Volatility in the stock market is often spoken of as synonymous with risk. The idea is that making money by buying low and selling high is difficult to do because the stock market is always going up and down and who knows which way it will go next? But while it’s true that the stock …
Author Archives: Mitch
Out of sight, out of mind. In sight, in mind.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” is a saying, and that’s probably why we wait close to the busy shop clerk who promises to help us soon. “In sight, in mind,” should also be a saying. When there’s a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, my mind registers that fact every time I walk …
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Things take time
You can decide to have a garden and plant some seeds and get all excited about your apple-tree-to-be and you can water it everyday but at a certain point, you can’t make it grow any faster by pouring more water on it—it just needs time to grow.
What is your favorite mistake?
I once cooked a quesadilla and put too much cheese in it, so that some of the cheese spilled outside of the tortillas. The cheese that spilled out the edges became brown and crispy—and delicious. It was a wonderful mistake, because it tasted much better than what I had intended to do, which was to …
When beginners should use beginners equipment
If you want to learn how to surf, and you watch a surf competition, you will notice that all of the surfboards are similar in size and are fairly small, around 6 feet in length. But if you want to learn how to surf, you shouldn’t look at the pros and try to do what …
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When beginners should use expert equipment
A commuter doesn’t need a race car to get to work, but the best thing that an aspiring bowler can do is to invest in a bowling ball that’s custom fit to her finger sizes instead of the generic ones the bowling alley lets you use for free, which are made to accommodate left and …
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What’s in it for them?
It’s easy to ask, “What’s in it for me?”. What will I get out of this transaction, this relationship, this job, etc.? You always know the answer to that. But your life will become easier, fuller, and hopefully more generous when you widen your perspective and start asking yourself, “What’s in it for them?”
The early bird gets the wave
Yesterday I woke up early to go surfing. It was rainy and cloudy and not the idyllic Hawaiian conditions that I was hoping for. If I lived in Hawaii, I might not have gone that day because the conditions weren’t ideal. But it was the last day of my trip so I went. And because …
Eating McDonald’s in Italy
There is so much good food in Italy it’s hard to believe that an American touring Italy would choose to eat at McDonald’s in Italy but it happens. It might be that they really like McDonald’s but what I’ve noticed about myself is that it’s more just that, in a foreign land, I crave the …
Don’t cram
Don’t cram. You’ll forget something. You’ll break something. You’ll be stressed even if it all works out. Your brochure will be too wordy. Your suitcase will bust. Your drawer will dislike you. Don’t cram. Give yourself some breathing room.