The Art of Giving (and Receiving)

You must be fit to give before you can be fit to receive.
James Stephens

There seems to be something extra special this time of year. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, a feeling really, that is distinct from the rest of the year.. This is the first year that I’ve been cognizant of it, observing it and analyzing it. Christmas songs seem to do something special to me, they make my heart feel open and warm.

A lot of memories of my father resurface in my mind at Christmas time. He was one who knew how to ‘keep Christmas well’. We always had to have a real Christmas tree, we went as a family to pick it out, then after letting it ’settle’ overnight, dad would put on the lights while the rest of us hung the decorations. Christmas music was always playing, and we would sing along to Bing Crosby, Amy Grant, and Elvis. (Dad especially liked Elvis and would really get into it, “Ah Ah’ll have-uh bluuuuuue Christmas without you…”)

Then there were the sugar cookies. One night out of the season, the entire family would be confined to the kitchen to make and decorate cookies for the neighbors. Dad would roll them out and bake them, while we would decorate…and decorate…and decorate. Dozens and dozens of cookies. Hours and hours of decorating (at least it seemed like it). The only way we could get out of it was if we took the cookies to the neighbors house and doorbell ditched them. (I was always happy to volunteer).

One of my most memorable Christmases as a child was when we knitted mittens, scarves, hats, and put together hygiene kits, then took them to the homeless people living under the underpass. I remember watching my father from the car window as he walked over to a homeless man who was sitting next to a cardboard box, and handed him his gift. I was so amazed that people lived in those conditions, and an impression was burned into my mind forever- “lift up the hands that hang down and strengthen the feeble knees.” I learned from my father the art of giving.

One other Christmas remains in my memory. I’m now a young adult. My father, always the energetic giver, wanted to give the perfect gift. Once all the gifts were open, he told the girls to wait (me, my mother, and two sisters), for he had one more surprise for us. In to the garage he went, and came out with four matching dresses, each in a different shade of pastel. We were less than excited. They were too old fashioned, too frumpy. How could we wear them?

We agreed to try them on, and take a photo in them, for his sake. We were kind, but inflexible. We didn’t want them. He magnanimously returned them to the store. He knew how to give, and so he was able to receive graciously (our rejection). I had yet to learn the art of receiving.

When I give, I give myself.
Walt Whitman

There is a time to give, and a time to receive. The process of exchanging gifts involves more than just the moment it occurs, and the gift which is given. It involves thoughts about the loved one, pondering, planning, preparation, and presentation. The gift given, no matter what it may be, wanted or unwanted, contains a portion of the giver. In their gift is contained their thoughts, their prayers, and their love.

I have given many gifts in my life, and I have received many. It is this year that I begin to appreciate the gift behind the gift. I am grateful for the friendship, concern and caring that is represented in a gift thoughtfully given. The attention to individual needs and wants, the desire to “lift up the hands, strengthen the knees,” and “gladden the heart.” All this requires the thoughts of the giver directed towards the receiver in a way that brings more to the gift than the the object itself.

May you be blessed during this season to grow in the art of giving, and the art of receiving. May your thoughts and prayers bless those you love, and may your friends and loved ones ever increase.

Merry Christmas!

Rachel

Why Technical Analysis? (Building a Foundation for Profitable Trading)

Many years ago, technical analysis was considered ‘hocus pocus’, and serious investors and traders based their decisions off fundamental analysis only.

In today’s market, fundamental analysis is still widely used among very successful investors, and is an excellent strategy to use in the right market conditions, but technical analysis has made it’s entrance and created a presence not to be trifled with.

What is Technical Analysis?

First of all, what exactly is technical analysis, and what is behind it?

Technical analysis refers to the study and use of information related to stocks and the market in general. Technical analysis (TA) is a combination of charts, bars or candles, graphs, indicators and other symbols which represent to the person reading it the price, volume, momentum, trendlines, averages and other useful information related to a stock which can be used in making trading decisions.

But behind all of that data lies the true source of technical analysis- people. The market is simply a collection of individuals who are buying and selling. Fluctuation in price which is represented on a stock chart is nothing more than a reflection of the nature and mass sentiment of the individuals who are buying and selling. It is a reflection of human nature.

By learning the art of TA, we can discover repeating patters in human behavior that occur over and over again, and acquire the skill to profit from fluctuation in price.

Start the Basic Technical Analysis Course today. Not a member? Sign up for 14 days free.

Short vs. Long Term Investing

Technical analysis is geared more toward the short term, while Fundamental analysis tends to be more long term. But using TA can help you in deciding what market conditions are like and if the are favorable for ‘buy and hold’ or ‘holding for the long term.’

For example, many people made a lot of money buying and holding stocks, until about a year ago when the market began to turn. At that point they began to lose money on the stocks that they were holding, and those losses have continued to increase to date.

With a simple understanding of Technical analysis, many of those losses could have been prevented, or at least significantly reduced. One client had a 401(k) through his employer. He had already lost significants amount of money before signing up with our education.

By learning a little bit about TA, and how to read moving averages and other indicators, he gained the confidence to make an educated decision about his retirement account. He decided that he would exit his current stock and mutual fund positions, keeping his 401(k) in cash (in his account, so he received no penalties, but not invested in any securities).

Over the ensuing weeks he saved over $72,000 that he would have otherwise lost had he remained invested. Needless to say he was a happy camper. He is now using the knowledge he is learning to make money in the current market conditions, allowing him to not only stop losing money, but to begin making it as well, placing him light years ahead of his co-workiers in his investment portfolio.

High Probability Trading

Technical analysis allows traders and investors to read the markets (the sentiment of individuals), and only put their money to work in the market when the chances for success are increased.

When analyzing charts, a trader is looking for the highest number of factors suggesting that a significant move in one direction is possible (higher odds), enough to lead to an acceptable risk/reward ratio.

Everything to do with TA is designed to increase the odds of success in trading. It’s a tool to determine that the reward for investing outweighs the possible risk.

It’s Not About Prediction

Despite what many people believe, TA is not about predicting the future. In reality, it has to do with probability, not prediction. TA helps us to find a many factors as possible that indicate a probable up, down or sideways move in the market.

Even a basic understanding of TA can help even the most steadfast of Fundamental Traders. There are traders who trade only on technicals, but there are not many traders any more that, fundamentalist or not, that do not use some technicals as a part of their trading strategy.

Start the Basic Technical Analysis Course today. Not a member? Sign up for 14 days free.

Kingsley’s Crossing

Kingsley’s Crossing by Olivier Jobard
In Kingsley’s Crossing, a 23-year-old lifeguard from the impoverished town of Limbe, Cameroon, dreams of a better life in Europe. He embarks on a harrowing journey that takes him halfway across Africa. Photojournalist Olivier Jobard documents the passage. See the project at http://mediastorm.org/0010.htm

How grateful I am for the freedoms we enjoy, as well as the abundance and opportunities available to us. Watch this great video about

Gratitude

“The soul that is always grateful lives in closer touch with God than one that never looks to Him in thankful acknowledgment.”- Wallace Wattles

After this Thanksgiving holiday, my mind has been especially focused on gratitude. I seem to have felt a lot more gratitude this year than I have in years previous.

Perhaps it is a sign that I am growing and maturing, turning toward giving thanks for what I do have, rather than focusing on what I do not have. I’m appreciating the smaller things in life, food to eat, family to enjoy, a home to live in, a loving spouse, sweet children, and abundant wealth (compared to 90% of the world- we live in large, heated homes, with running water, carpet, refrigerators and other luxuries).

Happiness is a Choice

Many people who have everything they could want are still miserable because they lack gratitude. Some people who are rich are still unfulfilled because they fail to appreciate what they have.

Yet others who seemingly have nothing can still be so happy, because they’ve chosen to focus on being grateful for what they do have. They’ve made happiness a choice, one that is not dependent on circumstances.

In her book, Happy For No Reason, Marci Shimoff quotes the Dalai Lama, in which he says:

“The real enemy of happiness is the mind’s fixations and delusions. Look at the situation differently, see the truth and the suffering is less. If you have the right mind, you can overcome anything- you can be happy, no matter what.”

Gratitude Brings More Things to be Grateful For

Marci Shimoff says, “Gratitude is absolutely the best way to bring more into your life.” It’s impossible to bring more good things into your life if you’re always focusing on what you don’t like, what you don’t want and what you don’t have.

Whether it’s your job, your relationship, your financial situation, your health, if you’re focusing on the negative, you tend to create even more of it. That’s because what you give your attention to, increases, or shows up more in your life.

On the other hand, if you place your attention on the things you are grateful for (and there is always something, no matter how bad things are), then you create for your self a happiness that is not dependent on circumstances or situations, and you will notice and create more things in your life to be grateful about.

As Wallace Wattles says in The Science of Getting Rich, “The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best; therefore it tends to become the best; it takes the form or character of the best, and it will receive the best.”

Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

“The daily practice of gratitude is one of the conduits by which your wealth will come to you.”

Wallace Wattles

Wealth is more than money, it includes relationships, health, finances, peace, fulfillment and more. Wealth can be achieved (in all these areas), by cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Doing this is simple. It starts by being grateful today, right now, for the things in your life.

“But I’m not grateful for anything!” you might be saying, “Nothing is working for me, everything is wrong.” Well, if you had to be grateful for something, what would it be? Maybe it’s the kindness of a stranger or friend, the smile of a child, a flower, sunrise or sunset, or to have a toilet to use. Start with the small things, and then work out from there.

Make a challenge out of it. What are you grateful for right now? Who are you grateful for? Think of everything you possibly can.

Action Steps

1. Make a daily habit of gratitude. Begin a gratitude journal, carry around a gratitude rock, begin each day before you get out of bed by expressing thanks for what you have.

2. Whenever you begin to feel negative emotions such as fear, frustration, discouragement or depression, begin to focus instead on what you could be grateful for if you really had to be. Make this into a habit and you’ll be amazed at the changes in your life that will result.