directly investing in the stock market. Equity funds are investment funds invested wholly in stocks and are run by full-time professional fund managers who watch over the portfolio and make trading decisions daily. They know which stocks are doing well since they analyze the market daily. Investing in equity funds will allow you to diversify your investments, since the fund invests in not just one stock, but in a mix, you will also be spreading your risk, since you won’t be exposed to just one company stock. So even if one stock loses, others may gain and you will have a net gain. You will also be highly liquid since you can turn your investment into cash anytime you want by withdrawing from the fund, in some cases, at a small fee. Equity funds may be in the form of a mutual fund run by a financial company, or a unit investment trust fund you can access through a bank.
MUTUAL FUNDS If directly investing in money market, stocks and bonds seems tedious, time-consuming, and baffling, consider getting into mutual funds. A mutual fund gathers together investment placements from many investors, which the fund manager then invests in money market, stocks, and bonds based on their market study. Investors can choose where it will be invested-equities, bonds (fixed income), or balanced (mixed) fund.This is also allows investors to diversify rather than just focus on one investment vehicle (to spread the risk). With a potential for good long-term growth, it has become the better alternative to Time Deposits offered by banks (which is why banks came out with their own version called the "Unit Investment Trust Fund")
TREASURY BILLS you loan your money to the government, to finance public expenses, for a short term, say 30 days a year, And are risk- free, since they carry the government’s full and unconditional guarantee, (and all the government has to do is collect money thru taxes to pay it back) interest rates can go as high as 4% per annum.
TREASURY NOTES similar to treasury bills, except that they require a longer investment-from 2 to 25 years,-but you can enjoy coupon interest payments, usually handed out in arrears, longer term equals a higher interest rate.
UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST FUNDS (UITF’S) Mutual Funds exclusively Offered by banks.
Investments should be viewed as a long-term strategy for achieving financial goals, and to build up wealth. The more you leave it alone, the more it will grow and work for you. (“Take Charge of your Money”; Citibank)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
FINANCIAL PLANNING
“Long-term profit planning aimed at achieving financial goals, generating greater return on assets, growth in market share, and at solving foreseeable problems.”
Businessdictionary.com
Financial Planning evolved from the old and tried (simple but effective) method of acquiring (read buying or purchasing) something priced beyond your present income, which is, you save until you have enough to afford it. (the other one is thru financing either by loan or term payments) Financial planning is just going several steps further, instead of merely purchasing something, your savings is used to help you with future expenses such as tuition fees, hospitalization, pension etc. it is called planning instead of just merely saving because you’re no longer intending to buy something, but weighing your options, utilizing different instruments, based on your present income, in order to achieve a future financial goal.
For comparison, think of fitness training, (after all, it’s your also financial health were talking about here) It is made up of several programs (endurance, strength, flexibility speed etc.) so it is with financial planning (savings investments, insurance, estate planning etc.) you could say that savings is the equivalent of a diet, investments (whose purpose is to make your money work for you-“generate greater return on assets”) is akin to resistance or strength training, and so on…each program has its own purpose, and both takes time and discipline.
And just like in fitness training, A financial planner serves as your trainer, who will prepare the right program for you based on your goals, and your budget. (A good gym instructor will prepare a program that is based on your daily physical activity or sport-which is a good reason that you should choose for both, someone with the right credentials) while your accountant, auditor/bookkeeper serves as your doctor. Of course there’s no guarantee that you won’t lose money, such as in a financial crisis (like the one we’re having now).much in the same way your doctor can’t guarantee that you won’t get sick in the future. Incidentally the financial crisis that hit in the late 90’s was called the Asian flu. Then there is the smart-ass objection-“that we’re not even sure if we might die tomorrow, so why save”? Which (in physical fitness) is the same lame excuse smokers give for not quitting.
Financial Planning is not about creating wealth, it’s about maximizing the value of the ones you already have. It’s not just about savings, but expenses as well. It’s not about predicting the future, its preparing you for it ( “solving foreseeable problems”) it’s not about making you rich, but to make you financially independent (the former has something to do with income statement, while the latter has everything to do with balance sheet).
And more importantly-it’s not just for the rich, but most specially for us, the working class, since we can never be sure if our present income will be enough to get by in the near future. It is a sad fact that most Filipinos earn barely enough to get by on a day to day basis, and therefore are too busy just trying to survive and cannot afford the luxury of financial planning, but, it is also true, that there are those who can’t afford simply because of having a wrong set of priorities when it comes to our finances. We can never tell what the future holds, which is all the more reason to prepare for it.
Businessdictionary.com
Financial Planning evolved from the old and tried (simple but effective) method of acquiring (read buying or purchasing) something priced beyond your present income, which is, you save until you have enough to afford it. (the other one is thru financing either by loan or term payments) Financial planning is just going several steps further, instead of merely purchasing something, your savings is used to help you with future expenses such as tuition fees, hospitalization, pension etc. it is called planning instead of just merely saving because you’re no longer intending to buy something, but weighing your options, utilizing different instruments, based on your present income, in order to achieve a future financial goal.
For comparison, think of fitness training, (after all, it’s your also financial health were talking about here) It is made up of several programs (endurance, strength, flexibility speed etc.) so it is with financial planning (savings investments, insurance, estate planning etc.) you could say that savings is the equivalent of a diet, investments (whose purpose is to make your money work for you-“generate greater return on assets”) is akin to resistance or strength training, and so on…each program has its own purpose, and both takes time and discipline.
And just like in fitness training, A financial planner serves as your trainer, who will prepare the right program for you based on your goals, and your budget. (A good gym instructor will prepare a program that is based on your daily physical activity or sport-which is a good reason that you should choose for both, someone with the right credentials) while your accountant, auditor/bookkeeper serves as your doctor. Of course there’s no guarantee that you won’t lose money, such as in a financial crisis (like the one we’re having now).much in the same way your doctor can’t guarantee that you won’t get sick in the future. Incidentally the financial crisis that hit in the late 90’s was called the Asian flu. Then there is the smart-ass objection-“that we’re not even sure if we might die tomorrow, so why save”? Which (in physical fitness) is the same lame excuse smokers give for not quitting.
Financial Planning is not about creating wealth, it’s about maximizing the value of the ones you already have. It’s not just about savings, but expenses as well. It’s not about predicting the future, its preparing you for it ( “solving foreseeable problems”) it’s not about making you rich, but to make you financially independent (the former has something to do with income statement, while the latter has everything to do with balance sheet).
And more importantly-it’s not just for the rich, but most specially for us, the working class, since we can never be sure if our present income will be enough to get by in the near future. It is a sad fact that most Filipinos earn barely enough to get by on a day to day basis, and therefore are too busy just trying to survive and cannot afford the luxury of financial planning, but, it is also true, that there are those who can’t afford simply because of having a wrong set of priorities when it comes to our finances. We can never tell what the future holds, which is all the more reason to prepare for it.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
INVESTMENTS WE MAKE IN LIFE
“The best time to invest was 20 years ago, the second best time is
NOW!”
Summer is way over and were into our second month of school, for most of us including myself, its back to the real world, in my case as in REAL, after my summer stint travelling around as a Tour Guide (part time) I was supposed to report to another part time job-teaching, unfortunately my request for additional load of subjects (FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT and ECONOMICS) was denied by CHED as I still haven’t finished my MBA, (I still have to start my 2nd Year) worst, the subject that I’ve been teaching so far (WORLD LITERATURE) is not being offered this semester due to the number of enrolees in that subject not reaching the required minimum no. of 15 students, whereas in previous semesters there would be as many as 5 sections. There really was a huge drop in enrolees at the local College where I teach, I’m not sure if the sub-prime crisis has something to do with it, or most of the new students just enrolled at other schools. So now I have only one part-time job (tour guide) and my main job, a career agent for Philamlife (also called Financial Adviser) and since It’s too late to be a pro-surfer (lol)...maybe I should start talking about the things I should have done 20…no, make that 25 years ago. I’m talking about investments. For me there are only three, and while I arrange them in order of importance, all three pretty much determines the quality of life we are going to have.
They are:
1.) Health
2.) Education
3.) Financial
All three have also three things in common-
All three have their own misconceptions.
They are all easy to get into, but take a lot of discipline and will power to keep on, after all, contrary to popular notion, all three are a continuing process (or haven’t you noticed?)
And most important, they all point to one direction-“your future”
HEALTH
I’m not sure if you agree with me on this, as the most important investment you’ll ever make, this is one area in which the sum total is greater than its parts. While a complete program may involve four (or more) regimen (endurance, strength, flexibility, speed) the end result not only improves physical performance, but mental and psychological as well (better attitude, self-confidence, resistance to diseases, etc.your healthy body-healthy mind stuff) indeed, this is the most important because it contains the three foods: food for the body, food for the mind, and more importantly-food for the soul.
EDUCATION
This one I’m sure most of us can agree on, we also agree that, this takes place inside and outside the classroom, with the one taking place outside the classroom being the most important, since this also includes our home where character is being developed, and we all know how character takes the most major role in defining who we are, our relationships, career etc. and finally we all agree this is a never ending process, and the day we stop learning is the day we stop growing.
FINANCIAL
Everyone’s favourite among the three because of it’s main topic (money), and yet is the most misunderstood, and overrated. Misunderstood and maybe misinformed because everyone think it’s about getting rich, and everyone has his/her ideas what to do about it, and yet only few actually do something about it, overrated because those who do, place it above the other two, which is why when finally they actually end up being rich, even filthy rich, they’re so stressed out, that they actually cannot enjoy the money they have accumulated.
It’s no coincidence that I’m directly involved with all three, as an athlete/coach, teacher, and of course my main job. If I must admit one regret in life, it is that I wish had started it earlier. Going back to the best time to invest (20 years ago) can you imagine how your life might have turned out if you did, and if you’re one of those who did, can you imagine your life now if you didn’t?
NOW!”
Summer is way over and were into our second month of school, for most of us including myself, its back to the real world, in my case as in REAL, after my summer stint travelling around as a Tour Guide (part time) I was supposed to report to another part time job-teaching, unfortunately my request for additional load of subjects (FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT and ECONOMICS) was denied by CHED as I still haven’t finished my MBA, (I still have to start my 2nd Year) worst, the subject that I’ve been teaching so far (WORLD LITERATURE) is not being offered this semester due to the number of enrolees in that subject not reaching the required minimum no. of 15 students, whereas in previous semesters there would be as many as 5 sections. There really was a huge drop in enrolees at the local College where I teach, I’m not sure if the sub-prime crisis has something to do with it, or most of the new students just enrolled at other schools. So now I have only one part-time job (tour guide) and my main job, a career agent for Philamlife (also called Financial Adviser) and since It’s too late to be a pro-surfer (lol)...maybe I should start talking about the things I should have done 20…no, make that 25 years ago. I’m talking about investments. For me there are only three, and while I arrange them in order of importance, all three pretty much determines the quality of life we are going to have.
They are:
1.) Health
2.) Education
3.) Financial
All three have also three things in common-
All three have their own misconceptions.
They are all easy to get into, but take a lot of discipline and will power to keep on, after all, contrary to popular notion, all three are a continuing process (or haven’t you noticed?)
And most important, they all point to one direction-“your future”
HEALTH
I’m not sure if you agree with me on this, as the most important investment you’ll ever make, this is one area in which the sum total is greater than its parts. While a complete program may involve four (or more) regimen (endurance, strength, flexibility, speed) the end result not only improves physical performance, but mental and psychological as well (better attitude, self-confidence, resistance to diseases, etc.your healthy body-healthy mind stuff) indeed, this is the most important because it contains the three foods: food for the body, food for the mind, and more importantly-food for the soul.
EDUCATION
This one I’m sure most of us can agree on, we also agree that, this takes place inside and outside the classroom, with the one taking place outside the classroom being the most important, since this also includes our home where character is being developed, and we all know how character takes the most major role in defining who we are, our relationships, career etc. and finally we all agree this is a never ending process, and the day we stop learning is the day we stop growing.
FINANCIAL
Everyone’s favourite among the three because of it’s main topic (money), and yet is the most misunderstood, and overrated. Misunderstood and maybe misinformed because everyone think it’s about getting rich, and everyone has his/her ideas what to do about it, and yet only few actually do something about it, overrated because those who do, place it above the other two, which is why when finally they actually end up being rich, even filthy rich, they’re so stressed out, that they actually cannot enjoy the money they have accumulated.
It’s no coincidence that I’m directly involved with all three, as an athlete/coach, teacher, and of course my main job. If I must admit one regret in life, it is that I wish had started it earlier. Going back to the best time to invest (20 years ago) can you imagine how your life might have turned out if you did, and if you’re one of those who did, can you imagine your life now if you didn’t?
Friday, June 26, 2009
GOODBYE MICHAEL JACKSON!
There are those who remember Michael Jackson as a good singer/dancer more famous for his outrageous clothes and antics, and of course the controversy he generated, and there are those like me who remember him as an extremely talented artist whose contribution to the music industry is so immense that it probably change the landscape forever.
I remember Michael Jackson more as someone who revolutionised MTV, prior to him, MTV was nothing more than a filler film that showed an artist doing a song and dance piece. But Michael Jackson working with such varied talents as Eddie Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Eddie Murphy, to famed directors such as John Carpenter to Martin Scorsese, came up with such productions that his MTV presentation is actually a short story/movie in itself. Just watch (again) any of his music videos, and you’ll know what I mean. I do not mourn the man, but the passing of a great artist. His title of “King of Pop” is well deserved, FAREWELL TO THE KING!
I remember Michael Jackson more as someone who revolutionised MTV, prior to him, MTV was nothing more than a filler film that showed an artist doing a song and dance piece. But Michael Jackson working with such varied talents as Eddie Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Eddie Murphy, to famed directors such as John Carpenter to Martin Scorsese, came up with such productions that his MTV presentation is actually a short story/movie in itself. Just watch (again) any of his music videos, and you’ll know what I mean. I do not mourn the man, but the passing of a great artist. His title of “King of Pop” is well deserved, FAREWELL TO THE KING!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
DEAR PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES (INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE)DA
Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of the economy, your Government has decided to implement a scheme to put workers 50 years of age and older on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).
Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to the government to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).
Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers).
A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as the government deems appropriate.
Only persons who have been RAPED can get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance). Obviously, persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by the government.
Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHlT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. The government has always prided itself in the amount of SHlT it gives out. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHlT, please bring this to the attention of either your Governor, Congressman, or local Mayor. They have been trained to give you all the SHlT you can Handle
OR: You can be active and fight for meaningful change-it's all up to you, after all, there are 3 types of people:
Those who make things happen
Those who watch things happen
And those who wonder-What happen?
What type are you?
(forwarded email)
Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to the government to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).
Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers).
A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as the government deems appropriate.
Only persons who have been RAPED can get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance). Obviously, persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by the government.
Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHlT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. The government has always prided itself in the amount of SHlT it gives out. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHlT, please bring this to the attention of either your Governor, Congressman, or local Mayor. They have been trained to give you all the SHlT you can Handle
OR: You can be active and fight for meaningful change-it's all up to you, after all, there are 3 types of people:
Those who make things happen
Those who watch things happen
And those who wonder-What happen?
What type are you?
(forwarded email)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
LADIES, GIRLS, BEWARE OF THE 2 WAY MIRROR
Can you tell a mirror whether it is in fact an ordinary mirror or 2-way glass? I thought it was quite interesting! This is not to scare you, but to make you aware.
A policewoman travels all over the US gives seminars and techniques for businesswomen and passes this information.
When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror (i.e., they can see you, but you can't see them)?
There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms, CR's, Boarding houses, and Ladies Dorms. It is very difficult to identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at?
Just conduct this simple test:
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, FOR IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!
So remember, every time you see a Mirror, do the 'fingernail test.' It doesn't cost you anything.
Remember: 'No Space, Leave the Place'
Ladies: Share this with your girlfriends, sisters, daughters, etc.
Men: Share this with your wives, daughters, daughters-in- law, mothers, girlfriends and friends
A policewoman travels all over the US gives seminars and techniques for businesswomen and passes this information.
When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror (i.e., they can see you, but you can't see them)?
There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms, CR's, Boarding houses, and Ladies Dorms. It is very difficult to identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at?
Just conduct this simple test:
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, FOR IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!
So remember, every time you see a Mirror, do the 'fingernail test.' It doesn't cost you anything.
Remember: 'No Space, Leave the Place'
Ladies: Share this with your girlfriends, sisters, daughters, etc.
Men: Share this with your wives, daughters, daughters-in- law, mothers, girlfriends and friends
Monday, May 18, 2009
YOUR NETWORK DETERMINES YOUR NET WORTH
It's the Network
By Justin Pinkerman
There's no denying that we've fallen into precarious economic times. Expect a lot of job loses and lay-offs in the coming days, as companies close shop or downsize.
No matter how penniless you feel right now, there's one investment you can't afford to overlook. At a time when no one's buying, there's something you must build. In a world where budgets are tight, you can't skimp on this line item. What is it, you ask?
As the Verizon slogan says, "It's the network."
In his book, Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi wrote about the safety net provided by a robust network of social connections.
"Experience will not save you in hard times, nor will hard work or talent. If you need a job, money, advice, help, hope, or a means to make a sale, there's only one surefire, fail-safe place to find them - within your extended circle of friends and associates."
We would do well to worry less about empty pocketbooks and more about empty rolodexes. When threatened by scarcity, it's natural to zero in on money management, but we should be equally concentrated on managing connections within our network.
Unfortunately, the word "networking" often conjures up negative stereotypes. We've been fed misconceptions about networking, and these false impressions make it hard for us to see the true value of our relationships. Let's debunk the popular myths of networking one by one.
COMMON NETWORKING MYTHS
Myth #1: Networking is for self-promoting schmoozers.
Networking isn't solely the realm of desperate job seekers or overeager socializers. Nor do you have to hand out business cards like candy in order to network. Networking simply involves making mutual connections, and everyone benefits by forming them. By tapping into our connections, we can share ideas, pass along opportunities, and benefit from one another's expertise.
Myth #2: Network is only for salespeople or outgoing personalities.
You may not be a salesperson and you may not be outgoing, but you can't deny that business, at its core, is founded upon relationships. Regardless of your position or personality, you'd be wise to intentionalize your social interactions. If you neglect your network, you'll be isolated when your life hits a rough patch. Conversely, if you cultivate your network, you'll be buoyed by support whenever hard times come your way.
Myth #3: Networking, by nature, is uncomfortable, forced, and contrived.
We tend to imagine networking as speed dating awkwardly applied to the professional level. Nothing could be more inaccurate. The best networkers authentically share themselves (their talents, knowledge, resources) to benefit others. This can happen casually and genuinely, both at work and in informal atmospheres.
Myth#4: Networking is for young people
The most common misconception or myth, (when I say old I mean the 35 years old and above, of course you is the 34 below,) take a look at every social networking page, there’s always a search icon, and that’s because we’ve made more friends than the average young networker, our lives are now in chapters and it’s the people we’ve met that defines those chapters, our high school or college crushes, or we want to reconnect with our old buddies, especially the one who’s made SVP . And we’re now so self assured that we don’t turn down requests to add as contacts, and too polite we acknowledge and thank those who visit our sites too.
THE FINAL WORD
The economic slump reminds us of the transient nature of our jobs and our wealth, and makes us appreciate the relationships we have. In hard times, we can't afford to retreat into a shell; we have to reach out more than ever to lift each other up. Although the concept of networking has been tainted by misconceptions, wise leaders know to prioritize relationships, recognizing them as the surest sources of prosperity and stability.
"The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity."
~ Keith Ferrazzi
"Always recognize that human beings are ends, and do not use them as means to your ends."
~ Immanuel Kant
"Your network determines your net worth."
~ Anonymous
Top 10 online social networks
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:50:00 02/21/2009
DISCLAIMER: This is a list of the top 10 social networks but the order can vary, depending on the source of the information. This list, however, will give you an idea about the top social networking websites being visited by people worldwide.
Facebook. A fast-growing social networking website, it recently surpassed MySpace in terms of subscribers. In terms of number of visits (1.2 billion in January 2009 alone), this website is No. 1.
I would also like it very much if you could add me as contact, I have a facebook, multiply and friendster account-Nards Go
MySpace. This website attracts music lovers. From indie bands to professional artists, you can find them here. But since it’s older than Facebook, this website is fast slipping in the ranking. To date, it has more than 250 million registered users.
Twitter. This microblogging, social networking service allows people to send friends 140-character messages, similar to what we can send via our mobile phone’s SMS feature. If we’re going to look at the numbers from compete.com, 54 million people worldwide visit this website every month.
Flixster. A social network site for movie lovers. Enough said. Also a fast-growing site that has over 53 million visitors a month.
Linkedin. People joke that this website is the most formal and “boring” social network out there because it targets professionals wanting to connect with other professionals. But based on compete.com, it has been getting 42 million visitors every month. This is a social network for businesses, too.
Tagged. Tagged you’re it. No, not really but next time you get a spam invitation from tagged.com, then perhaps you’re one of the 39 million monthly visitors to this social networking website.
Classmates.com. It is the first and oldest social networking website for students. It is still getting about 35 million visitors a month.
hi5. This is popular in Angola, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, Thailand, Central Africa and Latin America. And it’s open to users 13 years old and older. This website has over 9 million visitors and about 80 million registered users.
Friendster. Did you know that a large number of Friendster users are Filipinos? Yes, this social networking website, which has more than 7 million monthly visitors, has over 90 million registered users. It’s popular in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, the Philippines.
Orkut. Google’s own social networking website is popular in Brazil, Paraguay, India, Pakistan and Estonia. It has over 67 million registered users and about 5 million monthly visitors.
The list goes on.
It also changes very quickly.
By Justin Pinkerman
There's no denying that we've fallen into precarious economic times. Expect a lot of job loses and lay-offs in the coming days, as companies close shop or downsize.
No matter how penniless you feel right now, there's one investment you can't afford to overlook. At a time when no one's buying, there's something you must build. In a world where budgets are tight, you can't skimp on this line item. What is it, you ask?
As the Verizon slogan says, "It's the network."
In his book, Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi wrote about the safety net provided by a robust network of social connections.
"Experience will not save you in hard times, nor will hard work or talent. If you need a job, money, advice, help, hope, or a means to make a sale, there's only one surefire, fail-safe place to find them - within your extended circle of friends and associates."
We would do well to worry less about empty pocketbooks and more about empty rolodexes. When threatened by scarcity, it's natural to zero in on money management, but we should be equally concentrated on managing connections within our network.
Unfortunately, the word "networking" often conjures up negative stereotypes. We've been fed misconceptions about networking, and these false impressions make it hard for us to see the true value of our relationships. Let's debunk the popular myths of networking one by one.
COMMON NETWORKING MYTHS
Myth #1: Networking is for self-promoting schmoozers.
Networking isn't solely the realm of desperate job seekers or overeager socializers. Nor do you have to hand out business cards like candy in order to network. Networking simply involves making mutual connections, and everyone benefits by forming them. By tapping into our connections, we can share ideas, pass along opportunities, and benefit from one another's expertise.
Myth #2: Network is only for salespeople or outgoing personalities.
You may not be a salesperson and you may not be outgoing, but you can't deny that business, at its core, is founded upon relationships. Regardless of your position or personality, you'd be wise to intentionalize your social interactions. If you neglect your network, you'll be isolated when your life hits a rough patch. Conversely, if you cultivate your network, you'll be buoyed by support whenever hard times come your way.
Myth #3: Networking, by nature, is uncomfortable, forced, and contrived.
We tend to imagine networking as speed dating awkwardly applied to the professional level. Nothing could be more inaccurate. The best networkers authentically share themselves (their talents, knowledge, resources) to benefit others. This can happen casually and genuinely, both at work and in informal atmospheres.
Myth#4: Networking is for young people
The most common misconception or myth, (when I say old I mean the 35 years old and above, of course you is the 34 below,) take a look at every social networking page, there’s always a search icon, and that’s because we’ve made more friends than the average young networker, our lives are now in chapters and it’s the people we’ve met that defines those chapters, our high school or college crushes, or we want to reconnect with our old buddies, especially the one who’s made SVP . And we’re now so self assured that we don’t turn down requests to add as contacts, and too polite we acknowledge and thank those who visit our sites too.
THE FINAL WORD
The economic slump reminds us of the transient nature of our jobs and our wealth, and makes us appreciate the relationships we have. In hard times, we can't afford to retreat into a shell; we have to reach out more than ever to lift each other up. Although the concept of networking has been tainted by misconceptions, wise leaders know to prioritize relationships, recognizing them as the surest sources of prosperity and stability.
"The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity."
~ Keith Ferrazzi
"Always recognize that human beings are ends, and do not use them as means to your ends."
~ Immanuel Kant
"Your network determines your net worth."
~ Anonymous
Top 10 online social networks
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:50:00 02/21/2009
DISCLAIMER: This is a list of the top 10 social networks but the order can vary, depending on the source of the information. This list, however, will give you an idea about the top social networking websites being visited by people worldwide.
Facebook. A fast-growing social networking website, it recently surpassed MySpace in terms of subscribers. In terms of number of visits (1.2 billion in January 2009 alone), this website is No. 1.
I would also like it very much if you could add me as contact, I have a facebook, multiply and friendster account-Nards Go
MySpace. This website attracts music lovers. From indie bands to professional artists, you can find them here. But since it’s older than Facebook, this website is fast slipping in the ranking. To date, it has more than 250 million registered users.
Twitter. This microblogging, social networking service allows people to send friends 140-character messages, similar to what we can send via our mobile phone’s SMS feature. If we’re going to look at the numbers from compete.com, 54 million people worldwide visit this website every month.
Flixster. A social network site for movie lovers. Enough said. Also a fast-growing site that has over 53 million visitors a month.
Linkedin. People joke that this website is the most formal and “boring” social network out there because it targets professionals wanting to connect with other professionals. But based on compete.com, it has been getting 42 million visitors every month. This is a social network for businesses, too.
Tagged. Tagged you’re it. No, not really but next time you get a spam invitation from tagged.com, then perhaps you’re one of the 39 million monthly visitors to this social networking website.
Classmates.com. It is the first and oldest social networking website for students. It is still getting about 35 million visitors a month.
hi5. This is popular in Angola, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, Thailand, Central Africa and Latin America. And it’s open to users 13 years old and older. This website has over 9 million visitors and about 80 million registered users.
Friendster. Did you know that a large number of Friendster users are Filipinos? Yes, this social networking website, which has more than 7 million monthly visitors, has over 90 million registered users. It’s popular in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, the Philippines.
Orkut. Google’s own social networking website is popular in Brazil, Paraguay, India, Pakistan and Estonia. It has over 67 million registered users and about 5 million monthly visitors.
The list goes on.
It also changes very quickly.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
ARE YOU TIRED OF WORKING?
The year is made up of 365 days, each having 24 hours. Of which night time
add up to a total of 182 days. This leaves 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays
which leaves you with 131 days to work, minus 52 Saturdays, which leaves
you with 79 days to work. But there are 4 hours each day set aside for eating
which adds up to 60 days, which leaves you 19 days for working. But you are
entitled to 15 days leave, which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3
days usually taken off due to illness, and other emergencies. This leaves you
just 1 day to work which just happens to fall on Labor Day-A holiday.
So, why are you tired?
Your Option: Resign
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
Source: CARAGA Regional Hospital, Personnel Services, Surigao City
add up to a total of 182 days. This leaves 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays
which leaves you with 131 days to work, minus 52 Saturdays, which leaves
you with 79 days to work. But there are 4 hours each day set aside for eating
which adds up to 60 days, which leaves you 19 days for working. But you are
entitled to 15 days leave, which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3
days usually taken off due to illness, and other emergencies. This leaves you
just 1 day to work which just happens to fall on Labor Day-A holiday.
So, why are you tired?
Your Option: Resign
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
Source: CARAGA Regional Hospital, Personnel Services, Surigao City
ARE YOU TIRED OF WORKING?
The year is made up of 365 days, each having 24 hours. Of which night time
add up to a total of 182 days. This leaves 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays
which leaves you with 131 days to work, minus 52 Saturdays, which leaves
you with 79 days to work. But there are 4 hours each day set aside for eating
which adds up to 60 days, which leaves you 19 days for working. But you are
entitled to 15 days leave, which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3
days usually taken off due to illness, and other emergencies. This leaves you
just 1 day to work which just happens to fall on Labor Day-A holiday.
So, why are you tired?
Your Option: Resign
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
Source: CARAGA Regional Hospital, Personnel Services, Surigao City
add up to a total of 182 days. This leaves 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays
which leaves you with 131 days to work, minus 52 Saturdays, which leaves
you with 79 days to work. But there are 4 hours each day set aside for eating
which adds up to 60 days, which leaves you 19 days for working. But you are
entitled to 15 days leave, which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3
days usually taken off due to illness, and other emergencies. This leaves you
just 1 day to work which just happens to fall on Labor Day-A holiday.
So, why are you tired?
Your Option: Resign
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
Source: CARAGA Regional Hospital, Personnel Services, Surigao City
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
THE POWER OF SILENCE
"True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."
- William Penn
Renewing a Forgotten Virtue
By Alex Green
What would you most like to leave to your kids some day? A house... a business... some money?
If so, there is plenty of good advice out there about what to do and how to do it. (A good starting point, in my view, is Warren Buffet’s suggestion to leave your children enough money so that they could do what they want, but not so much that they could do nothing.)
There are more important things we can leave them, however. Plato said, "Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence."
Reverence means understanding human limitations. It's a feeling of respect for what lies beyond our control: nature, truth, fate, death.
It's also an attitude of acceptance toward life and our fellow human beings, flawed as we may be. Reverence underlies the grace and civility that make life in society bearable and pleasant. It reminds us what's important, what's sacred, what's worth protecting.
Reverence is as old as civilization itself, perhaps older. Writing in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., the Greek historian Thucydides called it a cardinal virtue, existing universally across all cultures.
Moreover, irreverence makes it difficult to respect those who are weaker: children, prisoners, the poor, the elderly.
Many equate reverence with religiosity. Yet this is not always the case.
In Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, Paul Woodruff writes, "Reverence is not faith, because the faithful may hold their faith with arrogance and self-satisfaction, and the reverent may not know what to believe. ... If your form of worship or faith is reverent, so much the better. You know one place to look for reverence. But you should look further, so that you can see how you might share reverence with people who do not worship with you or share your faith."
Throughout history, religion and reverence have often gone their separate ways. Taken to extremes, religious beliefs sometimes engender just the opposite: intolerance, guilt, fear, ignorance, zealotry, and hatred.
In the West today, however, most of us live peaceably beside those with different beliefs. What the devout admire in other religions, however, is not faith, since they reject most of its content, but rather reverence, that universal sense of wonder, respect, and humility.
Some experience reverence in organized worship, in community with others. Others discover it outdoors, enjoying the glories of nature. Still others may experience it with music.
Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St. Paul oratorio, Bach's Mass in B Minor, and many other classical and choral masterpieces were clearly inspired by a deep sense of reverence - and, centuries later, still bring that spirit to life.
Yet something else comes closer to capturing the true spirit of reverence: silence.
"Do you imagine the universe is agitated?" asked Lao Tzu a few thousand years ago. "Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question."
A quiet mind, freed from a noisy environment and the onslaught of continuous thought, has long been a signpost of spiritual development.
In Christianity and Judaism, there is the silence of contemplative prayer. In Islam, the Sufis wrote about the wisdom of finding silence within. Hinduism, the source of yoga, emphasizes the importance of silence for inner growth. Buddhists believe that silent meditation is the path to enlightenment. For Quakers, silence makes up much of the service, allowing for the development of heart and mind.
Secular philosophers and other writers have advocated its benefits, as well.
Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I like the silent church before the service begins better than any preaching."
Humanist Aldous Huxley observed, "Silence is as full of potential wisdom and wit as the unhewn marble of great sculpture."
Claude Debussy even reminded listeners that music is found in the space between the notes. Avant-garde composer John Cage took this idea to an extreme. His composition 4'33" consists of just over four and a half minutes of complete silence. (To this day, it's the only piece I can play on the violin.)
Silence opens us to the experience of reverence. Yet many today lead noisier lives than ever. Some choose to live near busy highways and airports. Restaurants and retail stores blast rock and country music non-stop. A study conducted by Pennsylvania State University found that urban teenagers listen to four and a half hours of pop and rap music a day. In our homes, radio and television broadcasts are punctuated with a steady stream of commercial messages at trumped up volumes.
This creates frustration and anxiety, especially for innocent bystanders. In The Happiness Hypothesis, psychology professor Jonathan Haidt writes that "noise, especially noise that is variable or intermittent, interferes with concentration and increases stress. It's worth striving to remove sources of noise in your life."
Sensible advice. Yet Matthew Kelly believes there is another reason we choose noisy environments: Silence reveals our weaknesses to us, our shortcomings.
In The Rhythm of Life, Kelly writes, "In the silence, we see at one time the person we are and the person we are capable of becoming. ... It is precisely for this reason that we fill our lives with noise, to distract ourselves from the challenge to change."
We can fix this, however. We can hit the off button, walk outside, visit a chapel, or take a quiet drive in the country. If you really can't escape the barking dogs, screaming kids, or NFL football, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones. (Trust me, they're worth it.)
A few days ago, I took my five-year-old son David on a hike up to Humpback Rocks, an outcropping about half a mile above the Blue Ridge Parkway that offers an awe-inspiring view of the Shenandoah Valley, especially near sunset.
As we neared the summit, I stopped. "Listen," I said. "What do you hear?"
He looked around the trail and up at the treetops. There was no traffic, no sound, not even the wind. He shrugged and said "Nothing."
"Isn't it great?" I asked.
He glanced up to make sure I wasn't kidding, then looked around again, listening.
"Yeah," he said, exhaling. "It is."
- William Penn
Renewing a Forgotten Virtue
By Alex Green
What would you most like to leave to your kids some day? A house... a business... some money?
If so, there is plenty of good advice out there about what to do and how to do it. (A good starting point, in my view, is Warren Buffet’s suggestion to leave your children enough money so that they could do what they want, but not so much that they could do nothing.)
There are more important things we can leave them, however. Plato said, "Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence."
Reverence means understanding human limitations. It's a feeling of respect for what lies beyond our control: nature, truth, fate, death.
It's also an attitude of acceptance toward life and our fellow human beings, flawed as we may be. Reverence underlies the grace and civility that make life in society bearable and pleasant. It reminds us what's important, what's sacred, what's worth protecting.
Reverence is as old as civilization itself, perhaps older. Writing in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., the Greek historian Thucydides called it a cardinal virtue, existing universally across all cultures.
Moreover, irreverence makes it difficult to respect those who are weaker: children, prisoners, the poor, the elderly.
Many equate reverence with religiosity. Yet this is not always the case.
In Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, Paul Woodruff writes, "Reverence is not faith, because the faithful may hold their faith with arrogance and self-satisfaction, and the reverent may not know what to believe. ... If your form of worship or faith is reverent, so much the better. You know one place to look for reverence. But you should look further, so that you can see how you might share reverence with people who do not worship with you or share your faith."
Throughout history, religion and reverence have often gone their separate ways. Taken to extremes, religious beliefs sometimes engender just the opposite: intolerance, guilt, fear, ignorance, zealotry, and hatred.
In the West today, however, most of us live peaceably beside those with different beliefs. What the devout admire in other religions, however, is not faith, since they reject most of its content, but rather reverence, that universal sense of wonder, respect, and humility.
Some experience reverence in organized worship, in community with others. Others discover it outdoors, enjoying the glories of nature. Still others may experience it with music.
Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St. Paul oratorio, Bach's Mass in B Minor, and many other classical and choral masterpieces were clearly inspired by a deep sense of reverence - and, centuries later, still bring that spirit to life.
Yet something else comes closer to capturing the true spirit of reverence: silence.
"Do you imagine the universe is agitated?" asked Lao Tzu a few thousand years ago. "Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question."
A quiet mind, freed from a noisy environment and the onslaught of continuous thought, has long been a signpost of spiritual development.
In Christianity and Judaism, there is the silence of contemplative prayer. In Islam, the Sufis wrote about the wisdom of finding silence within. Hinduism, the source of yoga, emphasizes the importance of silence for inner growth. Buddhists believe that silent meditation is the path to enlightenment. For Quakers, silence makes up much of the service, allowing for the development of heart and mind.
Secular philosophers and other writers have advocated its benefits, as well.
Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I like the silent church before the service begins better than any preaching."
Humanist Aldous Huxley observed, "Silence is as full of potential wisdom and wit as the unhewn marble of great sculpture."
Claude Debussy even reminded listeners that music is found in the space between the notes. Avant-garde composer John Cage took this idea to an extreme. His composition 4'33" consists of just over four and a half minutes of complete silence. (To this day, it's the only piece I can play on the violin.)
Silence opens us to the experience of reverence. Yet many today lead noisier lives than ever. Some choose to live near busy highways and airports. Restaurants and retail stores blast rock and country music non-stop. A study conducted by Pennsylvania State University found that urban teenagers listen to four and a half hours of pop and rap music a day. In our homes, radio and television broadcasts are punctuated with a steady stream of commercial messages at trumped up volumes.
This creates frustration and anxiety, especially for innocent bystanders. In The Happiness Hypothesis, psychology professor Jonathan Haidt writes that "noise, especially noise that is variable or intermittent, interferes with concentration and increases stress. It's worth striving to remove sources of noise in your life."
Sensible advice. Yet Matthew Kelly believes there is another reason we choose noisy environments: Silence reveals our weaknesses to us, our shortcomings.
In The Rhythm of Life, Kelly writes, "In the silence, we see at one time the person we are and the person we are capable of becoming. ... It is precisely for this reason that we fill our lives with noise, to distract ourselves from the challenge to change."
We can fix this, however. We can hit the off button, walk outside, visit a chapel, or take a quiet drive in the country. If you really can't escape the barking dogs, screaming kids, or NFL football, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones. (Trust me, they're worth it.)
A few days ago, I took my five-year-old son David on a hike up to Humpback Rocks, an outcropping about half a mile above the Blue Ridge Parkway that offers an awe-inspiring view of the Shenandoah Valley, especially near sunset.
As we neared the summit, I stopped. "Listen," I said. "What do you hear?"
He looked around the trail and up at the treetops. There was no traffic, no sound, not even the wind. He shrugged and said "Nothing."
"Isn't it great?" I asked.
He glanced up to make sure I wasn't kidding, then looked around again, listening.
"Yeah," he said, exhaling. "It is."
Thursday, April 2, 2009
TWO DIFFERENT STORIES, ONE LESSON: COURAGE
There are 2 stories here.
The last line of the 2nd story tells it all. Two Stories - BOTH TRUE
STORY NUMBER ONE
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the e conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.
And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.
He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface " Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of 20 gunfire shots on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."
STORY NUMBER TWO
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.
He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenceless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
The last line of the 2nd story tells it all. Two Stories - BOTH TRUE
STORY NUMBER ONE
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the e conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.
And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.
He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface " Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of 20 gunfire shots on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read:
"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."
STORY NUMBER TWO
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.
He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenceless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
Friday, March 13, 2009
WHAT EVERY WOMAN NEEDS TO KNOW
"Cancer is a word, not a sentence."
- John Diamond
Enough of the Grim Statistics
By Melanie Segala
Breast cancer. The very words strike fear into women everywhere. And for good reason. In 2008, according to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 182,460 women were diagnosed with and 40,480 women died of the disease.
With such alarming statistics, it's tragic that most women just wait until a self-exam or mammogram shows an unusual lump in the breast. By then, the cancer has taken hold and it becomes a life or death battle for survival.
That's why I did a double-take when I read Dr. James LaValle's article, "Breast Cancer - Real Prevention," that appeared in the November 4 issue of Total Health Breakthroughs. His advice could save countless lives if it is read and understood by women everywhere.
As Dr. LaValle explained in the article, "Most breast cancer is determined by how estrogen is metabolized in the body and whether it is balanced by adequate levels of progesterone."
Knowing this - and taking the appropriate steps - means that you may never be involved in this fight for your life. Because with the proper testing and nutrition, the cancer won't have the opportunity to develop in the first place.
In brief, here's what you need to pass on to your mother, your sisters, and your friends...
Have your estradiol, estrogen metabolites, and progesterone levels tested. If you have a progesterone deficiency, you are at least four times more likely to develop breast cancer. If testing shows you are deficient in this hormone, there are several bio-identical - not synthetic - progesterone creams available without a prescription that can be recommended by a healthcare professional.
Estrogen testing will let you know whether your body is breaking down estradiol, your primary estrogen, into safe or dangerous metabolites. For instance, 2OH (one of the metabolites of estradiol) actually inhibits breast cancer. But 4OH and 16OH increase your risks, so you don't want to see those levels elevated.
The good news is that you can encourage your body to make more good estrogen while getting rid of the bad stuff simply by maintaining healthy gut flora and modifying your diet to include more antioxidant-rich and omega-3 foods and fewer carbs. As Laura LaValle, nutrition counselor and Director of Dietetics Nutrition at LaValle
Metabolic Institute, explains, the insulin resistance and inflammation caused by carbs significantly increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and breast cancer.
You might not be aware that your thyroid plays a role in breast health too. If you have an underactive thyroid or thyroid antibodies (autoimmune thyroiditis), your body may not be making enough NK (natural killer) cells - the immune cells that search out cancer cells and destroy them. That's why it's vitally important to have your thyroid checked regularly.
This brings me to an important question: Did you realize that it is in your power to dramatically reduce your risk of breast cancer by balancing your hormones and eating a nutritious diet? If you're like me, the answer is no. I believed it was fate or genetics that determined whether or not I would be faced with a breast cancer crisis.
And, like millions of women, I thought that a yearly mammogram (and waiting for the bad news) was the most I could do to protect myself from this horrific disease. But not anymore. Thanks to what I learned from Dr. LaValle, hormone and thyroid testing will now be part of my yearly checkup.
I can't even imagine how many lives could have been saved if women had been properly educated about real breast cancer prevention by the medical establishment and media. But we don't need to wait any longer. We can carry this message to women everywhere, and together we can reverse the killer statistics.
Let's put breast cancer behind us, once and for all.
Melanie Segala is the Managing Editor of natural health newsletter, Total Health Breakthroughs. She invites you to learn more about cutting-edge strategies for healthy living and disease prevention from today's leading health and wellness experts.
- John Diamond
Enough of the Grim Statistics
By Melanie Segala
Breast cancer. The very words strike fear into women everywhere. And for good reason. In 2008, according to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 182,460 women were diagnosed with and 40,480 women died of the disease.
With such alarming statistics, it's tragic that most women just wait until a self-exam or mammogram shows an unusual lump in the breast. By then, the cancer has taken hold and it becomes a life or death battle for survival.
That's why I did a double-take when I read Dr. James LaValle's article, "Breast Cancer - Real Prevention," that appeared in the November 4 issue of Total Health Breakthroughs. His advice could save countless lives if it is read and understood by women everywhere.
As Dr. LaValle explained in the article, "Most breast cancer is determined by how estrogen is metabolized in the body and whether it is balanced by adequate levels of progesterone."
Knowing this - and taking the appropriate steps - means that you may never be involved in this fight for your life. Because with the proper testing and nutrition, the cancer won't have the opportunity to develop in the first place.
In brief, here's what you need to pass on to your mother, your sisters, and your friends...
Have your estradiol, estrogen metabolites, and progesterone levels tested. If you have a progesterone deficiency, you are at least four times more likely to develop breast cancer. If testing shows you are deficient in this hormone, there are several bio-identical - not synthetic - progesterone creams available without a prescription that can be recommended by a healthcare professional.
Estrogen testing will let you know whether your body is breaking down estradiol, your primary estrogen, into safe or dangerous metabolites. For instance, 2OH (one of the metabolites of estradiol) actually inhibits breast cancer. But 4OH and 16OH increase your risks, so you don't want to see those levels elevated.
The good news is that you can encourage your body to make more good estrogen while getting rid of the bad stuff simply by maintaining healthy gut flora and modifying your diet to include more antioxidant-rich and omega-3 foods and fewer carbs. As Laura LaValle, nutrition counselor and Director of Dietetics Nutrition at LaValle
Metabolic Institute, explains, the insulin resistance and inflammation caused by carbs significantly increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and breast cancer.
You might not be aware that your thyroid plays a role in breast health too. If you have an underactive thyroid or thyroid antibodies (autoimmune thyroiditis), your body may not be making enough NK (natural killer) cells - the immune cells that search out cancer cells and destroy them. That's why it's vitally important to have your thyroid checked regularly.
This brings me to an important question: Did you realize that it is in your power to dramatically reduce your risk of breast cancer by balancing your hormones and eating a nutritious diet? If you're like me, the answer is no. I believed it was fate or genetics that determined whether or not I would be faced with a breast cancer crisis.
And, like millions of women, I thought that a yearly mammogram (and waiting for the bad news) was the most I could do to protect myself from this horrific disease. But not anymore. Thanks to what I learned from Dr. LaValle, hormone and thyroid testing will now be part of my yearly checkup.
I can't even imagine how many lives could have been saved if women had been properly educated about real breast cancer prevention by the medical establishment and media. But we don't need to wait any longer. We can carry this message to women everywhere, and together we can reverse the killer statistics.
Let's put breast cancer behind us, once and for all.
Melanie Segala is the Managing Editor of natural health newsletter, Total Health Breakthroughs. She invites you to learn more about cutting-edge strategies for healthy living and disease prevention from today's leading health and wellness experts.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
FINANCIAL MARKETS: WHERE TO NOW?
By Aurelio O. Angeles
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:20:00 10/12/2008
THE US GOVERNMENT HAS APPROVED the bailout. Where to now?
The bailout is a temporary relief to a disorder and malaise brought about by a century of unprecedented economic growth alongside growing errors and unrestrained character flaws.
Unless we know the root causes that brought about this disorder, we would be like a doctor providing aspirin to a patient with a high fever and severe headache.
The US stock markets may indeed recover by 100 points for a week; a huge sigh of relief is heard from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to the Philippine Stock Exchange; those in government who have been heavily engaged in financial speculations may now be jumping with joy.
But what next? What is the big picture in all this?
There are two sides to the economy.
First, there is the real economy which produces real goods and services to satisfy human needs placed in a hierarchy by Abraham Maslow.
The growth of business in the real economay results in savings.
At first, these savings were small and were hidden under mattresses. As wealth accumulated from all sectors in the economy through the years, banks were formed to serve as depository of these savings as well as as a source of funds for those in business.
The accumulation of wealth from centuries of economic growth brought about the proliferation of all types of banks, insurance services, investment bankers, fund managers, mutual funds, hedge funds, etc. This became the second side of the economy—the financial markets.
As working men created wealth, a purse keeper accumulated and secured their wealth.
The existence of these financial markets had clearly one purpose—to serve the real economy and people by gathering their savings and making this capital available back to the real economy and to people at less cost.
Leaders in the financial markets saw that this purpose was good.
And they said, “Let us create more financial services to the real economy and provide capital requirements and liquidity for those in need.”
Thus, they conceptualized the idea of the corporation, legislated it as a form of business and developed the concept of shares of stocks, debentures and preferred shares. They also created bonds, treasury notes and bills, foreign exchange as vehicles for moving people’s savings.
And they saw that it was good. And they said, “Let us now put up stock exchanges where corporations could raise funds to expand operations and where people with excess funds could invest their savings with greater yield. And they were extremely happy for being of such great service to the economy and for making money in the process.
So long as financial markets operators were focused on this purpose, to serve the real economy, their relationship had symbiotic benefits.
But the 20th century severely changed that focus.
Deviations started to appear. Instead of serving the real economy, financial markets developed strategies to serve themselves at the expense of the real economy.
The first visible sign of deviation was the collapse of the US stock market that started on Oct. 21, 1929 and continued on till Oct. 29, 1929—the Great Wall Street Crash.
There are interesting events in this crash that echo in current events.
The following data comes from Jeremy Kingston and David Lambert’s book, “Catastrophe and Crisis,” published by Aldus Books Ltd. in 1979.
First, the economy before the crash seemed to be booming, people had easy access to money and people were living in prosperity.
According to the book, “this availability of money was one of the reasons for the boom. Shares in the climbing market could be bought on margin—that is to say, the buyer paid the broker only a small portion of the cost of the share, the difference being made up with money borrowed by the broker from a bank and loaned to the buyer.”
Second, the engine of growth was the culture of getting rich quick.
The book states: “It is an unhappy fact of speculative buying that when prices are rising fast, whether the rises occur in land, or shares, or even tulip bulbs, people cease to look for the reason why they are rising. The items may be intrinsically worthless but what counts is that they can be resold at a profit—sometimes a very great profit.
In 1928 and 1929, Americans became dazzled by the real possibility of becoming very rich very quickly.”
Third, in the initial shakeouts and downturns that happened before the 1929 Crash, the chairman of the powerful National City Bank, Charles E. Mitchell, offered to lend $20 million “to avoid any dangerous crisis in the money market.”
According to the book, “Mitchell, who was speculating heavily, had strong reasons for wanting the boom to continue, and his words rallied the market. (Five years later, Mitchell was arrested and tried on charges of tax evasion.)”
Black Thursday
Fourth, on Oct. 24th, Black Thursday, as stock prices were falling like lead, the vice president of the stock exchange “walked onto the floor as representative of the banker’s pool and bought heavily in 20 assorted stocks.”
“Again, the volatile market recovered ... But Tuesday Oct. 29 was the most devastating day in the history of the American Stock Exchange ... Even after Oct. 29, the market went on falling. It reached its lowest level of the year on Nov. 13th.”
What happened to the man, Richard Whitney? He was later tried and sentenced for misappropriating stock exchange funds.
Fifth, when rich and poor people plant unbridled selfishness, they harvest ruin alike.
The book continues: “Men who had called themselves millionaires a week before were now irretrievably ruined. Large fortunes, small savings, all wiped out ... Billions of dollars worth of profit—some real, some paper—had vanished, and the office clerk, the chauffeur, the window cleaner, the salesman had lost all their capital.”
Sixth, note the month and dates of the crash—Oct. 21 to 29.”
Another sign of deviation is the government regulation allowing short selling of stocks.
Shorting is an investment strategy in a declining market when an investor sells stocks he does not own at a certain price and later buys them in the market when prices, he speculates, will fall lower than his selling price.
The difference in price is his profit. The lower the buying price turns out to be, the greater will his profit be. He wins when the market goes down in a tailspin.
Another deviation is the creation of Futures Exchange that promotes selling and buying of contracts for speculative purposes and allowing financial intermediaries or their conduits to play the game.
For example, a buyer agrees in April 2008 to buy from a seller an oil contract at an agreed price, say $110 per barrel for future delivery in June 2008. Under this arrangement, the buyer and seller of oil may not actually be in the oil business, have no intention of receiving, delivering or keeping actual stocks of oil and have no actual need for oil.
They are in the business of speculating on the selling and buying of paper contracts—derivatives. The prices that are transacted are based on the volume of buys and sells for the paper derivatives, not on the demand and supply of the actual oil commodity by mankind.
The same goes for buys and sells of foreign currency futures, interest rate futures, stock index futures and many other exotic types of investments.
These derivatives are traded in futures exchanges, the most notable among them are Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange.
Deviation
The most recent example of deviation is, of course, the buy and sell of financial papers called collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) that brought about the subprime crisis in the US property sector and the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Media interestingly attributes the cause of the entire present crisis in the economy entirely on the subprime debacle in the property sector.
However, this may not be so and the subprime crisis may just be a cover-up for a grosser fiasco and shame for financial intermediaries—their losses in highly speculative deals in the commodity, currency and stocks futures markets.
What is the ultimate purpose of financial intermediaries in the economy?
First, banks, insurance companies, fund managers and investment bankers are fiduciary trustees of savings accumulated by industries from centuries of serving the needs of people.
They are supposed to keep these savings, not lose them.
When Citibank, Morgan Stanley, AIG and hundreds of other financial intermediaries write off hundreds of billions of dollars of bad investments in a period of less than a year, they have spilled the milk of human endeavor gathered by hundred millions of workers throughout history.
Second, as trustees, financial market operators serve not just the investors who hand them their savings but also the real economy that produced the businesses that resulted in these savings.
The obligation of financial market operators ultimately is anchored to the fundamentals of protecting and promoting the interests of the real economy that brought about their existence in the first place.
Third, the financial markets are NOT the engine of growth in any economy. The engine of growth is the real economy—the world’s billions of people, past and present, who produce goods and services to satisfy man’s hierarchy of needs.
Believing otherwise would lead people to rush to exchanges and buy and sell paper certificates whose values swing up and down with the varying degrees of exhilaration, hysteria and back-room manipulation in the markets.
Asset bubble
Or, this belief may encourage players in the real economy to borrow for projects that will end up in bubble bursting just because interest rates are cheap, as in the 1997 Asian crisis.
Fourth, in formulating investment strategies, financial operators must come back to the original purpose for which financial intermediaries have been created—to serve the real economy and people and to make these savings readily available back to the real economy and to people at less cost.
The fact is, there is decent money to be made in this honorable role, as has been made in at least the past millennium.
Conclusions
These principles inevitably lead us to the following conclusions in bringing back confidence and growth in the economy.
First, the cause of the financial crisis takes its roots in the abandonment by the financial intermediaries of their raison d’etre, their original and true purpose of existence in the economy.
Trillions of dollars of the world’s savings earned through centuries of work are placed in the hands of a powerful and brilliant few. They in turn channel these savings in stocks, futures, currency exchanges as well as securitized papers. They may even create separate conduits and entities for this purpose and register them in the Bahamas to escape supervision and taxes.
If the real economy is not directly benefited from these investments and the financial market operators deprive the real economy easy access to funds because they make easier money from speculative investments, then they would be betraying their raison d’etre.
If the increase in the values of these investments depend ultimately on the weather, greed, get-rich-quick culture, human exhilaration or despondency, or mass hysteria, then they would be betraying their cause for being as fiduciary trustees of other people’s money.
If financial intermediaries are allowed to place the world’s savings in these investments, it would be like allowing your CFO to divert company funds from your usual operations and to “invest” them instead by playing roulette in the casino just because your CFO happens to be outstanding at numbers with a brilliant mind for probabilities.
Real story
Well, this is the story of the 2008 financial crisis. And the magnitude of the losses have been so staggering that the US Congress had to enact a bailout law.
Second, the bailout law of the US Congress must address the abandonment by financial intermediaries of their original purpose of existence and provide sanctions and penalties on violators.
If this is not addressed, it would be like providing a fresh amount of $700 billion to your same CFO to save the company by playing in the same roulette where he failed miserably.
No one can have confidence in that arrangement.
Third, the specific solutions to the crisis may lay between the theories of John Maynard Keynes who advocated the desirability of government intervention in the economy and of Milton Friedman who argued for the opposite.
In any case, the solution to the crisis needs to be insulated from greedy people, both in private and government sectors who will use Keynes or Friedman for their selfish motives. As they say, even the devil can quote the Bible.
It is a wonder how many of those who voted on the issue of the bailout in the US Congress belonged to the realm of the devil.
Finally, to bring back confidence in the economy and in turn in the financial markets, the real economy in the world must grow, provide employment and control inflation.
It is the real economy that gave life to the financial markets. It will be the same real economy that will bring back life to the financial markets. The financial markets cannot save themselves.
Relevant strategies
The time may come when the government will stop spending its resources on saving the financial markets from the cost of their errors, will mark them as sunk costs and will move on to the more productive endeavor of building up the real economy as a way to build up the financial markets.
It is time to study in greater depth the relevance to our times the strategies of President Franklin Roosevelt in overcoming the US Depression that came immediately after the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
This is a very sad commentary on the recent financial crisis: The financial markets with the wealth of nations, technology and influence in their hands succeeded in engineering securitized certificates and highly complex financial instruments in the exchange but failed to use this same wealth, technology and influence in increasing production, providing innovation and generating aggregate demand in the real economy throughout the world.
The common explanation is this: It is far more convenient, surer and faster to make money on derivatives in the exchange than to make money by putting up factories, research labs, roads, bridges and airports around the world.
And this is the irony of being rich.
When a man gets to be one, he loses his sight of the fact that he became rich by serving people, by making his customers number one and by exploring unchartered frontiers where other customers abound.
As he masters the time value of money, he figures he will make faster money in the exchange rather than in the exchange of real goods and services in the real economy.
He loses his touch of the opportunities that abound in the teaming population of Third World countries and underdeveloped economies where the demand for food, clothing, housing, education, infrastructure, transportation, information and communication technology, health and science facilities are boundless.
But people create demand. A billion people means a billion-people demand.
What is needed is to trigger the supply to satisfy this demand. The process of matching supply with demand creates opportunities, employment, income and purchasing power. These are created not just in underdeveloped economies but in the advanced markets where this capital—money, technology and education, machinery—comes from.
There is no bubble in that demand, no bubble in that supply, unlike the demand and supply of securitized papers.
New capitalism
This is the new capitalism that has just simply returned to its roots—serving the needs of the real economy and people of the Third World and underdeveloped sectors of the economy.
Have you wondered, for example, about the role of the Thomasites on our economic development when they introduced American education in the Philippines at the break of 1900s?
Let the financial intermediaries who hold the wealth of nations in their hands apply their brilliance in engineering the development and matching of this demand and supply in Third World countries and underdeveloped sectors of economies.
The era of the financial derivatives for self-serving and self-seeking investors has burst in bubbles and must now come to an end.
We have arrived at the new frontiers of capitalism. And there is real money to be made in them for all.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:20:00 10/12/2008
THE US GOVERNMENT HAS APPROVED the bailout. Where to now?
The bailout is a temporary relief to a disorder and malaise brought about by a century of unprecedented economic growth alongside growing errors and unrestrained character flaws.
Unless we know the root causes that brought about this disorder, we would be like a doctor providing aspirin to a patient with a high fever and severe headache.
The US stock markets may indeed recover by 100 points for a week; a huge sigh of relief is heard from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to the Philippine Stock Exchange; those in government who have been heavily engaged in financial speculations may now be jumping with joy.
But what next? What is the big picture in all this?
There are two sides to the economy.
First, there is the real economy which produces real goods and services to satisfy human needs placed in a hierarchy by Abraham Maslow.
The growth of business in the real economay results in savings.
At first, these savings were small and were hidden under mattresses. As wealth accumulated from all sectors in the economy through the years, banks were formed to serve as depository of these savings as well as as a source of funds for those in business.
The accumulation of wealth from centuries of economic growth brought about the proliferation of all types of banks, insurance services, investment bankers, fund managers, mutual funds, hedge funds, etc. This became the second side of the economy—the financial markets.
As working men created wealth, a purse keeper accumulated and secured their wealth.
The existence of these financial markets had clearly one purpose—to serve the real economy and people by gathering their savings and making this capital available back to the real economy and to people at less cost.
Leaders in the financial markets saw that this purpose was good.
And they said, “Let us create more financial services to the real economy and provide capital requirements and liquidity for those in need.”
Thus, they conceptualized the idea of the corporation, legislated it as a form of business and developed the concept of shares of stocks, debentures and preferred shares. They also created bonds, treasury notes and bills, foreign exchange as vehicles for moving people’s savings.
And they saw that it was good. And they said, “Let us now put up stock exchanges where corporations could raise funds to expand operations and where people with excess funds could invest their savings with greater yield. And they were extremely happy for being of such great service to the economy and for making money in the process.
So long as financial markets operators were focused on this purpose, to serve the real economy, their relationship had symbiotic benefits.
But the 20th century severely changed that focus.
Deviations started to appear. Instead of serving the real economy, financial markets developed strategies to serve themselves at the expense of the real economy.
The first visible sign of deviation was the collapse of the US stock market that started on Oct. 21, 1929 and continued on till Oct. 29, 1929—the Great Wall Street Crash.
There are interesting events in this crash that echo in current events.
The following data comes from Jeremy Kingston and David Lambert’s book, “Catastrophe and Crisis,” published by Aldus Books Ltd. in 1979.
First, the economy before the crash seemed to be booming, people had easy access to money and people were living in prosperity.
According to the book, “this availability of money was one of the reasons for the boom. Shares in the climbing market could be bought on margin—that is to say, the buyer paid the broker only a small portion of the cost of the share, the difference being made up with money borrowed by the broker from a bank and loaned to the buyer.”
Second, the engine of growth was the culture of getting rich quick.
The book states: “It is an unhappy fact of speculative buying that when prices are rising fast, whether the rises occur in land, or shares, or even tulip bulbs, people cease to look for the reason why they are rising. The items may be intrinsically worthless but what counts is that they can be resold at a profit—sometimes a very great profit.
In 1928 and 1929, Americans became dazzled by the real possibility of becoming very rich very quickly.”
Third, in the initial shakeouts and downturns that happened before the 1929 Crash, the chairman of the powerful National City Bank, Charles E. Mitchell, offered to lend $20 million “to avoid any dangerous crisis in the money market.”
According to the book, “Mitchell, who was speculating heavily, had strong reasons for wanting the boom to continue, and his words rallied the market. (Five years later, Mitchell was arrested and tried on charges of tax evasion.)”
Black Thursday
Fourth, on Oct. 24th, Black Thursday, as stock prices were falling like lead, the vice president of the stock exchange “walked onto the floor as representative of the banker’s pool and bought heavily in 20 assorted stocks.”
“Again, the volatile market recovered ... But Tuesday Oct. 29 was the most devastating day in the history of the American Stock Exchange ... Even after Oct. 29, the market went on falling. It reached its lowest level of the year on Nov. 13th.”
What happened to the man, Richard Whitney? He was later tried and sentenced for misappropriating stock exchange funds.
Fifth, when rich and poor people plant unbridled selfishness, they harvest ruin alike.
The book continues: “Men who had called themselves millionaires a week before were now irretrievably ruined. Large fortunes, small savings, all wiped out ... Billions of dollars worth of profit—some real, some paper—had vanished, and the office clerk, the chauffeur, the window cleaner, the salesman had lost all their capital.”
Sixth, note the month and dates of the crash—Oct. 21 to 29.”
Another sign of deviation is the government regulation allowing short selling of stocks.
Shorting is an investment strategy in a declining market when an investor sells stocks he does not own at a certain price and later buys them in the market when prices, he speculates, will fall lower than his selling price.
The difference in price is his profit. The lower the buying price turns out to be, the greater will his profit be. He wins when the market goes down in a tailspin.
Another deviation is the creation of Futures Exchange that promotes selling and buying of contracts for speculative purposes and allowing financial intermediaries or their conduits to play the game.
For example, a buyer agrees in April 2008 to buy from a seller an oil contract at an agreed price, say $110 per barrel for future delivery in June 2008. Under this arrangement, the buyer and seller of oil may not actually be in the oil business, have no intention of receiving, delivering or keeping actual stocks of oil and have no actual need for oil.
They are in the business of speculating on the selling and buying of paper contracts—derivatives. The prices that are transacted are based on the volume of buys and sells for the paper derivatives, not on the demand and supply of the actual oil commodity by mankind.
The same goes for buys and sells of foreign currency futures, interest rate futures, stock index futures and many other exotic types of investments.
These derivatives are traded in futures exchanges, the most notable among them are Chicago Mercantile Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange.
Deviation
The most recent example of deviation is, of course, the buy and sell of financial papers called collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) that brought about the subprime crisis in the US property sector and the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Media interestingly attributes the cause of the entire present crisis in the economy entirely on the subprime debacle in the property sector.
However, this may not be so and the subprime crisis may just be a cover-up for a grosser fiasco and shame for financial intermediaries—their losses in highly speculative deals in the commodity, currency and stocks futures markets.
What is the ultimate purpose of financial intermediaries in the economy?
First, banks, insurance companies, fund managers and investment bankers are fiduciary trustees of savings accumulated by industries from centuries of serving the needs of people.
They are supposed to keep these savings, not lose them.
When Citibank, Morgan Stanley, AIG and hundreds of other financial intermediaries write off hundreds of billions of dollars of bad investments in a period of less than a year, they have spilled the milk of human endeavor gathered by hundred millions of workers throughout history.
Second, as trustees, financial market operators serve not just the investors who hand them their savings but also the real economy that produced the businesses that resulted in these savings.
The obligation of financial market operators ultimately is anchored to the fundamentals of protecting and promoting the interests of the real economy that brought about their existence in the first place.
Third, the financial markets are NOT the engine of growth in any economy. The engine of growth is the real economy—the world’s billions of people, past and present, who produce goods and services to satisfy man’s hierarchy of needs.
Believing otherwise would lead people to rush to exchanges and buy and sell paper certificates whose values swing up and down with the varying degrees of exhilaration, hysteria and back-room manipulation in the markets.
Asset bubble
Or, this belief may encourage players in the real economy to borrow for projects that will end up in bubble bursting just because interest rates are cheap, as in the 1997 Asian crisis.
Fourth, in formulating investment strategies, financial operators must come back to the original purpose for which financial intermediaries have been created—to serve the real economy and people and to make these savings readily available back to the real economy and to people at less cost.
The fact is, there is decent money to be made in this honorable role, as has been made in at least the past millennium.
Conclusions
These principles inevitably lead us to the following conclusions in bringing back confidence and growth in the economy.
First, the cause of the financial crisis takes its roots in the abandonment by the financial intermediaries of their raison d’etre, their original and true purpose of existence in the economy.
Trillions of dollars of the world’s savings earned through centuries of work are placed in the hands of a powerful and brilliant few. They in turn channel these savings in stocks, futures, currency exchanges as well as securitized papers. They may even create separate conduits and entities for this purpose and register them in the Bahamas to escape supervision and taxes.
If the real economy is not directly benefited from these investments and the financial market operators deprive the real economy easy access to funds because they make easier money from speculative investments, then they would be betraying their raison d’etre.
If the increase in the values of these investments depend ultimately on the weather, greed, get-rich-quick culture, human exhilaration or despondency, or mass hysteria, then they would be betraying their cause for being as fiduciary trustees of other people’s money.
If financial intermediaries are allowed to place the world’s savings in these investments, it would be like allowing your CFO to divert company funds from your usual operations and to “invest” them instead by playing roulette in the casino just because your CFO happens to be outstanding at numbers with a brilliant mind for probabilities.
Real story
Well, this is the story of the 2008 financial crisis. And the magnitude of the losses have been so staggering that the US Congress had to enact a bailout law.
Second, the bailout law of the US Congress must address the abandonment by financial intermediaries of their original purpose of existence and provide sanctions and penalties on violators.
If this is not addressed, it would be like providing a fresh amount of $700 billion to your same CFO to save the company by playing in the same roulette where he failed miserably.
No one can have confidence in that arrangement.
Third, the specific solutions to the crisis may lay between the theories of John Maynard Keynes who advocated the desirability of government intervention in the economy and of Milton Friedman who argued for the opposite.
In any case, the solution to the crisis needs to be insulated from greedy people, both in private and government sectors who will use Keynes or Friedman for their selfish motives. As they say, even the devil can quote the Bible.
It is a wonder how many of those who voted on the issue of the bailout in the US Congress belonged to the realm of the devil.
Finally, to bring back confidence in the economy and in turn in the financial markets, the real economy in the world must grow, provide employment and control inflation.
It is the real economy that gave life to the financial markets. It will be the same real economy that will bring back life to the financial markets. The financial markets cannot save themselves.
Relevant strategies
The time may come when the government will stop spending its resources on saving the financial markets from the cost of their errors, will mark them as sunk costs and will move on to the more productive endeavor of building up the real economy as a way to build up the financial markets.
It is time to study in greater depth the relevance to our times the strategies of President Franklin Roosevelt in overcoming the US Depression that came immediately after the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
This is a very sad commentary on the recent financial crisis: The financial markets with the wealth of nations, technology and influence in their hands succeeded in engineering securitized certificates and highly complex financial instruments in the exchange but failed to use this same wealth, technology and influence in increasing production, providing innovation and generating aggregate demand in the real economy throughout the world.
The common explanation is this: It is far more convenient, surer and faster to make money on derivatives in the exchange than to make money by putting up factories, research labs, roads, bridges and airports around the world.
And this is the irony of being rich.
When a man gets to be one, he loses his sight of the fact that he became rich by serving people, by making his customers number one and by exploring unchartered frontiers where other customers abound.
As he masters the time value of money, he figures he will make faster money in the exchange rather than in the exchange of real goods and services in the real economy.
He loses his touch of the opportunities that abound in the teaming population of Third World countries and underdeveloped economies where the demand for food, clothing, housing, education, infrastructure, transportation, information and communication technology, health and science facilities are boundless.
But people create demand. A billion people means a billion-people demand.
What is needed is to trigger the supply to satisfy this demand. The process of matching supply with demand creates opportunities, employment, income and purchasing power. These are created not just in underdeveloped economies but in the advanced markets where this capital—money, technology and education, machinery—comes from.
There is no bubble in that demand, no bubble in that supply, unlike the demand and supply of securitized papers.
New capitalism
This is the new capitalism that has just simply returned to its roots—serving the needs of the real economy and people of the Third World and underdeveloped sectors of the economy.
Have you wondered, for example, about the role of the Thomasites on our economic development when they introduced American education in the Philippines at the break of 1900s?
Let the financial intermediaries who hold the wealth of nations in their hands apply their brilliance in engineering the development and matching of this demand and supply in Third World countries and underdeveloped sectors of economies.
The era of the financial derivatives for self-serving and self-seeking investors has burst in bubbles and must now come to an end.
We have arrived at the new frontiers of capitalism. And there is real money to be made in them for all.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
LOVE’S IN THE HEAD, NOT THE HEART
So now we don’t call it broken hearted anymore, but brain damaged..and the songs "Going out of my head (over you)" and "Head over heels" makes sense after all.
Philippine Star: February 13, 2009
WASHINGTON – Like any young woman in love, Bianca Acevedo has exchanged Valentine hearts with her fiancé.
But the New York neuroscientist knows better. The source of love is in the head, not the heart.
She is one of the researchers in a relatively new field focused on explaining the biology of romantic love. And the unpoetic explanation is that love mostly can be understood through brain images, hormones and genetics.
That seems to be the case for the newly in love, the long in love and the brokenhearted.
“It has a biological basis. We know some of the key players,” said Larry Young of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. There, he studies the brains of an unusual monogamous rodent to get a better clue about what goes on in the minds of people in love.
In humans, there are four tiny areas of the brain that some researchers say form a circuit of love.
Acevedo, who works at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, is part of a team that has isolated those regions with the unromantic names of ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.
The hot spot is the teardrop-shaped VTA. When people newly in love were put in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and shown pictures of their beloved, the VTA lit up. Same for people still madly in love after 20 years.
The VTA is part of a key reward system in the brain.
“These are cells that make dopamine and send it to different brain regions,” said Helen Fisher, a researcher and professor at Rutgers University. “This part of the system becomes activated because you’re trying to win life’s greatest prize – a mating partner.”
One of the research findings isn’t so complimentary: Love works chemically in the brain like a drug addiction.
“Romantic love is an addiction; a wonderful addiction when it is going well, a horrible one when it is going poorly,” Fisher said.
“People kill for love. They die for love.”
The connection to addiction “sounds terrible,” Acevedo acknowledged. “Love is supposed to be something wonderful and grand, but it has its reasons. The reason I think is to keep us together.”
But sometimes love does not keep us together. So the scientists studied the brains of the recently heartbroken and found additional activity in the nucleus accumbens, which is even more strongly associated with addiction.
“The brokenhearted show more evidence of what I’ll call craving,” said Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist also at Einstein medical college. “Similar to craving the drug cocaine.”
The team’s most recent brain scans were aimed at people married about 20 years who say they are still holding hands, lovey-dovey as newlyweds, a group that is a minority of married people. In these men and women, two more areas of the brain lit up, along with the VTA: the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.
The ventral pallidum is associated with attachment and hormones that decrease stress; the raphe nucleus pumps out serotonin, which “gives you a sense of calm,” Fisher said.
Those areas produce “a feeling of nothing wrong. It’s lower-level happiness and it’s certainly rewarding,” Brown said.
The scientists say they study the brain in love just to understand how it works, as well as for more potentially practical uses.
The research could eventually lead to pills based on the brain hormones which, with therapy, might help troubled relationships, although there are ethical issues, Young said. His bonding research is primarily part of a larger effort aimed at understanding and possibly treating social-interaction conditions such as autism. And Fisher is studying brain chemistry that could explain why certain people are attracted to each other. She’s using it as part of a popular Internet matchmaking service for which she is the scientific adviser.
While the recent brain research is promising, University of Hawaii psychology professor Elaine Hatfield cautions that too much can be made of these studies alone. She said they need to be meshed with other work from traditional psychologists.
Brain researchers are limited because there is only so much they can do to humans without hurting them. That’s where the prairie vole – a chubby, short-tailed mouse like creature – comes in handy. Only 5 percent of mammals more or less bond for life, but prairie voles do, Young said.
Scientists studied voles to figure out what makes bonding possible. In females, the key bonding hormone is oxytocin, also produced in both voles and humans during childbirth, Young said.
When scientists blocked oxytocin receptors, the female prairie voles didn’t bond.
In males, it’s vasopressin. Young put vasopressin receptors into the brains of meadow voles – a promiscuous cousin of the prairie voles – and “those guys who should never, ever bond with a female, bonded with a female.”
Researchers also uncovered a genetic variation in a few male prairie voles that are not monogamous – and found it in some human males, too.
Those men with the variation ranked lower on an emotional bonding scale, reported more marital problems, and their wives had more concerns about their level of attachment, said Hasse Walum, a biology researcher in Sweden. It was a small but noticeable difference, Walum said.
Scientists figure they now know better how to keep those love circuits lit and the chemicals flowing.
Young said that romantic love theoretically can be simulated with chemicals, but “if you really want to get the relationship spark back, then engage in the behavior that stimulates the release of these molecules and allow them to stimulate the emotions,” he said. That would be hugging, kissing, intimate contact.
“My wife tells me that flowers work as well. I don’t know for sure,” Young said. “As a scientist it’s hard to see how it stimulates the circuits, but I do know they seem to have an effect. And the absence of them seems to have an effect as well.” - AP
HAPPY VALENTINE'S TO ALL!
Philippine Star: February 13, 2009
WASHINGTON – Like any young woman in love, Bianca Acevedo has exchanged Valentine hearts with her fiancé.
But the New York neuroscientist knows better. The source of love is in the head, not the heart.
She is one of the researchers in a relatively new field focused on explaining the biology of romantic love. And the unpoetic explanation is that love mostly can be understood through brain images, hormones and genetics.
That seems to be the case for the newly in love, the long in love and the brokenhearted.
“It has a biological basis. We know some of the key players,” said Larry Young of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. There, he studies the brains of an unusual monogamous rodent to get a better clue about what goes on in the minds of people in love.
In humans, there are four tiny areas of the brain that some researchers say form a circuit of love.
Acevedo, who works at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, is part of a team that has isolated those regions with the unromantic names of ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.
The hot spot is the teardrop-shaped VTA. When people newly in love were put in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and shown pictures of their beloved, the VTA lit up. Same for people still madly in love after 20 years.
The VTA is part of a key reward system in the brain.
“These are cells that make dopamine and send it to different brain regions,” said Helen Fisher, a researcher and professor at Rutgers University. “This part of the system becomes activated because you’re trying to win life’s greatest prize – a mating partner.”
One of the research findings isn’t so complimentary: Love works chemically in the brain like a drug addiction.
“Romantic love is an addiction; a wonderful addiction when it is going well, a horrible one when it is going poorly,” Fisher said.
“People kill for love. They die for love.”
The connection to addiction “sounds terrible,” Acevedo acknowledged. “Love is supposed to be something wonderful and grand, but it has its reasons. The reason I think is to keep us together.”
But sometimes love does not keep us together. So the scientists studied the brains of the recently heartbroken and found additional activity in the nucleus accumbens, which is even more strongly associated with addiction.
“The brokenhearted show more evidence of what I’ll call craving,” said Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist also at Einstein medical college. “Similar to craving the drug cocaine.”
The team’s most recent brain scans were aimed at people married about 20 years who say they are still holding hands, lovey-dovey as newlyweds, a group that is a minority of married people. In these men and women, two more areas of the brain lit up, along with the VTA: the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.
The ventral pallidum is associated with attachment and hormones that decrease stress; the raphe nucleus pumps out serotonin, which “gives you a sense of calm,” Fisher said.
Those areas produce “a feeling of nothing wrong. It’s lower-level happiness and it’s certainly rewarding,” Brown said.
The scientists say they study the brain in love just to understand how it works, as well as for more potentially practical uses.
The research could eventually lead to pills based on the brain hormones which, with therapy, might help troubled relationships, although there are ethical issues, Young said. His bonding research is primarily part of a larger effort aimed at understanding and possibly treating social-interaction conditions such as autism. And Fisher is studying brain chemistry that could explain why certain people are attracted to each other. She’s using it as part of a popular Internet matchmaking service for which she is the scientific adviser.
While the recent brain research is promising, University of Hawaii psychology professor Elaine Hatfield cautions that too much can be made of these studies alone. She said they need to be meshed with other work from traditional psychologists.
Brain researchers are limited because there is only so much they can do to humans without hurting them. That’s where the prairie vole – a chubby, short-tailed mouse like creature – comes in handy. Only 5 percent of mammals more or less bond for life, but prairie voles do, Young said.
Scientists studied voles to figure out what makes bonding possible. In females, the key bonding hormone is oxytocin, also produced in both voles and humans during childbirth, Young said.
When scientists blocked oxytocin receptors, the female prairie voles didn’t bond.
In males, it’s vasopressin. Young put vasopressin receptors into the brains of meadow voles – a promiscuous cousin of the prairie voles – and “those guys who should never, ever bond with a female, bonded with a female.”
Researchers also uncovered a genetic variation in a few male prairie voles that are not monogamous – and found it in some human males, too.
Those men with the variation ranked lower on an emotional bonding scale, reported more marital problems, and their wives had more concerns about their level of attachment, said Hasse Walum, a biology researcher in Sweden. It was a small but noticeable difference, Walum said.
Scientists figure they now know better how to keep those love circuits lit and the chemicals flowing.
Young said that romantic love theoretically can be simulated with chemicals, but “if you really want to get the relationship spark back, then engage in the behavior that stimulates the release of these molecules and allow them to stimulate the emotions,” he said. That would be hugging, kissing, intimate contact.
“My wife tells me that flowers work as well. I don’t know for sure,” Young said. “As a scientist it’s hard to see how it stimulates the circuits, but I do know they seem to have an effect. And the absence of them seems to have an effect as well.” - AP
HAPPY VALENTINE'S TO ALL!
Friday, February 13, 2009
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES FOR RELATIONSHIPS
In the spirit of Valentine's I'd like to share an investment advice we all could use, over an investment we all make sometime in our lives. just like other investments this is not risk-free, however the rewards more than make up for the consequence and risk by a wide margin, and this one is not dictated by the financial markets (sub-prime be damned)
From Slot Machine to Stock Market: Investment Strategies for Relationships
By Dr. John C. Maxwell
In the early years of my career, I did not have a correct view of life. I approached life as if it were a slot machine. I wanted to put as little as possible into it, and I always hoped to hit the jackpot. I'm embarrassed to say that I often had a similar approach in my interaction with people. I was more focused on what people could do for me than what I could do for them. As a result, I would try to make relational "withdrawals" without ever having made any deposits. Needless to say, I was not very successful.
As I matured, I begin to place a higher value on people. As I made this transition, I noticed a fascinating development: the more I gave to relationships, the more I seemed to gain from relationships. In my book, Winning With People, I named this phenomenon The Boomerang Principle. What you put into relationships has a way of coming back to you.
During my time in leadership, I've noticed that people fall into three broad categories with regards to how they view relationships.
1) Takers
Takers receive and never give. They are the people in life who have a me-first mentality. They try to extract as much as they can from the relationships in their lives, and they rarely, if ever, consider giving back.
2) Traders
Traders receive and then give. Traders will only send you a Christmas card, if you've mailed one to them. They picture relationships as an equation in need of balance. If someone helps them, they feel a debt of gratitude. If they aid another person, they expect a favor in return.
3) Investors
Investors give and then receive. These are the people who give purely for the joy of giving. They add value to others, not as part of a cold calculation, but as a habit. Although doing so may not earn them an instant return, in the long run they reap the gratitude and goodwill of those they have helped.
Investment Strategies for Relationships
Instead of viewing relationships as a slot machine, picture them like the stock market. To get rich, make regular deposits in people over an extended period of time. At first, you may feel like the value of what you're putting in isn't worth the investment. However, like the stock market, in the long run, you'll reap dividends and earn rewards.
1) Think "Others First"
Human nature tends to focus us on personal needs, but investing in relationships requires us to prioritize others. Instead of self-advancement, think others-enhancement. Like a responsible investor, resist the temptation to "time" the relational market, using someone only for short-term gain. That's a strategy doomed to fail. On the contrary, make a habit of adding value in relationships and trust that the long-term results will be in your favor.
2) Focus on the Investment, Not the Return
If you've ever purchased stocks personally, then you know the agony of watching the vicissitudes of the market. Like a roller coaster, your portfolio climbs up one day only to lurch down the next day. Instead of agonizing over returns, a shrewd investor focuses on making the investment. The same principle holds true in relationships. Don't expect specific and immediate benefit from your relational inputs. Through time, you'll be taken care of as long as you're willing to invest.
3) Make Educated Investments
Not all investments yield the same interest, and not all relationships produce the same reward. As a leader, make investing in others a general principle, but be deliberate about putting energy into low-risk, high-reward relationships. Seek out talented people with teachable dispositions, and offer your relational capital to those who will make the most of it.
4) Initiate the investment
A stockbroker won't hack into your bank account and invest money on your behalf. You have to be willing to take the first step. Don't be stingy with your relational investments, giving only to those who've first given to you. Rather, take responsibility for setting the tone of adding value in your relationships.
From Slot Machine to Stock Market: Investment Strategies for Relationships
By Dr. John C. Maxwell
In the early years of my career, I did not have a correct view of life. I approached life as if it were a slot machine. I wanted to put as little as possible into it, and I always hoped to hit the jackpot. I'm embarrassed to say that I often had a similar approach in my interaction with people. I was more focused on what people could do for me than what I could do for them. As a result, I would try to make relational "withdrawals" without ever having made any deposits. Needless to say, I was not very successful.
As I matured, I begin to place a higher value on people. As I made this transition, I noticed a fascinating development: the more I gave to relationships, the more I seemed to gain from relationships. In my book, Winning With People, I named this phenomenon The Boomerang Principle. What you put into relationships has a way of coming back to you.
During my time in leadership, I've noticed that people fall into three broad categories with regards to how they view relationships.
1) Takers
Takers receive and never give. They are the people in life who have a me-first mentality. They try to extract as much as they can from the relationships in their lives, and they rarely, if ever, consider giving back.
2) Traders
Traders receive and then give. Traders will only send you a Christmas card, if you've mailed one to them. They picture relationships as an equation in need of balance. If someone helps them, they feel a debt of gratitude. If they aid another person, they expect a favor in return.
3) Investors
Investors give and then receive. These are the people who give purely for the joy of giving. They add value to others, not as part of a cold calculation, but as a habit. Although doing so may not earn them an instant return, in the long run they reap the gratitude and goodwill of those they have helped.
Investment Strategies for Relationships
Instead of viewing relationships as a slot machine, picture them like the stock market. To get rich, make regular deposits in people over an extended period of time. At first, you may feel like the value of what you're putting in isn't worth the investment. However, like the stock market, in the long run, you'll reap dividends and earn rewards.
1) Think "Others First"
Human nature tends to focus us on personal needs, but investing in relationships requires us to prioritize others. Instead of self-advancement, think others-enhancement. Like a responsible investor, resist the temptation to "time" the relational market, using someone only for short-term gain. That's a strategy doomed to fail. On the contrary, make a habit of adding value in relationships and trust that the long-term results will be in your favor.
2) Focus on the Investment, Not the Return
If you've ever purchased stocks personally, then you know the agony of watching the vicissitudes of the market. Like a roller coaster, your portfolio climbs up one day only to lurch down the next day. Instead of agonizing over returns, a shrewd investor focuses on making the investment. The same principle holds true in relationships. Don't expect specific and immediate benefit from your relational inputs. Through time, you'll be taken care of as long as you're willing to invest.
3) Make Educated Investments
Not all investments yield the same interest, and not all relationships produce the same reward. As a leader, make investing in others a general principle, but be deliberate about putting energy into low-risk, high-reward relationships. Seek out talented people with teachable dispositions, and offer your relational capital to those who will make the most of it.
4) Initiate the investment
A stockbroker won't hack into your bank account and invest money on your behalf. You have to be willing to take the first step. Don't be stingy with your relational investments, giving only to those who've first given to you. Rather, take responsibility for setting the tone of adding value in your relationships.
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