tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51769914224686955132023-09-07T02:35:39.171-07:00Rad's Financial ReportSource for things that could affect your pocketBLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-10902112029147976742010-11-09T16:34:00.000-08:002010-11-09T18:35:02.161-08:00Evolution of Finance in a Rapidly Changing World<b>Introduction</b><br />
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<a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_mCa3cXAAhlngPYFqTXjjgyVrQNxyO7JxC9KyLiTp7_eBTtM&t=1&usg=__2aLHcvs8b3ACO8DKa6tTF_a9FtY=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_mCa3cXAAhlngPYFqTXjjgyVrQNxyO7JxC9KyLiTp7_eBTtM&t=1&usg=__2aLHcvs8b3ACO8DKa6tTF_a9FtY=" /></a>Hey everyone, this is the first post to begin a whole new string of <b>high quality posts</b> that are perfect for anyone who wants to get into an <b>investor's mindset</b>. If you have been following this blog from the beginning, you may have remembered some of my <b>memorable </b>earlier posts, and my goal now is to go above and beyond and write <b>awesome </b>posts that will keep you coming back for more.<br />
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Whether you already consider yourself a financial guru, or know absolutely <b>nothing</b> about the topic, <b>don't worry</b>, I will keep it interesting day in and day out.<br />
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This post is just to get you <b>thinking</b> about the nature of finance and how you can start learning how to not get screwed by the system. Now to begin....<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">E v o l u t i o n o f F i n a n c e i n a R a p i d l y</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">C h a n g i n g W o r l d</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><img src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTU9bkkfIe9JBkU5p_vvMqL_cnQCgSscyoka7KJt_fJAcpj_6g&t=1&usg=__D42KB20uE2_iAlZTHJaAk-92MHs=" /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The reason why I based this post upon "Financial Darwinism,"<b> </b>is because it is currently one of the books that I am re-reading, which I honestly think is a great book filled with a lot of interesting and thought provoking content. If you want to check out the website, here is a link <a href="http://www.financialdarwinism.com/">http://www.financialdarwinism.com/</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If you are familiar with Darwin and his theory of evolution, then you might be wondering what the heck this has anything to do with the global financial markets........</div><a name='more'></a><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">"The central argument of </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Financial Darwinism</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"> is that businesses should replace the "old-regime economic performance equation" with a "risk-based economic performance equation." Economic performance under the old-regime is based on the difference between the sum of returns on assets and total fees, and the sum of returns on liabilities, expenses and the total cost of capital. Risk-based economic performance, on the other hand, is the difference between the sum of balance sheet arbitrage, principal investment activities, exposures to systematic risks, and fee-based businesses, and the sum of cost control and the cost of capital. The author points out that the new-regime applies to both financial and non-financial corporations."</span></span></blockquote><b>Financial Darwinism </b><br />
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</div><a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcX-kcwPWyL_nFMQFN1chmsPju8jsUDazn2CxPCABCXgKRGI4&t=1&usg=__Mh1gF815869g61Ot3z1ZEc6MS40=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcX-kcwPWyL_nFMQFN1chmsPju8jsUDazn2CxPCABCXgKRGI4&t=1&usg=__Mh1gF815869g61Ot3z1ZEc6MS40=" /></a>Even though this book is suited more for the upper-graduate students in economics or finance, once you start learning more about the increasingly intricate world of global investing, it becomes difficult to stop. I'm going to attempt to put some of the concepts into my own words.<br />
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When we tend to think about<b> modern finance</b> in today's world, we usually think of the extreme complexities that economists, bankers, accountants, and other professionals have to deal with on a daily basis to try and understand and anticipate the changes that will affect us all.<br />
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It is imperative to understand that obtaining a <b>decent </b>financial education is of unequivocal importance because as the financial markets become more complex and <b>evolve in ways that we have yet to imagine</b>, the risks grow exponentially alongside any opportunities that may be created.<br />
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For example, think about how much the world has changed in just <b>20 years</b>. Back in 1990, there was no high speed internet (at least not to the general public) and mass media communications were in the infancy of their evolution. Before the dot-com bubble, many investors relied on the already existing proven methods of allocating their assets into a seemingly balanced and well-diversified portfolio. Even today, many investors preach the "<i>Never keep your eggs in one basket," </i>approach to investing. Then from 1995-early 2000, the "dot-com bubble" emerged and many investors who were keen to jump onto the bandwagon ended up having their portfolio's obliterated by the sudden downturn that would stun economists and analysts alike.<br />
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<b>"Today's Successes Will be Tomorrow's Failures..."</b><br />
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<a href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTw0Q1jTks44gS5G53hqOxklp5ThiP-sLvhZRskwhMtVHzW-L0&t=1&usg=__uepMxHlEfFWe-SRr41-ungJmcBk=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTw0Q1jTks44gS5G53hqOxklp5ThiP-sLvhZRskwhMtVHzW-L0&t=1&usg=__uepMxHlEfFWe-SRr41-ungJmcBk=" width="200" /></a>So now to a very interesting and thought provoking part to this post. Beginning with the quote above that I used for my header, think about it first, and now apply it in a financial perspective. What i'm trying to point out is that many of the methods being used today that are making people successful will <b>evolve</b> and <b>merge</b> with other existing strategies that will build the financial markets of tomorrow.<br />
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As the technology around us grows and the flow of information increases, the financial markets will have to <b>evolve</b> accordingly or else be lost in a chaotic system that will potentially cause world-wide problems that will affect nearly everyone in the world. <br />
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<blockquote><i>"Financial history is, in sum, the result of institutional mutation and natural selection ... <b>Financial organisms are in competition with one another for finite resources (customers, clients, market share)</b>. At certain times and in certain places, certain financial species may become dominant. But innovations by competitors species, or the emergence of altogether new species, prevent any permanent hierarchy... from emerging... Institutions with a "selfish gene"... will tend to endure and proliferate....</i></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">Source - Tilman, Leo M.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Financial Darwinism: Create Value or Self-destruct in a World of Risk</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. 11. Print.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 32px;"><b>Final Words</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 32px;">So i'm choosing to end it off here for today, I hope that if you read this, it got you thinking about your own personal financial situation and how you will choose to evolve to meet the growing needs of the newest chapters of the world that have yet to be made.</span></span><br />
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</b>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-73504848464682548192010-11-03T10:18:00.000-07:002010-11-03T10:18:18.971-07:00101 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog<table border="0" style="empty-cells: show; line-height: 17px;"><tbody>
<tr style="line-height: 17px;"><td style="line-height: 17px;" valign="middle"><div id="subject_673" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.bloggerforum.com/index.php/topic,203.msg673.html#msg673" rel="nofollow" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">101 ways to drive traffic to your website</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">(#0)</span></span></div><div id="msg_673_quick_mod"></div></td><td align="right" height="20" style="line-height: 14px;" valign="bottom"></td></tr>
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<div class="post" id="msg_673" style="line-height: 1.3em; overflow-x: auto; overflow-y: auto; width: 790px;"><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. Join MyBlogLog, add friends, and join communities.<br />
2. Sign up for Technorati and ping it when your blog content changes.<br />
3. Use a ping service like pingomatic to ping RSS aggregators.<br />
4. Submit your blog to all of the directories on Robin Good’s list of RSS directories.<br />
5. Use trackbacks.<br />
6. Leave comments on blogs in related niches.<br />
7. Tell your friends about your blog and specific posts.<br />
8. Put your blog URL in your forum signatures.<br />
9. Create link bait.<br />
10. Tell Your newsletter subscribers about your blog.<br />
11. Write press releases for your blog.<br />
12. Link liberally to other blogs in your posts (many bloggers check who links to them).<br />
13. Tag your posts using Technorati tags or a tag plug-in.<br />
14. Submit your posts to multiple social bookmarking sites using OnlyWire.<br />
15. Use Stumbleupon to stumble your posts.<br />
16. Answer questions on Yahoo answers with the answers on your blog.<br />
17. Answer questions on forums related to your niche with a link to one of your blog posts that answers the question.<br />
18. Set up a feed on MyYahoo so that Yahoo keeps better track of your blog.<br />
19. Make lists (My Top 5…, Ten Things…, etc.). Many of the most popular blog posts are lists like this one.<br />
20. Use pictures. Most of the top trafficed blogs use pictures in their posts.<br />
21. Use video on your blog.<br />
22. Find out what people want to learn about in your blog’s niche and write about it.<br />
23. Be the first to break a news story.<br />
24. Use keyword research to find good keywords to use in your posts.<br />
25. Write controversial posts.<br />
26. Strongly Agree or strongly disagree with other bloggers and write about it with a link to their post.<br />
27. Make it easy for your readers to sign up for your RSS feed.<br />
28. Make it easy for your readers to Digg your posts.<br />
29. Ask your readers to submit your posts to social bookmarking sites (Digg, Reddit, etc.).<br />
30. Interview well known people in your industry (it’s working well for me).<br />
31. Give credit to the blogs that inspire your posts.<br />
32. Don’t be boring.<br />
33. Write for beginners.<br />
34. Participate in group writing projects.<br />
35. Participate in blog memes.<br />
36. Create a blog meme and tag your friends.<br />
37. Participate in blog carnivals.<br />
38. Post at different times of the day.<br />
39. Submit your best posts to article directories.<br />
40. Write Killer Content.<br />
41. Start a group blog. These tend to get more traffic, because more people are creating conent and more people are promoting it.<br />
42. Have guest posters.<br />
43. Create a blog meme and tag an A-list blogger who you like.<br />
44. Submit your blog to regular web directories (like DMOZ, etc.).<br />
45. Join SpicyPage and promote your blog on it.<br />
46. Join a blog webring.<br />
47. Sign up for BlogWoods and promote your blog on it.<br />
48. Join LinkAndBlog and do link and blog challenges.<br />
49. Submit your best posts to Netscape.<br />
50. Exchange Ads (not blogroll links) with complementary blogs.<br />
51. Trade blog roll links with related blogs.<br />
52. Sign up for Rojo. Subscribe to your feed and click “add mojo” on your better articles.<br />
53. Add a plug-in to notify users of new comments (I REALLY need to do this).<br />
54. Make it easy for your visitors to submit your post to ALL social bookmarking sites (not just Digg).<br />
55. Add a tell-a-friend script or plug-in to your posts.<br />
56. Make it easy for your visitors to bookmark your page in their browser.<br />
57. Make it easy for people to link to your blog.<br />
58. Use easy to read fonts.<br />
59. Use a professional looking blog design.<br />
60. Make your blog easy to navigate.<br />
61. Highlight your most popular posts.<br />
62. Write posts that ask provocative questions.<br />
63. Use questions for the title of your blog posts (you knew that was coming).<br />
64. Use good keywords in your post titles.<br />
65. Reply to every question you get through email.<br />
66. Reply to every question you get on your blog.<br />
67. E-mail other bloggers about your really good post(s) (breaking news posts).<br />
68. Offer free stuff related to your niche (tools, ebooks, etc).<br />
69. Run a contest.<br />
70. Publish videos on YouTube with the URL for your site at the beginning and end of the video.<br />
71. Install a translation plug-in or use a translation service to translate your blog into foreign languages.<br />
72. Put Your URL on everything that goes out of your house (business cards, stationary, mailing labels, etc.).<br />
73. Go through listible.com’s list of web 2.0 sites and promote your blog on all web 2.0 sites that apply.<br />
74. Search for Wikis related to your niche to submit your blog to. For example, for this blog the search phrase would be “make money online wiki” or “internet marketing wiki”.<br />
75. Give regular polls (use a poll plug-in like democracy for this).<br />
76. Add trivia quiz pages.<br />
77. Add ecard pages.<br />
78. Add a forum for your visitors to discuss more on your niche.<br />
79. Add a wiki to your blog .<br />
80. Join Hubpages and post links to your blog from articles you write.<br />
81. Join Blink List and make a list of blogs with your blog in it.<br />
82. Join 43 Things and write a list of 43 things you want to achieve (include your blog url in the list).<br />
83. Join Blogger Party (and/or other free blog systems). Then write posts that link back to your blog.<br />
84. Make a Squidoo lens (or more than one) with a link to your blog.<br />
85. Provide Wikipedia articles with links to your blog where it makes sense.<br />
86. Tell people you will link back to them if they review your blog (like John Chow).<br />
87. Join Blog Catalog (kind of like MyBlogLog).<br />
88. Create a MySpace Page. Put your blog on it, and get some friends.<br />
89. Use SEO (Search Engine Optimization).<br />
90. Use good grammar. People will be happy with your writing.<br />
91. Submit your blog to directories in your niche.<br />
92. Email or Instant message your friends to Digg, stumbelupon, etc. your post.<br />
93. Link to your blog from other websites and blogs you own.<br />
94. Write a post about the top x bloggers in your niche or state or country, etc. Then tell them about, so they will want to link back to you.<br />
95. Promote your posts on related newsgroups.<br />
96. Post frequently.<br />
97. Submit your site to free website review sites like coolsiteoftheday.<br />
98. Search for .edu sites with link pages, forums, directories, and wikis to submit your link to.<br />
99. Give out blogging awards and tell the bloggers you are giving the awards to about it.<br />
100. Pray. (That’s just always good advice)...<br />
101. Make a 101 list.</span></div><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hey everyone, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but some tips that can help you increase your blogging revenue. The best way is to find your <b>unique</b> mix of things that work for you. There are many other tactics to help you out but the main thing is to have fun at what you are doing and try different things till you find a good mix.</span></div><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Again if you are wondering, I am working on a few more interesting posts similar to the ones I wrote before on this blog in order to bring back the <b>"glory days</b>," when I first started this. I will be basing a lot of the posts on the numerous books I have rread as well as textbooks on <b>value investing</b> and <b>successful portfolio management</b>.</span></div><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="inner" style="border-top-color: rgb(136, 136, 136); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; padding-top: 0.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Take care, thanks for reading!</span></div></div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-3610642708034232052010-11-01T23:20:00.000-07:002010-11-01T23:20:15.895-07:00Unrelated (somewhat) Post - China's Hottest TeacherHey guys, I will be putting a lot more relevant content on this blog soon, but please bare with me for a few more days. I am going to be playing (as usual) <b>Virtual Stock Trading</b> games as well as managing my own portfolio.<br />
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When I get some more posts ready, i'll post them here. They will be related to finance and ways to keep money in your pocket. Been spending too much lately anyways, need an incentive to save and grow my money in different ways, and blogging about it keeps my mindset a bit sharper.<br />
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Anyways, this post is about the <b>Hottest Teacher in China</b>. What does this have to do with finance... Well nothing really, but in the near future the posts will have something to do with finance!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>C H I N A ' S H O T T E S T T E A C H E R</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Almost overnight, a graceful, sweet-faced and trendy 30-year-old elementary school teacher in China has become an internet celebrity, with netizens wildly spreading her photographs and videos. She has created such a huge buzz that she has been dubbed “China’s sexiest female teacher.”</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://lifeisreallybeautiful.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/china-sexiest-elementary-school-teacher-13.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-59946416521373663202010-10-27T01:09:00.000-07:002010-10-27T01:09:00.956-07:00I still have a soul (HBO Boxing)<object style="background-image:url(http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/ZtMm0swu5i8/hqdefault.jpg)" width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZtMm0swu5i8?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZtMm0swu5i8?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Gave me the chills. Don't watch too many shows nowadays but this clip is definitely worth watching.</div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-80041615956081335462010-10-26T15:48:00.000-07:002010-10-26T15:48:08.646-07:00Successor to Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet's Company)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;"><a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/schifrin/2010/10/26/how-to-invest-in-warren-buffetts-new-successor/">FORBES MAGAZINE : HOW TO INVEST IN.....</a></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vitalpress.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/warren-buffet.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://www.vitalpress.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/warren-buffet.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.vitalpress.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/warren-buffet.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">This is big news, don't really now how I feel about it yet, what do you think? I'll keep this post short for now, but will discuss in depth soon, I suggest you read more about it yourself, this will have a big effect on the world of finance as we know it.</span>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-10596225518684980892010-10-21T23:39:00.000-07:002010-10-21T23:39:24.498-07:00Philosophy of Warren BuffetHey everyone, I will be working on this blog a lot more in the near future, first going to comply to <b>Mutefox's</b> request and write a post about the systematic failures and shortcomings of the modern financial system, but right now I am extremely tired, just wrote a new post on my <a href="http://www.principlesofpower.blogspot.com/">principles of power blog</a> and going to update my awesome blog with the regular awesome content. In the meantime I'm republishing my earlier article on Warren Buffet to prepare for future articles ahead. I got great feedback on this post from last time, and I will soon be delivering interesting and thought provoking posts that may help you keep more money in your pocket.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>P H I L O S O P H Y O F WA R R E N B U F F E T</b></span></div><br />
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<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img height="269" src="http://www.incolo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/warren-buffet.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm confident that many of you have heard of Warren Buffet, the most successful American investor of the century which earned him the nickname: "Sage of Omaha"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'm not going to bore you with his life story, but instead focus on some of his key philosophies that made him into such a successful man. He is still well known for his frugality despite of his incredible wealth, and even though many of us will choose to walk paths where we end up splurging from time to time, it is still important to try and be in control of money instead of it taking control of us.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img src="http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/img-blog/02-09/berkshire%20hathaway%20stock.png" style="cursor: move;" /> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Warren Buffet is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway which has stock holdings worth around 125,000$ per share currently. This may seem like an insurmountable amount of money for a single share of a stock, but the point i'm trying to show here is that disciplined investors over time can actually grow their portfolio to a point where they can consider purchasing monstrously expensive (or potentially inexpensive) stocks.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 27px;"></span></div></div><table class="cquote" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: auto; width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 35px; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;" valign="top" width="20"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">“</div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 4px;" valign="top"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It's like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GDP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die. (Lowe 1997:165–166)</span></div></td><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: right;" valign="bottom" width="20"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">”</span></div></td></tr>
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</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">From a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">NY Times</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> article: "I don't believe in dynastic wealth", Warren Buffett said, calling those who grow up in wealthy circumstances "members of the lucky sperm club".<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buffett has written several times of his belief that, in a market economy, the rich earn outsized rewards for their talents:</span></div></div><table class="cquote" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; color: black; margin-bottom: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: auto; width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;" valign="top" width="20"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">“</div></td><td style="padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 4px;" valign="top"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A market economy creates some lopsided payoffs to participants. The right endowment of vocal chords, anatomical structure, physical strength, or mental powers can produce enormous piles of claim checks (stocks, bonds, and other forms of capital) on future national output. Proper selection of ancestors similarly can result in lifetime supplies of such tickets upon birth. If zero real investment returns diverted a bit greater portion of the national output from such stockholders to equally worthy and hardworking citizens lacking jackpot-producing talents, it would seem unlikely to pose such an insult to an equitable world as to risk Divine Intervention.</div></td><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: right;" valign="bottom" width="20"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">”</div></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BiB01%2BcHL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This was the first book I read related to investing early on in my high school years which introduced me to the underlying theory of investing.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>NEVER LOSE MONEY</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10.8333px; line-height: 19px;"></span></div></div><dl style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.2em;"><dt style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">General rules</span></dt>
</dl><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">You're neither right nor wrong because other people agree with you. You're right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right—and that's the only thing that makes you right. And if your facts and reasoning are right, you don't have to worry about anybody else.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Our favourite holding period is forever.<br />
<br />
<ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, 1988</li>
</ul></li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is usually the reputation of the business that remains intact.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If you don't know jewelry, know the jeweler.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don't own it for 10 minutes.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">One's objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over... your problem won't improve with age.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In the insurance business, there is no statute of limitation on stupidity.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect... You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The future is <i>never</i> clear, and you pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus. Uncertainty is the friend of the buyer of long-term values.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">We will only do with your money what we would do with our own.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Occasionally, a man must rise above principles.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Of one thing be certain: if a CEO is enthused about a particularly foolish acquisition, both his internal staff and his outside advisors will come up with whatever projections are needed to justify his stance. Only in fairy tales are emperors told that they are naked.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">When asked how he became so successful in investing, Buffett answered: we read hundreds and hundreds of annual reports every year.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">"I never buy anything unless I can fill out on a piece of paper my reasons. I may be wrong, but I would know the answer to that. "I'm paying $32 billion today for the Coca Cola Company because..." If you can't answer that question, you shouldn't buy it. If you can answer that question, and you do it a few times, you'll make a lot of money."</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">You ought to be able to explain why you're taking the job you're taking, why you're making the investment you're making, or whatever it may be. And if it can't stand applying pencil to paper, you'd better think it through some more. And if you can't write an intelligent answer to those questions, don't do it.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">I really like my life. I've <i>arranged</i> my life so that I can do what I want.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If you gave me the choice of being CEO of General Electric or IBM or General Motors, you name it, or delivering papers, I would deliver papers. I would. I enjoyed doing that. I can think about what I want to think. I don't have to do anything I don't want to do.</li>
</ul><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
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</span></span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I hope this helped you get an idea of what the nature of my blog will be in the next couple of posts.</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ideally I want to talk about the different tools investors use to achieve success when starting their portfolios, and maintaining them after they have achieved some level of success.</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
I hate to admit that I myself have not been especially prudent with handling my money, and thus I am writing this blog for myself as well as anyone who is interested to help them keep focused and actively make their money work for them instead of working so hard for it.</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Again thanks for all the positive comments and to all new followers, please feel free to post your own opinions and things you would like to see me blog about in the future.</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Happy blogging</span></div></div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-60910062636969317272010-10-17T19:01:00.000-07:002010-10-17T19:01:37.725-07:00Question to all my Blog Readers!!Hey everyone, I would like to get this blog alive and kicking again like the golden days last month. I noticed my viewership in this blog has dwindled as of late, and I will soon remedy that, but first I need to ask you this:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>What do you want to read and learn about in this blog?</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/gold.jpg" width="200" /></a>I'm open to all ideas, I have been having a bit of a writers block regarding this blog since i'm not 100% sure in which direction I want to take it. I'm not a guru or anything, but I do spend a lot of time reading and studying a broad selection of financial topics, business, and macro/micro economics.<br />
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Some ideas I have but not limited to are:<br />
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1.) Discussing select stocks, from penny stocks to large-chip stocks<br />
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2.) Discussing <b>currencies, commodities, </b>and <b>futures</b><br />
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3.) Real Estate/Property Investments<br />
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4.) Select Discussions on Companies e.g. My Apple post<br />
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5.) ?????????????????????????????????<br />
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Thanks in advance, happy bloggingBLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-56222162319143484432010-10-12T14:20:00.000-07:002010-10-12T14:21:13.220-07:00Warren Buffett: How to Read Stocks<div style="text-align: left;">Hey everyone, here are some Warren Buffett videos that I found to be fairly interesting to watch. There are a tremendous amount of videos on YouTube, and I believe that even though there is <b>information overload</b>, if you are focused and direct in your learning, you can basically do anything nowadays.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The difficult part is managing your priorities, <b>getting organized</b>, and <b>following through</b>. I share these videos because I have read many of Buffett's annual reports, watched his interviews, and also read his biography, and am always impressed by his investing style and constant success.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I hope you find these videos interesting, i'll be updating this blog more so after my midterms are done!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iW1eg9p5wq4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iW1eg9p5wq4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-63282924535747775182010-10-07T00:56:00.000-07:002010-10-07T00:56:47.800-07:00Sex Sells, and The Future<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3317/3657642454_5ac7f0ca11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3317/3657642454_5ac7f0ca11.jpg" width="248" /></a>Hey everyone, haven't gotten the chance to update this blog due to the busyness of school, and usually this blog takes the most thinking for me, so i'm sorry to say that i've neglected it a bit. Make sure to check out my other blogs if you haven't already, i'm going to try and spend some more time on my blogs and getting the website up and running in the near future.<br />
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Now, tonight, i'm going to make up for it by writing an interesting post on my personal views on how the concept of "sex sells," is going to change in the next few decades. This is of course, a very broad topic, but one that I am sure you are all interested in. If life is a game, then the winners are the ones who "have sex" and have kids, and whatever else that makes you happy.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">S E X S E L L S , A N D T H E F U T U R E </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.americaninventorspot.com/files/images/victorias_secret_angels.img_assist_custom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Victoria's Secret Angels" border="0" src="http://www.americaninventorspot.com/files/images/victorias_secret_angels.img_assist_custom.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sex In Advertising</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's no secret, sex sells, and companies have been exploiting this fact for over a century now. Since the late 1800's, companies began to realize that they could throw in sexually provocative messages in their products and it would start selling even more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Whether it be beer, fast food, cars, electronics, Japanese anime, you name it, <b>sex sells</b>, always has, always will. Sure you don't <b>NEED</b> sex to sell your product, you can find another gimmick or utilize a different strategy to generate your sales, but there is no doubt that it is one of the most effective strategies being used over and over again in most societies.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://quitsmoking.theauthorityonline.com/images/cigad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://quitsmoking.theauthorityonline.com/images/cigad.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Ironies of Sex in Advertising</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>It may be slightly ironic to imagine the advertising campaigns a few decades ago, that featured a nurse smoking a pack of Camels. It is even more ironic that a product specifically designed for women would become even more popular with men, revolutionizing a whole new niche in product advertising. Smoking has been attributed with a lot of terrible, cancerous diseases and maladies but somehow, with the help of sex, millions of people around the world became addicted to this small cylindrical product.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sex In Advertising Today</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Today, sex is used to sell beer, books, bongs, Benz's, and any product from any letter of the alphabet that you choose to name, not just "b's." Imagine the standard beer commerical, which focuses 10% on the "beer" aspect, and 90% on the extremely beautiful women in skimpy clothing running around with a bunch of average Joes. Sex sells because it is what we want to see, and is more likely to leave a lasting impression in our brains than just simply showing the product as it is. No one would buy your brand of beer if you simply advertised the product as it is, since beer is boring, unless there are "sexy people" around to enjoy it with you.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Currently, it does not seem like the trend is slowing down, and instead, only getting bigger. (no pun intended) The internet porn industry has grown rapidly since the speed of the internet only keeps increasing while the quality of videos is a lot higher. Likewise, we are witnessing a revolution in the way we feel about our media, with internet marketing growing faster than ever imagined.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Future of Sex in Advertising, and the Media</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images_living/love-sex-robots7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/images_living/love-sex-robots7.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the start of a trend that will continue to lead us into the future. It is likely that we will be seeing 3D ads on our computers and television screens, giving companies more chances to interact on a more personal level with each consumer. There will also probably be whole new products and services offered to cater to the endless sexual desires of the human mind, whether it be in robots, virtual reality, or many more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What is considered radical and unlikely now, which encompasses much of what we actually have today, is likely to transcend into the future. There is no doubt in my mind that these companies are going to continue to use sexually suggestive material to sell stuff to our kids and so on.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://girlstalkinsmack.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/miley-cyrus.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://girlstalkinsmack.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/miley-cyrus.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Even in the media, <b>SEX </b>controls everything, seriously, <b>JONAS BROTHERS, JUSTIN BIEBER</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>JAILBAIT?</b> I'm not the only one that sees this am I? Are Disney and Mickey Mouse trying to sell sex to OUR kids? Probably, the South park episode on it is pretty funny too!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">LG phones for little girls, with really hot models advertising the phones in some sort of slutty pose. Sure, why not, give them the idols they want, and let them fantasize about what they will grow up to be like. Hey, its been working for decades, why not ride the gravy train even further.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Point of this Post</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/thumb/6/60/Sniff_sniff.JPG/180px-Sniff_sniff.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/thumb/6/60/Sniff_sniff.JPG/180px-Sniff_sniff.JPG" /></a>So whats the point of this whole post? Well its pretty simple, if you want results, add some sort of sexual innuendo in your products or campaign and see a spike in results if you apply the rules properly.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What are the rules? Well it ties in with the Principles of Power that I talk about in my other blog. Basically, you can't be too offensive, and learn where to draw the line between what is "acceptable" to society. If you overstep your bounds, you might be found rude and abrasive, which would then jeopardize and tarnish your reputation. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">You have to create a smokescreen, not do it deliberately, but kind of slip it in here and there without drawing too much attention to it. The subconscious probably sees and processes a lot of this information without actually realizing that it has already created a profound effect on you and whoever else may have watched it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-5673958876946009272010-10-04T08:52:00.000-07:002010-10-04T10:24:13.601-07:00Facebook > Google<div><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/02/facebook-bigger-google/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)">http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/02/facebook-bigger-google/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)</a><br />
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Great read. I watched the Social Network movie yesterday and was really impressed with the production values and humor they injected.<br />
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I found the article above to be very interesting and informative. Perhaps one day a blogger will create an idea that will rival or surpass Facebook. If the future is a riddle, maybe it's time to start coming up with our own answers.<br />
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</div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"></span>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-23178299528254922562010-10-02T15:08:00.000-07:002010-10-02T15:11:36.575-07:00The Importance of Outsourcing and why YOU should do it<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Good afternoon, haven't updated lately but I'll make up for it with an interesting post today about</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The Importance of Outsourcing and why YOU should do it"</span></span></i></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I hope you like the new layout for my blogs, I made the changes to reduce lag and make everything more visible, crisp, and sharpened looking. Thanks for all the great comments, i'll be working hard soon after in replying and reading your blogs as well.</span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img src="http://flatclassroomproject2008.wikispaces.com/file/view/outsourcing.jpg/42295391/outsourcing.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Without further ado, i'll begin....</span></span><br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">What is Outsourcing</span></span></u></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Outsourcing, in my own words, is basically hiring someone or letting someone do the work that you should not be focusing on, since </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">time</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> is </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">valuable</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> and you should be </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">doing the things you are BETTER at</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">. Essentially, its sub-contracting work to a third party, whether it be Chinese workers packing cards for an American Casino ring, or phone companies hiring workers in India or the Philippines to complete their telemarketing aspect.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Outsourcing is a term that is frequently misused, and this is because it is a broad term and can refer to different aspects. We won't worry about that though, this article is based purely on </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">how YOU should do it</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> in order to reap in benefits in your life.</span></span><br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">What are the Benefits?</span></span></u></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">There can be a </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">tremendous</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> amount of benefits to both small business owners, and even larger businesses, and even to someone who does not have a business.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">If you are a great writer, but do not know how to market your writing online or to potential publishers, should you really </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">spend hours on end trying to learn marketing?</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> Perhaps in some cases, it is good to have a </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">general idea</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> of the subject so you are not clueless, but not spend four years in university to get a degree in the field.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">BUT the point of the fact is, in most cases you should </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">find someone</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> who can </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">help</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> you do the tasks you find mundane or difficult so that you can </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">focus on what you are actually good at</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">.</span></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Efficiency</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> is the key to success, and can also </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">reduce </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">the amount of work and </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">stress</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> for you.</span></span><br />
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<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"Fact is, you cannot do it all on your own either. No matter how much you like to think that you can do it better, faster and more efficiently than anyone else, the fact remains that you will eventually burn out. The worst number in any business is "1". Meaning, you never want to be the only one working in your business."</span></span></blockquote><u><br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">How Do I outsource?</span></span></u></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can do this in many ways, first by going online and doing research about the tasks that you might want to outsource to another firm. These types of tasks could include</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">: Human Resources, Accounting, Payroll, Budget, Logistics, Web Promotion</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, and many many more, depending on the nature of your business and specifically what aspects you want to reduce stress from.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Lets say you have a </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">large website</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, with a lot of articles needing to be written, updated, commented, and more. Would it really be worth all your time, hours a day, writing and doing everything yourself? Even outsourcing some of the work to your pen-pal friend in Malaysia would help alleviate some of the stress from your shoulders.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Better yet, if you have a few dollars per hour to spare, you can actually </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">find people online</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> to do the work for you! Of course, you </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">get what you pay for</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> in most cases, and hiring a 3$/hr writer from the the Philippines might not get as good results as an 20$/hr writer in California. Some people charge based on the amount of words, and many other factors play in, but you get the idea.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Even if you are still a student, and have yet to start or be involved with a business, learning the importance of </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">gaining leverage</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"> through outsourcing the tasks you:</span></span><br />
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<li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; width: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Stuff you're not good at doing or don't care for</span></span></li><br />
<li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; width: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Stuff you don't know how to do very well</span></span></li><br />
<li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; width: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Stuff you don't have time to do (since you should be busy with other things)</span></span></li><br />
<li style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; width: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Anything outside of your brilliance/genius (meaning, everything other than the stuff only you can do in your business)</span></span></li><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8333px;"><span style="color: #626366; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #626366; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thanks for taking the time to read this article, I hope you found something useful that you can apply later on in other aspects of your life!</span></span></span></b></span><br />
</span></span></span>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-78423824328700331212010-09-29T22:45:00.000-07:002010-09-29T22:45:15.345-07:00Chinese Playing Cards Factory - Image of a Supersonic Economy<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3KAny-1saS4?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3KAny-1saS4?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Good evening, this is a slightly unrelated post, but interesting nonetheless. This video shows workers in China working at lightning speed, packing decks of cards. As you may know, China has a huge labour force which makes every product you can imagine. Many countries such as America, Canada, European countries, and many more, outsource their labour to China in order to cut costs.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://trendsniff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/china-gdp-growth.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://trendsniff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/china-gdp-growth.gif" /></a>In North America, a lot of our workers are spoiled, with unions, sick pay, vacation days, and more, when compared to that of China's workers, it's crazy how hard they work. Unfortunately, since there is such an abundance of these workers, they are often mistreated and are willing to work dangerous jobs just for a few hundred dollars a month, not even a quarter or what most people in other countries would make.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">China's GDP growth rate is incredible, and is creating a huge impact on global markets with millionaires being created every day.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gafunds.com/asiabrief/20050331/1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://www.gafunds.com/asiabrief/20050331/1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Chinese middle class is also growing at a rate never seen before. Basically, there is a lot of growth and spending going on in China which is creating a lot of change in all parts of the world. Even though there are many more billionaires being produced, most of the country lives off $3600 dollars a year or less.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What does this mean? China has become the second largest economy in the world, surpassing Japan, and produce everything from batteries to cars, clothes to furniture, and everything in between.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now you might be thinking, whats the point? Basically, there are many investors that are eyeballing China as a potential gold mine. Imagine how many houses need to be built to support the rising middle class. As the population grows even larger, mouths have to be fed, children have to be clothed and educated, and more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">How do you invest in China's shifting economy? There are many potential answers to that question, but somethings to think about if you are interested are investing in its industrialization, energy, and consumable commodities such as oil, copper, etc.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Do some research, a well balanced portfolio can also include assets from foreign enterprises, and there may just be a lot of potential in the future.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-21444649563859934192010-09-27T22:51:00.000-07:002010-09-28T13:32:30.886-07:00Interesting Stock Market Facts and Statistics<a href="http://cdn.thefrisky.com/images/uploads/call_girl_money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://cdn.thefrisky.com/images/uploads/call_girl_money.jpg" width="320" /></a>Hey everyone, sorry for not having been able to update this blog in a few days, posts usually take much longer than my other blogs to create, and I have had a lot of schoolwork to deal with.<br />
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Anyways, I will create new awesome original content in the near future, however for now, please enjoy some of these interesting stock market facts and statistics!<br />
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<b>29 Very Interesting Stock Market Facts and </b>Statistics!<br />
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I added some pictures as well to dist- I mean keep you interested, please check out my new blog, if you haven't already!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.principlesofpower.blogspot.com/">Principles of POWER</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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Author: Matthew Merriman<br />
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October 2008 has raised interest in the stock market due to widespread news coverage on the banks closing and therefore stocks falling. So to supplement your interest here are 28 very interesting stock market statistics for you!<br />
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$36.6 trillion - the estimated size of the world stock market at the beginning of October 2008.<br />
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22.6% - the biggest fall of the Dow Jones in 1 day! (1987)<br />
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15.34% - the biggest gain of the Dow Jones in 1 day! (1933)<br />
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30% drop in the market - Would mean the NYSE would close trading there and then for the day.<br />
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80% - the amount of capitalisation represented by the FTSE 100 on the whole London Stock Exchange.<br />
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400-1 - The leverage given to you by some FOREX companies!<br />
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$2000 - the initial deposit you must legally have in the US to open a margin account.<br />
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£0 - the amount of tax you have to pay on a spread betting account in the UK as its classed as gambling.<br />
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86.3% - the amount of FOREX traders that trade the USD<br />
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500% - The amount the stock market grew between 1982 and 1993 in terms of capitalisation.<br />
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1602 - the year the first shares were issued on the Amsterdam stock exchange<br />
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$11 million - the amount a company must have earned over the last 3 years to gain a listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange<br />
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83% - The percentage of wealth given away by famous investor Warren Buffet to the Bill % Melinda Gates charitable foundation<br />
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$26 trillion - The current value of mutual funds<br />
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1790 - The date of the oldest stock exchange in the US opened (Philadelphia)<br />
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143,646,198 - The volume of the most traded ETF on the US markets, SPY.<br />
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0.5% - The agreed worldwide interest rate drop in October 2008 to counteract the huge drops in shares.<br />
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GRRR - The symbol of Lion Country Safari (ok not technically a stat but worth knowing!)<br />
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24.39% - The amount lost on the Dow Jones index due the effects of World War I.<br />
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£9,600 - The amount you can earn (UK) before paying capital gains tax of 18% on stocks, better than the £5,600 income tax allowance!<br />
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0 - The amount of capital gains tax paid in Mexico, Malaysia and Barbados to name a few.<br />
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50% - A rough estimate of the rise in the share price of Apple in the aftermath of the iPhone.<br />
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1984 - The year the FTSE 100 index was introduced with a staring value of 1000.00 (6950.60, the highest value reached to date, 1999)<br />
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1 - The position of Royal Dutch Shell as the most capitalised share in the UK (Oil company, 31 Dec 2007)<br />
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1993 - The year the first ETF was introduced tracking the S&P 500<br />
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89% - The amount wiped off stocks between 1929-1932, during the great depression.<br />
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2 - The position of the Tokyo stock exchange in terms of most capitalised stock exchanges.<br />
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2008 - The year oil reached $100 a barrel<br />
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14.68% - The drop in the Dow Jones in the first half of 2008.<br />
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<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/11/article-0-01E9633000000578-809_468x286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/07/11/article-0-01E9633000000578-809_468x286.jpg" width="320" /></a>I hope these stock market statistics have quenched your stock market interest for now, good luck with the trading guys! Don't forget to check out my website for more information on the stock market!<br />
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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/29-very-interesting-stock-market-facts-and-statistics-643206.htmlBLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-64715185361082222272010-09-25T15:36:00.000-07:002010-09-25T16:19:17.191-07:00Making More Money From Blogging<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A7PKLjXGzzUybM:http://blog.karachicorner.com/blog-images/079/blogging-tips.jpg&t=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A7PKLjXGzzUybM:http://blog.karachicorner.com/blog-images/079/blogging-tips.jpg&t=1" width="299" /></a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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</div>Good afternoon everyone, writing this post a bit late because I had a really late night and ended up waking up around 2:50pm. I'm writing this post as my own "definitive" guide at creating a generous income from blogging. Although again, I don't claim to be a huge expert yet on the topic, I believe I can give some very useful tips that have helped me along the way, and I hope you can apply them to your blog. I noticed I did not really get as much interest from my last blog post since there was not many direct benefits that you, the reader could apply.<br />
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I highly recommend downloading the free e-book, BBBFinalCourse (Bonafide Blogging Bucks) it has a tonne of useful information that any blogger will find highly useful. This guide is intended for people who have already been blogging for a few weeks and are frustrated that they are not making as much income as they should for their hard work, hope this helps and you improve your blog. If you have any additional tips, please share them with everyone too!<br />
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</div><div><img height="275" src="http://www.standoutblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/start-blogging-for-money.jpg" width="640" /></div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Step 1: </b>Blog About Something People Care About, Make it Stand Out, and don't "overwork"</div><div><br />
</div><div>This should seem fairly obvious, but I am noticing that there are a lot of blogs that are basically mirror images or each other even though the content may be a little bit different. Try to write in a unique style that sets you apart from other similar blog, or else you become easily forgettable and thus lose you money.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Many people can blog, but not many people can blog properly, and efficiently. Blog writing should be intuitive to the reader, they don't want to spend that much time reading your posts if there is no direct benefit to them.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Overworking on a blog is another huge mistake for bloggers. (in my opinion) Some bloggers spend a lot of time thinking of what they are going to write about, and then another few hours writing a long and boring blog post. Make sure to <b>PLAN</b> ahead of time what you are going to write about and save them as drafts on your blog so you can go back and check on them. Use the internet or the library to gather information, make sure you are getting your information from credible sources or your readers may start to question the legitimacy of your posts.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Tip: Try to get your readers engaged in the topic, get feedback on your posts, and always reply to every single question or comment</div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="298" src="http://static.flickr.com/65/194549900_e8f17991ab_o.jpg" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Step 2: </b>Becoming Web-Savvy & Improving Your Layout</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is my main goal right now and the one I believe to be the most crucial to improving your chances at blogging success. What do I mean by Web-Savvy?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">" </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What do I mean by web savvy? You don’t need to be a programmer, but you need a decent functional understanding of a variety of web technologies. What technologies are “key” will depend on the nature of your blog and your means of monetization. But generally speaking I’d list these elements as significant:</span></span></div><ul style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">blog publishing software</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">HTML/CSS</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">blog comments (and comment spam)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">RSS/syndication</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">feed aggregators</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">pings</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">trackbacks</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">full vs. partial feeds</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">blog carnivals (for kick-starting your blog’s traffic)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">search engines</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">search engine optimization (SEO)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">page rank</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">social bookmarking</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">tagging</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">contextual advertising</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">affiliate programs</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">traffic statistics</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">email</span></li>
</ul><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Optional: podcasting, instant messaging, PHP or other web scripting languages. "</span></div><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">source: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/05/how-to-make-money-from-your-blog/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/05/how-to-make-money-from-your-blog/</span></a></span></div><div style="color: #333333; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 19px;">There are some other things that are missing from the list but understanding these basic terms will allow you to take your blog to the next level. This is the type of knowledge that separates the winners from the losers, and believe me, after roughly two weeks of blogging, I can already tell that at least 85% of bloggers will quit within their first month, it does some hard work and learning, but the benefits also be quite staggering.</div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 19px;">Basically, your blog is a business, improving your layout by understand the rules will only help make your blog even better, do not neglect it and if anything, find a friend that can help you out and give you some suggestions. There are also a tonne of useful guides out there that can help you if you are confused.</div><div style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
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</div><div><b>Step 3: </b>Traffic, Traffic, Traffic, Traffic, Traffic, Traffic, Traffic.... and Traffic</div><div><br />
</div><div>Yes, traffic. It is the single most important thing for any blogger who is serious about making some money from their hard work. Your income is directly linked to how much traffic you receive on your website, and if you currently have around 10,000 views a month, and are making roughly 500$, imagine if you had 100,000 or even a million views. Intrigued yet? Also, if your blogging without adsense, make to to get it for your content and if you have a domain, for that too.</div><div><br />
</div><div>For times sake, I will leave a link here that will give you a very good idea on how to accomplish this feat. I highly reccomend it for anyone serious about making more money from blogging.</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/01/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-web-site-or-blog/">http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/01/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-web-site-or-blog/</a></div><div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/fun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.problogger.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/fun.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Step 4</b>: Have Fun! Show Character in Your Post, and Good Things Will Follow</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Without this step, you might as well give up now. Blogging should be a fun, a hobby that could be your job, but a hobby nonetheless. If you are waking up thinking "God, this is awful, I need to write a blog post, it's already been two days..." Then you probably shouldn't be blogging in the first place.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I enjoy blogging, and even though I am fairly new and newbish at times, I put a lot of effort into writing these posts and still have fun at the same time. It is important to have pride as a blogger, and not to take things too seriously. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If anything, write a blog that genuinely benefit your reader, and they will always give you positive feedback and perhaps advice that could improve your blog. We are still all human beings and being on the internet does not change that fact. Remember that you are writing for your peers, and not a mindless robot spewing out information from your backside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Final Words:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thanks to everyone who has been supporting my three blogs during the last two weeks, your comments mean a lot to me and I am in the process of learning on how to take it to the next level. Any tips and advice would be welcome, and feel free to post your own "steps" as a comment for other readers to view.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you haven't already, check out my other two blogs:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3verythingawesome.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Random Awesome Blog</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;"><a href="http://principlesofpower.blogspot.com/">Principles of Power</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://principlesofpower.blogspot.com/"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Random Awesome blog was my first blog I started on my birthday, and has already made me a decent sum of money.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The important thing to remember is that <b>traffic is more important than income</b> and you should ALWAYS work on improving that first, or else your income will remain stagnant.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Hope you guys found this post enlightening,</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Happy blogging!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">P.S. If you like what you see here, please share with your friends who are interested, and recommend my blog to others, I would appreciate it immensely, thank you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-867514538574249872010-09-23T19:21:00.000-07:002010-09-23T20:26:16.133-07:00McDonald's & Money<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://positivepsychologynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/thank-you-bodies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://positivepsychologynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/thank-you-bodies.jpg" width="320" /></a>Hey everyone, before I begin, I would like to thank everyone for their great comments and support, it really motivates me to step up my game and write articles that will truly benefit you. I also started a new blog that will explore the "Principles of Power," a more serious topic but one that is very interesting nonetheless. If your interested, please check it out! <br />
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http://PrinciplesofPower.blogspot.com. </div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/mcdonalds1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/mcdonalds1.jpg" width="200" /></a>Alright, now this leads me to my main article of the day, McDonald's and money. I'm not going in depth about the boring stuff, but will talk about the techniques they have used over and over again to become and stay one of the most powerful corporations in the world.<br />
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We all eat McDonald's, and our children will be eating it in the future as well, but even amidst all the concerns for "Healthy" eating and opting for organic food choices, McDonald's is still reaping in huge profits every year, and spreading their influence to basically every corner of the world.<br />
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I have worked at McDonald's, written a long 10,000 word report on them for college, and it was the first stock I ever bought in mid 2006 at just over <b>35</b>$ per share. Just for your information, McDonald's is currently trading at <b>76$</b>...|<br />
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</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">First of all I will begin with the most crucial aspect of McDonald's success, its brand. Since the age of two, most children can recognize McDonald's by either it's main logo, the "M" signifying the golden arches, or by their mascot, Ronald McDonald (notice the cheesy rhyme?)<br />
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Again, simplicity is key here, consumers do not really want to think about what they want to buy, they want to be told what they want, and whenever we see a McDonald's sign, our subconscious is reminding us of our cravings for their food.</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
The McDonald's brand is carried out by hundreds of thousands of employees who are given great training and opportunities for advancement. Even though many regard McDonald's as a poor job, and in some cases it really is, one cannot deny the rigorous training all members receive upon being hired. This is crucial for monetary success because with so many restaurants around the world, if your employees are lacking, your business will begin to rot and fester from the inside and eat its way straight to the core.</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="577" src="http://www.bittenandbound.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/justin-timberlake-and-beyonce.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Secondly, McDonald's advertisements are everywhere and they always partner themselves with the most popular celebrities, athletes, Olympic Gold Medalists, you name it. Honestly, I would not be surprised at all if Justin Bieber became the next brand ambassador for McDonalds, since Justin Timberlake has been out of the spotlight for a while. In order to balance this commitment of paying millions of dollars for these celebrities to endorse their brand, McDonald's has their own charity which helps children all around the world.</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Ronald McDonald's charities raise millions of dollars every year to help less privileged children around the world, and this is extremely important for McDonalds to uphold their image and not seem like they are doing everything just for the money. Even though millions of people may become fatter because of eating a lot of McDonald's, donating a few hundred million does make you look a lot better, and associating yourself with the leanest and meanest athletes of the time, and being an official sponsor for the Olympics, Fifa, and every major sporting event doesn't hurt either.<br />
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So what can you learn from McDonald's? I'll give you some tips that you can apply in your everyday life. First of all, don't be afraid to make mistakes, they will teach you how to succeed if you reflect upon them carefully and learn from them. For example, McDonald's Pizza was a huge failure, as well as the Lobster burger, and many others.</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="443" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2969092040_0d6db4fd69.jpg" width="640" /></div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Secondly, if you are considering buying a stock like McDonald's, make sure you understand the company very well before you buy it. Although penny stocks may give you the opportunity to achieve a huge amount of growth in a short amount of time, there is a much bigger risk that you could lose a tremendous amount of money. Blue-Chip stocks like McDonald's have a far lesser chance of disappearing off the face of the earth, unlike many penny stocks which disintegrate within months of speculation.</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Thirdly, associate yourselves with powerful allies to further your cause, never let your image become ruined by joining forces with those who are foolish, impatient, and greedy. Make sure you achieve balance by helping out the poor and the needy as well, to retain that "human" essence that attracts us to those who can bring benefits to our lives.<br />
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Lastly, and similarly to what I said about Apple, there is no such thing as bad advertising. If you are not being seen, you might as well have never existed. McDonald's is successful because everywhere we go we can see with our own two eyes the legacy they have created. Although we might not like it, feel jealous towards it, or simply do not care about it, it still exists and is growing each and everyday, fuelled by the consumers that have embraced their food and the comfortable lodgings they create. You must be fluid, and accept change as an opportunity for growth, not something that will bring about your downfall. That is why McDonald's has survived for so long, being able to change with the times like a chameleon, yet always remaining on top!</div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-51758938492671229942010-09-21T18:32:00.000-07:002010-10-03T02:11:49.376-07:00The Philosophy of Warren Buffet<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="269" src="http://www.incolo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/warren-buffet.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
I'm confident that many of you have heard of Warren Buffet, the most successful American investor of the century which earned him the nickname: "Sage of Omaha"<br />
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I'm not going to bore you with his life story, but instead focus on some of his key philosophies that made him into such a successful man. He is still well known for his frugality despite of his incredible wealth, and even though many of us will choose to walk paths where we end up splurging from time to time, it is still important to try and be in control of money instead of it taking control of us.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/img-blog/02-09/berkshire%20hathaway%20stock.png" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Warren Buffet is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway which has stock holdings worth around 125,000$ per share currently. This may seem like an insurmountable amount of money for a single share of a stock, but the point i'm trying to show here is that disciplined investors over time can actually grow their portfolio to a point where they can consider purchasing monstrously expensive (or potentially inexpensive) stocks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 27px;"></span></div><table class="cquote" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; color: black; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: auto; width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 35px; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;" valign="top" width="20">“</td><td style="padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 4px;" valign="top"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It's like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GDP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die. (Lowe 1997:165–166)</span></td><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: right;" valign="bottom" width="20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">”</span></td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">From a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">NY Times</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> article: "I don't believe in dynastic wealth", Warren Buffett said, calling those who grow up in wealthy circumstances "members of the lucky sperm club".<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buffett has written several times of his belief that, in a market economy, the rich earn outsized rewards for their talents:</span></div><table class="cquote" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; color: black; margin-bottom: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: auto; width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;" valign="top" width="20">“</td><td style="padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 4px;" valign="top">A market economy creates some lopsided payoffs to participants. The right endowment of vocal chords, anatomical structure, physical strength, or mental powers can produce enormous piles of claim checks (stocks, bonds, and other forms of capital) on future national output. Proper selection of ancestors similarly can result in lifetime supplies of such tickets upon birth. If zero real investment returns diverted a bit greater portion of the national output from such stockholders to equally worthy and hardworking citizens lacking jackpot-producing talents, it would seem unlikely to pose such an insult to an equitable world as to risk Divine Intervention.</td><td style="color: #b2b7f2; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: right;" valign="bottom" width="20">”</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BiB01%2BcHL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This was the first book I read related to investing early on in my high school years which introduced me to the underlying theory of investing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>NEVER LOSE MONEY</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10.8333px; line-height: 19px;"></span></div><dl style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-top: 0.2em;"><dt style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">General rules</span></dt>
</dl><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">You're neither right nor wrong because other people agree with you. You're right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right—and that's the only thing that makes you right. And if your facts and reasoning are right, you don't have to worry about anybody else.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Our favourite holding period is forever.<br />
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<ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, 1988</li>
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</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is usually the reputation of the business that remains intact.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If you don't know jewelry, know the jeweler.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don't own it for 10 minutes.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">One's objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over... your problem won't improve with age.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In the insurance business, there is no statute of limitation on stupidity.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect... You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The future is <i>never</i> clear, and you pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus. Uncertainty is the friend of the buyer of long-term values.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">We will only do with your money what we would do with our own.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Occasionally, a man must rise above principles.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Of one thing be certain: if a CEO is enthused about a particularly foolish acquisition, both his internal staff and his outside advisors will come up with whatever projections are needed to justify his stance. Only in fairy tales are emperors told that they are naked.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">When asked how he became so successful in investing, Buffett answered: we read hundreds and hundreds of annual reports every year.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">"I never buy anything unless I can fill out on a piece of paper my reasons. I may be wrong, but I would know the answer to that. "I'm paying $32 billion today for the Coca Cola Company because..." If you can't answer that question, you shouldn't buy it. If you can answer that question, and you do it a few times, you'll make a lot of money."</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">You ought to be able to explain why you're taking the job you're taking, why you're making the investment you're making, or whatever it may be. And if it can't stand applying pencil to paper, you'd better think it through some more. And if you can't write an intelligent answer to those questions, don't do it.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">I really like my life. I've <i>arranged</i> my life so that I can do what I want.</li>
</ul><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: url(http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/bullet-icon.png?1); list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">If you gave me the choice of being CEO of General Electric or IBM or General Motors, you name it, or delivering papers, I would deliver papers. I would. I enjoyed doing that. I can think about what I want to think. I don't have to do anything I don't want to do.</li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I hope this helped you get an idea of what the nature of my blog will be in the next couple of posts.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ideally I want to talk about the different tools investors use to achieve success when starting their portfolios, and maintaining them after they have achieved some level of success.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
I hate to admit that I myself have not been especially prudent with handling my money, and thus I am writing this blog for myself as well as anyone who is interested to help them keep focused and actively make their money work for them instead of working so hard for it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Again thanks for all the positive comments and to all new followers, please feel free to post your own opinions and things you would like to see me blog about in the future.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Happy blogging</span></div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-75763926008001271552010-09-20T13:12:00.000-07:002010-09-20T13:40:18.561-07:00A Brief Insight on Apple's Success Part 1<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; "><img src="http://www.stocktradingtogo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/aapl-091107.png" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The first time I was introduced to Apple products, I was probably in the first or second grade and was quite nervous upon leaving the comfortable domain of my classroom to enter the mysterious computer lab.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I remember curiously studying the new Macintosh computers and spotting the simple apple logo and thinking to myself, "Man this is a stupid looking logo," and then proceeded on to play Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Little did I know that Apple would soon begin its unprecedented rise throughout the decade and establish itself as one of the most powerful and innovative companies anywhere in the world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://cnmnewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/06.1-apple.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This is an old picture and as of today, Apple has risen almost 8$ per share to a whopping 283.23$ per share. Imagine, just between 2001 to late 2004, Apple shares never really rose past 10-15$ per share, and now it has exploded to become one of the most sought and traded stocks in the market.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The question i'm <b>sure</b> you are asking yourself now is: How can I spot the next Apple or Microsoft and buy when they are still cheap. Unfortunately there are no perfect answers to this question, but there are many indicators that can help you predict with a degree of accuracy whether or not a company has a chance of achieving success int he future.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Being able to read a financial statement is critical to assessing a companies future potential and how well they may continue to do in the future. It is important to learn a few reasonably simple calculations such as ROI, (rate on investment) Debt to equity ratios, and a few more. Heres a link if you want to learn a bit more<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thecorys.com/babs/key_financial_ratios.htm">http://www.thecorys.com/babs/key_financial_ratios.htm</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS60abAD75Q9pvB6qzCQaGmiqjdwlrUyXuSNfkgfC4We8BcdTo&t=1&usg=__OWc_vQsPLq-Zs6oYEp4_RoC1qtU=" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Also, a company cannot succeed (in most circumstances) without a clear and powerful leader who invokes a high level of charisma, passion, and dedication towards his company. Steve Jobs exemplifies many of the qualities of a truly successful and motivated CEO and has brought Apple back from the dead into a larger than life company. Although there are many criticisms about some of Apples products and policies, it cannot be denied that his ambition has stirred the interest of the world and helped create the empire that Apple has become today.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.cs.iusb.edu/~danav/teach/i310/apple-full.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Personally, I believe that one of the reasons for Apple's huge success in the recent years is based on its simplicity. With the influx in modern technologies and a rapidly developing urban society, it is becoming harder and harder to reach out to everyday potential customers, and Apple has exceeded everyone's expectations by invoking mass media internationalization. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>For example, the I-Pad, I-Phone, basic premise of marketing lies in one letter, "I." Although it has transformed and evolved into different shapes and forms in its products, Apple's simplicity and ease of use has caught society by storm and has left nearly no one dry after its wake. This genius marketing concept was coupled with simple advertisements which nearly everyone could relate to. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.brandinfection.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/faces_behind_the_apple_ads.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Finally, there is no such thing as bad publicity, or so they say, and in Apple's case, I would have to agree whole heartedly. For example, nearly every cartoon television show and comedian in the world have made Apple jokes or incorporated them into their shows or skits. From the Simpsons, Futurama, South Park, and many more, <b>whole episodes</b> have been dedicated on a storyline based on Apple (or similar sounding) products. This is the key to achieving "Apple level" success, provoking the media and thus getting free advertising to every part of the world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well I think thats enough for today, I will likely add more to this post or create another one in the near future, hope you enjoyed! Happy blogging</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-51932033046129758232010-09-19T09:06:00.001-07:002010-09-19T09:12:47.311-07:00The Nature of InvestingWhen we think of investing, we usually first draw out attention to money, in the form of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures, and others. What we forget to see is that investing occurs in every aspect of our lives everyday.<div><br /></div><div>Waking up earlier, keeping fit, and building strong networks of friends are all forms of investment as well. It is important to realize that you must first learnt to invest in yourself before being to actually invest in others.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when you take that little bit of time out of your day to write a blog, read a book, do some homework, you are essentially investing your most precious commodity, <b>time</b>, and thus gaining some sort of benefit from it in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://reallycuteasians.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/chinese-office-lady-01.jpg" /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you work hard.. Supposedly you will get a great job at some office where they will pay you a lot of money to provide services to the company, and maybe some of the women in your office will end up looking like her.</div><div><br /></div><div>The upside of investing is that once you can view it in a broader sense beyond money, and focusing more on more 'abstract' forms of investing, you realize that every drop of time can be utilized to bring you success from every part of your life.</div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-61137611224399735582009-10-07T17:58:00.000-07:002009-10-07T18:03:47.295-07:00Virtual Stock Trading: Step in the Right Direction<div><div>Virtual Stock Trading</div><div><br /></div><div>We all know of people who invest a lot of their time and efforts playing the stock market game. Many of us would like to learn how to play the game ourselves, but are too worried about the potential risks associated with trading. Back in the olden days when people had to call their broker to buy or sell their shares, information was also not readily available to the public and it was a common concensus that it be best left to the professionals.</div><div><br /></div><div>Things have changed. We are now in the information age and the board has been swept clean, advantages that were held by the brokers and the information holders have been cut drastically, and updated stock prices can be found with a few clicks of a button. You can even learn to invest without the risk and fear, and without even spending a dime. I am talking about virtual investing, the most crucial tool for beginner investors to hone their skills before entering the market with their hard-earned money.</div><div><br /></div><div>Websites such as VSE Marketwatch and HowTheMarketWorks teaches ordinary people how to break free from their investing fears, and encourage them to learn and compete with other similar people in games that simulate the real stock market, but with virtual money. You can even simulate the amount that you have to invest, lets use $1000 as an example, and purchase stocks in the same way you would if you were investing online. These virtual markets allow you to track your investments and see how they perform against other stocks in the market, with clear gains or losses. Either way, it is a learning experience and whether you are a ten year old or sixty, we all have to begin somewhere, and what better way to learn than in a safe environment?</div><div><br /></div><div>During these troubling times of economic recession, the rich will continue to get richer, and the poor will continue to get poorer. The middle class is slowly disappearing, and it is of utmost important that our children learn the value of investing their money wisely, or see it turn to dust like so many who have neglected their financial education. Virtual stock exchange promotes the idea that we should all take the steps necessary in educating ourselves to prepare for the future. </div></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/virtual-stock-trading-teach-it-to-them-young-568205.html">read more</a>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176991422468695513.post-74939939386532795912009-10-07T11:30:00.000-07:002009-10-07T17:57:53.374-07:00Stock Market: How to Begin Your JourneyEveryone knows someone who is either talking about how well their stocks are doing, or rather how poorly they are doing. In today's tough economy, more and more people are relying on saving money in a feeble attempt to offset the inflation in prices for everything we pay for.<br /><br />Stocks don't have to be risky, it just takes time and effort, and more importantly, the right mindset that allows a capacity for risk, but the knowledge to minimize that risk so that profits instead of deficits can be produced.<br /><br />Thankfully for the beginner investor, there are many ways to improve your financially knowledge without spending a dime, firstly it is very important to realize that there are many markets in which one can trade on, for example there is NASDAQ, TSX, and many more depending on where you live. There are also <b>many free resources</b> out there that you can exploit to gain a better financial knowledge and begin your journey out of the <b>rat race</b> and onto the fast track.<br /><br />Yahoofinance, MSNmoney, googlefinance, are some of the sites that a beginner should try and browse through before entering any market. The information is free and should be sufficient to increase your knowledge immensely if you just have the right mindset and put forth the effort. <b><i>Anyone can do it, if you just put the effort into it<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></i></b><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/international-business-articles/stock-market-timing-how-to-time-stocks-when-to-buy-and-sell-your-shares--785309.html">read more</a></div></div>BLUERADhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01144030533794617764noreply@blogger.com2