Kindle Version of "Stock Trading Riches" Free This Week

The Kindle version of "Stock Trading Riches" is free on Amazon all this week (Monday 5/20 - Friday 5/24).

Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Stock-Trading-Riches-Transforms-ebook/dp/B0065CE3VO 

Remember that, to enjoy Kindle books, you don't need to own a kindle. Amazon has free kindle readers for macs, PCs, iPads, etc.

Richie Havens - Improvisation Genius at Woodstock, RIP

Singer Richie Havens died last week.

He became famous because of his performance at Woodstock.

He was asked to open the festival, and keep playing, because many artists were held up by the incredible traffic jams.

He improvised Freedom:

RIP Jonathan Winters

Sad news - Jonathan Winters just died.

Roger Ebert, Annette Funicello, and now Jonathan Winters

Death seems to come in threes.

Anyway, I love zen, present moment awareness, and improvisation.

Jonathan Winters was the master at it.

See what he could do with a simple pen and pencil set:

More Roger Ebert

 It's sad reading his last blog post - he was thanking all of his fans.  

He was going to take a "leave of presence" because his hip fracture turned out to be cancer.

He said April 3, 1967 was his first day as sun times movie critic.  I was born April 23,1967, so he started his job 20 days before I was born.  So, for my whole life, he has had the same job.

Ebert listed all these plans on his website:

1. He was taking over his review site from the Sun Times with his own company. 

2. He was continuing his 15th annual film festival in his hometown of Urbana IL (where I went to college).

3. He was going to try and raise money on Kickstarter for a new movie review show.

4. Also, he was thinking of creating movie review apps.

I guess that is the way to go - loving your career and being full of plans for the future.

He was in good spirits despite all his medical problems.  He already lost his jaw, etc. to cancer.  

Since 2006, he could not eat, drink, or talk - but he carried on.

R.I.P. Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

Today, I'm feeling sad because film critic Roger Ebert died.  I grew up on the "Chicago Sun Times" and watching "Siskel and Ebert At The Movies".

This triggered an unexpected reaction on my part - I actually shed some tears.  I felt like Roger Ebert was a friend, someone just like me.  Also, a lot of people I grew up watching on TV and the movies are dying. 

It is causing me to experience that "life is short" - I'm personally at a point in my life where I feel stuck in idle - needing to make a move or a change in my life.  This event is pushing me to make some kind of change. 

I have wanted to change my career for the last couple of years, but haven't taken enough actions because I'm in a comfort zone.  I have only taken small steps to slowly expand my comfort zone.  This event, along with some other thoughts I've had recently, are driving me to feel braver - more confident than I have felt.

I hope I can build on this confidence and do something - make a change.

Profound Memory Quote

“ Memory presents to us not what we choose but what it pleases.”

— Michel de Montaigne 

This quote elegantly states why we shouldn't live in the past.  Our minds don't objectively remember the past. Instead, since we are our harshest critics, our memories highlight our perceived shortcomings and downplay our achievements.

If we had a bad experience learning the piano at 7, our mind now tells our 38 year old self that we are no good at music.

This is another reason to live in the present.  You have to consciously tell yourself that you are not who you were even two years ago.  We can change and improve.

Celtic Great Bill Russell's Description of the "Zone"

A favorite author of mine, successful entrepreneur Fred Gratzon (who wrote "The Lazy Way to Success"), recently wrote a new book on "Getting in the Zone" and having success as an athlete.

He created a blog to go with the book, and he posted an excerpt from basketball legend Bill Russell's autobiography that has a great description of "The Zone".  It's amazing to read.

Simple, Perfectly Imperfect

The secret to being able to function effortlessly, and improvise is to keep things simple and perfectly imperfect.

Don't add complexity, and don't try for the 100% solution that covers everything.  Just try to do something simple that adds at least a touch of value.  Just make things slightly better.

Guess what?  You can then rinse and repeat.  Make things a little bit better each time.  Before you know it, you have an impressive body of work.

Instead, if you only set your sights on some heroic, gigantic, epic thing to make you famous, you might still be trying to get started.

I still have this problem today.

When I get inspired or find something new I want to do, if I get caught up in wanting to make a big success. If I have expectations - then I stand a good chance to procrastinate and let myself get sidetracked by TV, web surfing, etc.

If I just try to do something small, simple, quick - but useful - I will probably succeed.

How To Write

I found the best way for me to write is to make it instant, improvisational. 

Don't force it - just sit, fire up your editor or grab pen and paper.   Then, let the feeling of writing well up inside you - then just let it emerge.  Don't even wait for any themes or ideas to fully form.

I just get this beautiful feeling that the words have to come out - then the words and sentences just pour out.  You can always go back, clean up, and edit later.

This beats procrastination and it just feels good!

Its is such a beautiful feeling to instant Zen write - I just feel joy.  Your head gets dizzy, the warm blood flows through your neck and brain.

Some sessions produce better writing than other sessions - but each session is valuable.

You always want your writing to be new - bleeding edge.  Go where the moment takes you.  You don't want your writing to necessarily be "better" than the previous writings. You just want to write - no expectations.

Be Reborn Everyday - Instant Zen Writing and Trading

Be an artist at life.  Don't stay fixated on what you did yesterday.

I love to write and trade stocks - both of these activities change minute by minute.  You aren't successful with either one if you just follow a mechanical formula.

For stocks, the markets constantly fluctuate - wildly, unpredictably.  The market is master - you can't will it to go where you want.  You have to adjust with it - play the stock, follow it up and down. But low, sell high.

The same with writing. The best writing is instant, improvised, let it go where it wants to - let it ride free.