How to spot a Turkey

The Wall Street journal proposes an interesting concept regarding turkeys. Not the birds, but clunker stocks.

The bottom line (for those of you too lazy to read through the article): Don't buy stock in companies that aren't doing well, because "...it's a lot easier to spot a turkey than an eagle."

I read this article and felt instantly enlightened and rejuvenated about the concept on investing. Such a simple thing to do, don't put money into things that aren't profitable. [I haven't bought anything at Pier1 Imports in 10 years... chances are no one else has either... hence it's not that surprising to hear that they're going out of business.] The great part is that this article is really helpful, the shocking part is that people have to be reminded of "common" sense. When did risk become such a trend, if the sure thing is what pays off??

The world is still chasing the glimmer of hope in striking it big, when they could be earning just as much with much less effort/ingenuity playing the safe cards. As if we're playing poker and they're all waiting for that royal flush, when all you need is a pair of 9s to win that hand. If you don't get the pieces you need, then its better to just play what's in your hand. It's like they're all 49ers still in the stream beds looking for gold...

It's just common sense.

Very few of us will ever strike it rich with an ingenious investment or clever invention... therefore time is better spent playing it safe. At least when it comes to money... :)

Literally and actually calculating risk.

Apples to Oranges

All of life is just one big comparison. This restaurant doesn't have as good of food/service/atmosphere as that one, this movie wasn't as good as the book, your girlfriend/boyfriend isn't as thoughtful/pretty/funny as your ex, you don't make as much money as your coworkers, et cetera et cetera.

You see, comparison breeds envy. Why do you think rich people can never be happy? Because they are never satisfied with what they have. An endless quest for more money, more cars, bigger houses, shinier watches. If someone else has something better, you have to have it too.

The same reason that some guys won't call girls (that they didn't really even like) back until they see them out with another guy -- they want what they don't/can't have. They compare themselves to the new person and are envious of what they have. The entire fashion industry seems to run on envy. Girls want to look like the skinny, pretty, glamorous models, and guys want to be with them.

I read an article today that listed the top 5 traits of happy people. One of them was being thankful for what you have and another was appreciating the smaller things in life. In the end you should focus on what truly makes you happy. And if that is a yacht and a mansion in the Hamptons that makes you happy, by all means, indulge. But remember, life is not a competition and you'll stress yourself out (and burn yourself out) if you try to live that way.

Sunshine, love, and puppies.

Bee Yourself

You can attract more bees with honey... so why don't more people put that into practice? It seems to me that someone is more likely to get what they want by being agreeable, kind, and genuinely friendly.

But this cold, hard world has turned in to a business atmosphere filled with trickery and deceit. I feel like everyday is Black Friday at Walmart... people pushing, shoving, trampling other people to get ahead. My boss told me that most CEOs get where they are by stepping on at least one person along the way.

This phenomenon has a dubious outcome...

Be that as it may, I still stay the same. I send handwritten thank you notes. I offer to help others without being asked or having an ulterior motive. I practice random acts of kindness. I smile. I am genuinely concerned for other people. I listen. I have fun. I crack jokes. I'm just me.

Because this is such a rare commodity in this day and age, I've found that people are drawn to it. I don't do it because it makes me successful. I do it because it makes me happy.

Seriously, try out being happier, lighter, cheerier, more charming, for just one day and tell me you didn't have fun.

Maybe it's no coincidence that my last name means 'wasp.' :)

Going the Extra Mile

After many trials and tribulations, I discovered the best deodorant ever made and it was only $3.04. (Seriously, find it here).

Price shouldn't matter that much anyway. I can't imagine that the technology of deodorant has come that far in the last 20 years, so far as to create such a vast range in pricing. Is it so much to ask for a product that works well and is a reasonable price? What happened to taking pride in the product you make??

Capitalism, that's my theory as to what happened. The classic quantity over quality battle.

Well, I'm here to say, that quality and taking pride in one's product has not completely gone to the wayside.

Exhibit A: Degree for Women, Red Satin Dress Ultra Clear deodorant. It smells good, it goes on clear, and it works all day/night. What's even better, is that it sells for $1 - $4 less than all the other options.

Do you know how much dedication I had to have to find it? About 15 years worth... Think about it: from the time you first start wearing deodorant, then using each for 2-3 months, almost exhausting the entire aisle of types and brands? (If I weren't in to the whole waste-not-want-not concept, I guess it could have been a little quicker...as I begrudgingly forced myself to use each til I was scraping my armpit with cold hard plastic.) To be fair, I hit a phase of repetition forced upon me by my bottom of the barrel college budget. Strategy = whatever I can buy with this handful of change left at the bottom of my backpack.

Exhibit B: Red Bull energy drinks. Have you ever noticed the difference in the tab of the can? It matches the can and it has a little cut out bull instead of the normal oval hole. Is there purpose to either of those undoubtedly extra-costly features? Only that it shows they take pride in their product.

In no way am I implying that branded products are better than generic. I am a big proponent of generic products. Which leads me to ....

Exhibit C: Staples 5mm Correction Tape. First of all, if you haven't yet moved from liquid white-out to the tape, get on it - your life will be forever changed by the concept. Secondly, the Staples brand is less expensive, and in my opinion works 10x better than it's competition which often gets tangled and bunched up.

Exhibit D: Kleenex Facial Tissues (product MJT010). Ever bummed because you just went to the store to buy your toiletries, only to find the next day that the tissue you grabbed is the last of the box? Solution: the above mentioned tissues. When you reach the last 10 tissues, they are pastel orange (instead of white) to denote you are running low. Again, not a required feature, they do it because its nice, because they can, and because they have pride in their work.

Long story short, there are still good, well-made, practical, fairly-priced products out there. So don't descriminate and definitely don't settle for less. If the demand surges toward better products, guess what? They'll create them!

Uncouth Bluetooth

Ever see those people in traffic, at the coffee shop, walking their dog, walking into work, in the wee hours of the morning talking on the phone? I do. Daily. My question to you is, who are they talking to? No one that I know is up (and at 'em) that early, and certainly no one I know has that important of information to tell me before the double digits of the morning.

Curious, I listened in on one loud-talking morning jab session walking into my work building. It seemed to me, she was talking to a friend about a romantic situation...

At.

7.

A.

M.

Definitely information that could wait. Or could it?

It very well may have been that it was a morning after walk of shame (just to have someone on the other line so she didn't feel so awkward walking in a party dress and heels in the downtown bustle of the workweek) support call. Could be.

In that case, I'd imagine the woman on the other end of the line to look a little something like this:



"Oh my gawd Becky"








Either way, the incessant need to always be on the phone irritates me. I appreciate people that live in the here and now. Not the hear and now. I get that people need to make long distance phone calls to old friends and out-of-town family. I get that some business just can't wait. I'm talking about the people who get in their car and first things first put on their bluetooths and dial away. Chatty Cathy.

[Side note: I was completely unaware of the creepy old school Chatty Cathy dolls until this very moment when I was searching for an image for the blog. I could have lived my whole life not knowing that existed...and wish I had].

Chatty Cathies often are not self proclaimed. They are usually people (albeit rare, Chatty Chadwicks can exist too! I'll refer to them collectively as CCs from here on out) who miss the normal social cues of conversation. For example, the hedges used to end phone conversations, the abrupt changes in subjects, the quiet other end on the line... CCs love talking about themselves and will do so to just about anyone.

Shadow a CC for the day and I bet my left shoelace you'll hear at least 2 of their stories more than once. I feel like they have the undying need to explain every detail and piece of background information in order to get their story across. CCs live in a life where they imagine that everyone else finds their life's happenings to be as interesting as they do.

The advent of cell phones is making this just the more possible. CCs have branched out from bored housewives and retirees to on-the-go soccer moms and secretaries in Vermont. CCs are more prominent than ever.

More seriously, the introduction of mobile communication has doused the world with ADD. Now, because we can do more, and the competition has been doing more for months now, to keep up we too must do more. All the time, on the go, hurry, faster, now!! My heart rate increases just thinking about the stress this has caused.

Technology... that two-faced son of a jackal.