Tony Robbins on Basket Brigade

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You just have to watch this video. It is Tony's retelling of the story of one of his Thanksgiving experiences

with his parents when there was no food ....and then the miracle of the man at the door.

If any of you have ever experienced some kind of hunger, you will understand his story.

Also, if you have ever entertained the notion of feeding the hungry, this story will most certainly inspire you to action. Incredible story. Bring some tissues.

Peace.

Name That Blog

Years back when I first started this ole Blogger blog, I was on a thought bender.
My bent was towards empowerment and I felt so totally empowered to realize that everything I ever wanted or wished to know was certainly within my grasp. My months in college and university had filled me with a fresh zeal for the power of "access". Knowing the right professors, experts and connections gives you access to folks who can answer some of your most pressing questions. Then when you get your first question answered to your own satisfaction, you are able to move on to another brilliant inquiry. As the scriptures say "Line by Line, precept upon precept".(isaiah 28:13)

I fell in love with the notion that not only was I powerful because I valued my own questions and the process of inquiry, but I realized that I was powerful because I discovered I had learned how to
find out anything I wanted to know.

It wasn't just a spiritual process, although that remains a vitally important part of my personal learning process. Prayer is part and parcel of the learning and inquiry process. I ask God to help me continue to grow and to lead me into the knowledge and fields of inquiry that He wants me to pursue. I ask God to help me to retain the knowledge that I glean. I ask God for access to more teachers and mentors as the time is right.

I have found that women in particular don't necessarily take their own quest for knowledge very seriously, especially if they are mothers. The needs of their children and their spouse often cloud their inquiries or dull them into apathetic science. But, after reading this post, you won't fall for that mistake will you ?

But I have found that a woman who comprehends and respects her own capacity to learn and gain knowledge is a better and happier mom. Don't lose sight of your curiosity. Let it lead you into more data...more factual information. Women who gain mastery of a subject became capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to. ( for more on this idea, read the book called "The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman)

So, permit me to wrap up this post....merely by repeating what I came to believe when I started this humble blog. Ladies and gentlemen, elders and students, rich and poor and everybody inbetween....let me roar and empower you today....because it is still true... YOU really CAN Know ANYTHING. May 2015 show you that the access to knowledge you long for is right there waiting for you to chase down and make it your own!


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Mutual Funds and those Pesky M.E.R.'s

Sometimes I think the whole mutual fund industry is based upon the premise that very few North Americans trust themselves to invest their own money. They'd rather hedge their bets with someone who has a few letters behind their name than do their own research and pick their own stocks.

Now the rage is all for ETF's which , in my mind, is the same thingy majiggy as mutual funds except with a facelift. It's those M.E.R.'s which annoy me. (management expense ratios)
The "professional" fund managers are permitted to take a cut of all the investment into the fund, whether or not the fund is performing well or not. Talk about a gurantee! But the guarantee operates in the best interests of the fund managers, not necessarily in yours or my best interests.

Those who buy mutual funds keep being sold the story of the "safety of buying the basket" instead of stock picking individual shares.

But what about picking stocs in a similar fashion to the institutions that you admire? If you admire the Provincial or state wide teacher's pension fund, then it's not going to be impossible for you to find out which shares they own. Yes, you can copy them....it's perfectly legal. You just might not get the same deals as they get because their huge chunks of buying power sometimes negotiate a better price for their cuts of stock, as opposed to an individual "retail" investor.

Warren Buffet has a stream of folks following his every stock purchase. I recently learned that many of his stock purchases are now hidden from the public for a certain period of time, just because there is such a huge following behind his every transaction. When someone's investing is considered an "institution" it is like they've graduated into playing the big leagues. That doesn't mean that you can't make money as an individual....is just that it's a pretty different game we play. Individual investors just don't have those economies of scale that institutional investors have.

Another thing to consider is that individual investors are often concerned about transaction/commission fees for their every stock sale/purchase. But institutional investors carry such large portfolios, that I would assume they are given a free ride when it comes to charges for commission fees and the like.

Don't be discouraged....just learn the rules for the game you want to play. Outsmart them, by being observant, teachable, well connected and persistent. Time is on your side.

Peace.


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