Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'

Monday, April 29, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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Loved this little book that i read in Istambul last weekend!








Notes from Istambul

lots's of young people
young girls are not covered
in one generating i think they will became like us
many US web sites are nor accessible from Turkey
There are too many pics of Erdogan everywhere
they are doing a massive build out ( Biggest airport in the world.....), new trains , new buildings everywhere
they are traders they don't build anything, no factories
total security in the streets
great food
very expensive wine
best thing in town, fresh orange juice in the street from cold oranges






Notes from Man's in search for meaning



Success is to live with a good face, take what life brings you even suffering (yes life is suffering) and be of use other people. An hobby is a success, to build a company is a success to dedicate your life to some person is a success and to face very difficult problems like health problems is a success and can be an aim ......




“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning


What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him. (Viktor Frankl)

“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.”
― Viktor E. Frankl   

Disappointment is the cutting edge of enlightenment

Monday, April 22, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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Sometimes, when something you dreamed of doesn’t happen, a sigh of relief is in order rather than disappointment, I always think that if i had everything i want i would be without anything to fight for. Not having all is a blessing not a curse. When i get disappointments i just do as Dale Carnegie proposes. Action, yes action cures all fear and suffering.

If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.”
― Dale Carnegie   

Why are Silicon Valley billionaires starving themselves? because it works....

Thursday, April 18, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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Why are Silicon Valley billionaires starving themselves?

Dorsey recently appeared on the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast to explain his monkish lifestyle in more detail than the 240 character blasts he’s known for sending out to the less biologically enlightened universe. He says he eats only one meal a day in the week and doesn’t let any foodstuff pass his lips at the weekend. He also starts every day with an ice bath. “Nothing has given me more mental confidence than being able to go straight from room temperature into the cold,” he says. And, rain or shine, he walks the five miles from his home to his office. It’s all part of his ever-evolving quest to keep his brain functioning at maverick CEO level. And, I suppose, outlive anyone silly enough to think that eating regular, balanced meals is sensible.

I have tried the Keto diet below, almost no sugar at all, no bread, no fruit, no juice, no rice and no pasta. What happened, no hunger, big mental clarity and no sleepiness during the day. Why didn't i stick to it? because for a cyclist you need peak power sometimes and the Keto is a diesel thing. If you want to be productive all day Keto is very appropriate. You eat less you feel great and you do good for the environment. If you need to do a sprint, peak effort you can't do Keto.

Ketogenic Diet Breakdown, By Hana Hamzic

• Mental clarity
• Improved energy
• Cancer Prevention
• Improvement in neurological conditions (epilepsy, Alzheimer's, migraines, etc.)
• Appetite suppression
• Diabetes control
• Cholesterol reduction
• Hormonal balance

JPM is worth more than all European banks together

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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Bureaucracy is a disease. Bureaucracy drives out good people, slows down decision making, kills innovation and is often the petri dish of bad politics.

Bits of Jamie Dimon's letter to shareholders


We continue to make excellent progress around technology, risk and controls, innovation, diversity and reduced bureaucracy. 

When i was in great shape!

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking."
Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes

t


This was in 2012 i was really skinny with 70 kg. It's key to be skinny the only problem with the great shape is hat you can be sick very easy. your defenses are really down.

If you need a beautiful moment of peace!

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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it would be almost as irresponsible to not have any exposure at all.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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My preferred way of guessing how the price of Bitcoin may evolve is much more prosaic. I have noticed over time that the price of Bitcoin fluctuates around ~ $7,000 x how many people own bitcoins. So if that constant maintains and if 3 billion people ever own Bitcoin it would be worth ~ $21 trillion (~ $7,000 x 3 billion) or $1 million per Bitcoin.

by Wences Casares, CEO of Xapo

It would be irresponsible to have an exposure to Bitcoin that one cannot afford to lose because the risk of losing the principal is very real. But it would be almost as irresponsible to not have any exposure at all.

If Bitcoin does succeed, 1 Bitcoin may be worth more than $1 million in 7 to 10 years.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Francisco 2 Comments

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The view from my desk

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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One idea for today; Never short a dull market !

Yes everything is going to be cheaper

Monday, April 15, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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(Bloomberg) -- 

The dramatic plunge in coffee prices has gotten so bad that it’s threatening to claim its next victim: the specialty blends used by fancy coffee shops and discerning home brewers.
On the futures market, arabica coffee -- the smoother variety favored by companies like Starbucks Corp. -- is languishing near a 13-year low. Growers in Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter and producer, have expanded output and become more efficient, collecting more beans for every planted acre. The result is a huge glut that’s sent prices below break-even in many countries, sparking fear producers will leave the industry...............................................

Meanwhile in Honduras, things have gotten so bad that low prices are preventing growers from harvesting all their crop because they can’t pay pickers or cover the cost of input such as fertilizers, according to the National Association of Coffee Exporters.

when you invent some new way of doing things more efficiently who is going to benefit? first you, then all the other producers will copy you ad the benefit goes to the final client. capitalism works.

another data point from today, do you see overcapacity everywhere? i do

BERLIN (Reuters) - Lufthansa reported an operating loss of 336 million euros (£290.4 million) for the first three months of the year, hurt by rising fuel costs and overcapacity in Europe, sending its shares down 5 percent in pre-market trade.

A rule of thumb as to what countries, on average, are capable of doing...

Friday, April 12, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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IQ's matter but there are exceptions of what a country can do.

example

the USA , can import the highest and the brightest and is the best economy in the world. I have a theory for the american miracle.  They are totally focused. They don't carry a lot of irrelevant information like a European does. If someone does irrigation that person knows all about irrigation and knows nothing about geography, history or Opera. Not a good company for a dinner but very effective.

exceptions: tourism and natural resources can change a bit the fate of a country.




why IQ's differ so much

clean water
hygienic habits
and of course same family marriages destroy your brain

SAD

Thursday, April 11, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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Technology is making everything cheaper including commodities.

yes one day oil will cost so little that some countries will left their oil in the ground like they do with Coal

the reflation trade has "killed" more people than any other idea. If there is no war there is deflation! That is the normal.

and yes our labor is worth less and less perhaps some non routine jobs, like plumber or bike repairs aren't affected but everything else like airplane pilot are much easier than they used to be because there are machines helping . anyone can be a taxi driver with waze! when anyone can do what you do prepare yourself

Diversification is a hedge for ignorance!

Thursday, April 11, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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When winners are taking all, it's often time to buy the winners

Is it better to be poor in a rich country or.....

Monday, April 08, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

The problem is that capitalists typically don’t know how to divide the pie well and socialists typically don’t know how to grow it well.

Ray Dalio


i think it's clear better for a poor to live in a rich and growing economy than on a shrinking economy. He might feel bad to see other people much better but in a rich country they can move up, they can start a new business and exit their situation. The worst thing is to be down and be unable to change to progress to improve.

I am deeply satisfied to see that some on my college colleagues that set up their own business started with much less than the people that got a job but now their are almost all in the top 1% in Portugal. If i choose to set up my own business for sure i would have the same results. Well i am doing it now with 52 years of age after a 30 year job in one of the best places to work in Portugal. Now it's my time to do it. I am working like crazy it doesn't feel like working.

I should be listening to ACDC instead.....

Friday, April 05, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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I have a race this weekend , I should be listening to ACDC to  but i found this marvelous song. Not ideal to peak my aggressive mood!

This is my first race of the season. I am with 3 kg too much....still time to shrink .....

Three requirements for happiness !

Thursday, April 04, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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From Get Rich Slowly excellent Blog

• Self-care comes first. If you're not healthy, it's tough to be happy. Before you can take care of your friends and your family, you need to take care of yourself. Eat well. Exercise. Nurture your mind, body, and spirit. Your body is a temple; treat it like one. If you don't have your health, you've got nothing.
• You get what you give. Your outer life is a reflection of your inner life. If you think the world is a shitty place, the world is going to be a shitty place. If you think people are out to get you, people will be out to get you. But if you believe people are basically good, you'll find that this is true wherever you go.
• Life is like a lottery. You receive tickets every time you try new things and meet new people. Most of these lottery tickets won't have a pay-out, and that's okay. But every now and then, you'll hit the jackpot. The more you play — the more you say “yes” to new friends and new experiences — the more often you'll win. You can't win if you don't play. That said, however…
• Don't try to change others. “Attempts to change others are rarely successful, and even then are probably not completely satisfying,” Harry Browne wrote in How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World. “To accept others as they are doesn't mean you have to give into them or put up with them. You are sovereign. You own your own world. You can choose…There are millions of people out there in the world; you have a lot more to choose from than just what you see in front of you now.”

Some nice quotes

Wednesday, April 03, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself
 Rita Mae Brown

The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him.

Henry Stimson

Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook and a good digestion.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

According to a recent Federal Reserve study, 40% of all Americans would

struggle to raise $400 in the event of an emergency!

Ray Dalio****

Students who come from poor families and try to go to college are less well prepared. For example, those who come from families earning less than $20,000 score on average 260 points (out of 1600) worse on the SAT than students from families earning $200,000+ do, and the gap is increasing

Ray Dalio

I remain convinced that if the UK is indeed expelled from Europe, it will be as much a catastrophe for the world economy as Y2K. 

Charles Gave

**** In Europe is the same , the poor half of the population lives from paycheck to paycheck. The last 20 years have been great for some bosses and some employees linked to tech and information. To build or produce stuff is not a sure way to riches anymore. If you do something interesting with globalization you can sell everywhere! it pays to be nº1 like never. therefore the nº1 is reaping a huge slice of the GDP for good reason.

Why bulish

Tuesday, April 02, 2019 Francisco 0 Comments

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There are many reasons for the market to pull back but it's closing on new highs !

Reasons to fall:
Trade wars
Presence of signs that normally precede a recession (FED-D campaign, inverted YC, falling LEI, etc....)
Brexit



I really don't care about what the market should do but i care about what it is doing. And it's near the all time high.

 two things are very bullish ;

nº1



nº2 (From The Fat Pitch)

In the past 60 years, when SPX has gained more than 10% during 1Q, it has added to those gains into year-end 9 out of 10 times by a median of 8%. The one outlier was the infamous year of 1987.  Still, maximum gains over the next 9 months were a minimum of 9%