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A life fully lived

A Life Fully Lived

One day, a sun will rise on a new day

Without you or I in it.

All that was once owned, will be unowned;

All that was remembered, forgotten.

All that will remain are lives touched.

For this is the only metric to which a full life is measured.

A life fully lived basks in experiences,

both triumphs and defeats.

It embraces change and with it new possibilities.

A life fully lived begs the question, "How can I help"

and doesn't consider recompensation.

So when the sun rises and we are here to experience it,
Smile.
For we have another opportunity to laugh or cry, to work or to rest.
To reach another soul and lighten their burden.


And this will be, a life fully lived.

Hacking Money; Real Money vs. Crypto-currency (Day 1)

Introduction:
First I want to start off with a couple of simple general statements: 1. none of this information in any of these blogs is created by a get-rich-fast scam or other buy-in type of thing; 2. I am not a financial expert and never claim to be; 3. this is the first step in learning and spreading the word on how to diversify funds, simply put, how to invest. Hacking money means learning the ins and outs of how to use money the correct way. I'm starting from scratch here. So if you don't have any investments, that is perfectly fine.

A bit about me:
I'm a father of four and husband to a supportive but understandably skeptical wife. I have a stable income where I can pay for my cost of living with about a few hundred dollars left over after all expenses, hobbies and other things come out. We seem to always find a way to spend that last bit as well. We don't shop excessively, we don't party or indulge crazy habits like gambling except on special occasions like an anniversary or birthday. Bottomline, we're average John and Jane Q taxpayer.

I followed good advice early on in my working life to purchase modest properties at fair long term interest rates using my VA Certificate. I currently own two investment properties with reliable renters in each and aside from natural disasters or repairs, the rent covers the mortgage with some left over to save for issues later. Those are stable investments I consider paying for themselves and just building equity for a very long-term investment.

Starting point: 
I set aside $50 a month for my hobby with Magic the Gathering Cards and have accrued over $11,000 in value to date. If I hold most of it as a mid-range investment, I can sell it off a piece at a time as fodder for the day-trading. That keeps all of this initially away from what we need for living. But if another person were to try to follow in my footsteps, just moving $50 to a separate checking account that has nothing to do with your bills would be the first step. Then using that account as a transfer spot, in and out of the day trading. I have little capital to begin with for this test so I'm letting go of a bit of my hobby to have something to play with. This money is something I see as safe for investing follies or learning because it is outside my current debts, assets or income. Totally outside my monthly income and monthly bills, so it should be okay to put where I want.

I learned tonight about an app called Coinbase, which you can find for free in the App Store. The app allows for the purchasing and selling of crypto-currency like Bitcoin and charges flat fees for investments at certain increments with the relevant one being an investment more than $50 and less than $200 is a flat fee of $2.99. Similar fees of about 1% at lower increments as well. For larger investments, the commission jumps up to 1.49% of the amount. In my opinion, this is not too bad for investing fees, the trick will be to make sure I am making a profit at the investment times to recoop that and then some. I started with an initial investment of only $10 and it charged me 1.06 for the investment, earning me .00139 Bitcoin. The main takeaways here are that the app easily and securely connects to your checking account. It wouldn't connect to my PayPal however, so having a separate checking account for this venture was handy.

Information and Lessons learned going in:
After reading some articles and YouTube testimonials (positive and negative) I learned that crypto-currency is a day trading scheme. It is generally volatile or high-risk/high-reward. Bottom line is that this is not a long-term investment strategy. My properties or possible future mutual fund account will be for that purpose. This is to dabble in day trading by following the trend charts (also on the app) and following the daily trend for all-in or all-out strategy. For example, I'm planning on using $1000 as my first real test. Move it in on a day starting early on with up-trend. Then check the next day for and sell all if I notice a down-trend. The highest Bitcoin has ever been was $19,005.91/btc... If I had noticed it dropping to 18,700, I'm out. Sell all, full stop. The price today (25Sep18) is $6402.44/btc.

My goal with crypto-currency is to get an over-all average return on investment of over 10%... that goal may adjust to my successes or failures with the venture, but that's where I'm starting. So looking at this initially month by month. If I break even one day, make a profit the next and lose a little on the third and sell-out, I will guage the monthly progress as an average profit. With $1000, I hope to be making $100 a month, then 110, then 121 and so on. I'm also focusing heavily on an expected sell-out date of the end of the first week of March (mid-way through tax return season). I noticed a trend from last year that had a steady increase and then a big drop that day. So I would like to get some evidence and practice rolling until then and look to sell-out around that time.

I'm also looking into normal stock market investing in a similar fashion. Once I have over $3000 of capital (the minimum for stock trading with the USAA app), I will start bouncing the money from fruitful venture to fruitful venture, Bitcoin or regular stocks. Fruitful meaning, investments showing positive trends. Day-trading I'm expecting should take me 4 or 5 hours a day while my money is in it. There should be times when I'm all out, and the money is sitting in an account waiting for the next up-trend. And so on. This is not going to be over-night millions. But I am expecting with the right discipline, it will be a strategy that has worked with my hobby investments. Time will tell.

My long term goal:
I want to diversify my investments in seperate "buckets." One bucket for long-term like my properties, another bucket for mid-range investments like Fortune 500 investing (medium-risk / medium-return), and the last bucket (and smallest) is for day trading (in crypto-currency or traditional stocks). I plan on using my military pension, possible disability from the VA and any actual salaries to supplement a normal life, paying the bills, etc. So eventually I would like to be making enough from the day trading and mid-range investments to allow me to have a stable monthly return where I don't have to depend on a monthly salary from an employer. The long-term investments are for retirement age/ safety-net purposes.


Update:
One Year Later - The funds placed in the account neither increased or decreased. Still waiting for change.


Update:
Two Years Later- Decided to withdraw funds after continuing to see no change. Assessment - Crypto-currency is not a reliable investment platform and should be seen as a form of asset transfer or under-the-radar savings plan.


Test Complete.

Let alone the names of the dead, may they rest in peace.

Context:

In an article from a right leaning source, the author claims the widow of legendary sniper Chris Kyle wrote a letter to Nike  condemning their new Just do it campaign with Colin Kaepernick. In her response she talks about the sacrifices of Soldiers and refers to deceased former Football star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman. The link to the article for full context is at the bottom but that's the basic gist of it.




My response:

Much respect for Veterans and their spouses. That said, she doesnt have a whole lot to say on this topic. Her husband didnt sacrifice his life, he was murdered. She references Pat Tillman as several right leaning talking heads have... but he didn't sacrifice his life for his country either, that was fractercide in the line of duty, an accident. Jump on a grenade, jump in front of a bullet, got it, but not accidents and stateside murders... do dudes coming home from war dying in DUI's count? do dudes committing suicide with PTSD count? My point is all service members sacrifice some amount, I know that one keenly well, but dying doesnt always equate to sacrifice. Sometimes people just pass away. I for one hope that my loved ones wouldn't use it as an opportunity to grandstand. Pay your respects and let alone the names of the dead. May they all rest in peace.

~Marc

Posted 10Sep18:
http://patrioticexpress.com/american-sniper-wife-ends-silence-goes-directly-after-nike-and-kaepernick/

To hijab or not to hijab?

I stumbled upon an amazing and intelligent debate about the Quranic scripture as it relates to obligatory wearing of the Hijab... both people in the debate have strong feelings on the matter but more importantly, they reveal some of the arabic translation and historical context from the followers of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). No matter our bias, culture or traditions, the Quran serves as the foundation for all Muslims around the globe. We should seek first to understand our roles and responsibilities from the Quran before our culture or traditions. First step is to create a baseline, then add to that baseline with cultural norms and societal traditions.

What do you think about the exchange below?

Happiness and peace

My life's twists and turns have led me all over the place. From terrible lows to wonderful highs. As I deepen my spiritual self, I begin to appreciate the simple truths my grandfather gave me. "Don't sweat the small stuff laddybuck, and there ain't no big stuff." The words seem goofy and awkward as a teenager but the profoundness of it doesn't hit me until much later in life. I have thought about it at length and decided that while it's definitely true, it's true with caveats. After just 33 years in this world and an immense amount of growing still yet to come, the truth about life and happiness is a fluid concept for me. So today I will share my concept of happiness and how I think anyone can find peace.

First, there is no magic spell or quick easy steps to make life make sense. All too often I see in an age of technology and a generation of convenience the hunt for the magic solution. Well, there is none. Happiness to each person can look different...

Whether it's the stereotypical leave-it-to-beaver looking family or just being alone on a beach with a good book, each person finds peace and happiness differently. So this brings me to my first point:

1. Let go of expectations...

I think of expectations as living in the future, living for tomorrow, putting your mind and heart into something that isn't here and may never be. How often do we think about how we want something to turn out only to be deeply disappointed it didn't happen that way. We are literally setting ourselves up for sadness and resentment especially if that expectation involves a significant other. I will sometimes fall back into this trap and have to catch myself when it's happening. We can still be excited about things and look forward to things but it's important for them to be without qualification. For example preparing to return from a deployment overseas and being excited about holding my wife and children. A person with expectations might add to that a fantasy of romantic evenings with candles or well-mannered kids running up to hug you. Spouses may envision their husband playing with the kids in the backyard, while she finally gets to take a break.These fantasies are like a stipulation to your happiness. If it doesn't go that way, we get disappointed and may even take it out on our partners.

Which leads me to my next piece of advice, which is to

2. Let go of regrets...

This one is much much easier said than done, but definitely worth the effort. For some it takes a lot of prayer, meditation, self-reflection and time to get there but eventually we get there. Regrets for me is like living in the past, living for yesterday, giving our time and energy dwelling on that which we can never get back again. No matter how hard we try, that decision we made, that thing we said, that relationship we lost, will never come back. And when we make peace with that, you won't even want it to. When something terrible happens in our lives, part of the coping process is to deal with the pain. Some people replay the scenario in their minds, some people stare at a photo, listen to a song or something else that reminds them of what is gone. But what they don't realize is that with each moment that ticks away, we are making a new mistake, we are letting another opportunity pass by. We are giving our present, to the past. We are giving the now, to our yesterday. This is the reason forgiveness is so unbelievably powerful, because it gives you freedom to take back the present. Think about that. You were losing days, months or years in regret and once you forgive, you regain today, the opportunity to do something good and the chance to be happy again. Forgive the person who hurt you or forgive yourself. Forgive not because it was earned; forgive because you deserve to be happy. We all do.

3. Live for today!

I know, I know. Cliche sounding right. But it's true. I use a simple mantra to help me personify this one and it goes "Be the best version of myself, moment-to-moment." Basically, whenever you're faced with a situation, imagine what the best version of you would do, then just do that. If someone is begging for a dollar, if someone cuts you off in traffic, if someone you love cops an attitude with you, if you start getting frustrated with someone at work, and so on and so on... all life's little crazy situations will come at you and we're not always gonna get it right. But we can be ourselves in those moments and the best version of you is more often than not a pretty spectacular person. Just try to be that person, moment-to-moment, as often as you can.

And this leads me to the last piece of wisdom that I've come up with. And that is...

4. Don't forget to grow...

Over time, we get busy. Busy with families, busy with work, busy with finances or relationships or school or whatever. We get too caught up with our goals to take on personal growth. Our spiritual needs require attention too. Through prayer or meditation we can reach deeper into that part of ourselves. But just as importantly, deep spirituality should be exuded, it should beam off of you. You shouldn't have to say a word, you shouldn't have to quote a single scripture and you certainly shouldn't have to judge someone else's deeds. You can understand that you have reached an inner peace when your actions are the living embodiment of your beliefs. Your morals and values are only as good as the actions you take. If you pray long enough, anyone can feel deeply holy and more devout than thou. When you get up and start acting out those beliefs, helping others, giving to the needy and guiding young people, that's when your faith has an impact. By all means read religious books, read self-help books, recite prayers, just also remember to use your example not your words as the standard of measure to the value of your faith.

I, like you, am still growing and learning. And I know that it will never stop. But I honestly feel a huge emotional and spiritual shift this past few years as I've placed more emphasis personally on the example I show to others. There will be people that may come along and try to impose their expectations on you, their judgement on you or try to control you with guilt, pain and abuse. If you notice that all the above advice was pointed at you helping yourself. Those people have to do the same. You can not heal them, they must heal themselves. Your example may help them along that path, maybe not. This would be an example of not placing expectations. You can forgive someone and distance yourself from them at the same time. Letting go of regrets and treating them with dignity and love without being close. Being the best version of yourself may mean not being close to someone who still needs to find peace for themself.

That's all I have for now... well all that these 33 years have given me. Who knows what tomorrow may bring.

Untitled Poem

Untitled

The light that shimmers off a river at night, follows me... follows me... to the left and the right.

If I lower my gaze or stare as I stroll, it follows me still as the waves slowly roll.

By Marc Lemere