I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was duty.
I worked—and behold, duty was joy.
-Rabindranath Tagore
“Life is not something,
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The Philosophical Investor's Blog
Trauma and Growth: Imperfect Information and Uncertainty
by 
Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Successful investing requires so much emotional and psychological fortitude. The analytical part is oftentimes the easiest aspect. Managing ourselves is what is typically most challenging. We are triggered by fear and greed and traumas of past mistakes that can lead to suboptimal outcomes. For this reason,
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Get Inspired
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
With July 4th having just passed I thought it would be inspiring to talk about inspiration. The United States is unique because it is a nation founded on inspired ideals versus population characteristics and geography. These ideals are centered around life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as well as the notion that all men are created equal.
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A Wonderful Trip - My Travels Through Greece, Italy and Israel
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Socrates said that “wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” In my book, I talk about the importance of wonder in the context of leading a fulfilling, meaningful, and interesting life. One of the best ways to keep wonder alive is to get outside of our normal environment and travel.
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Who Would Have Thunk it?
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
I can’t say I’m surprised that states that had itchy trigger fingers to reopen (e.g. Texas, Arizona, Florida) are seeing a surge in new COVID-19 cases and a higher positivity rate among those tested. The following graph from the Wall Street Journal shows how the number of new cases is hitting a new peak after having come down.
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Interest Rates: Lower for How Much Longer?
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
“We’re not thinking about raising rates —
we’re not even thinking about thinking about raising rates,”
Jerome Powell during 6/10/20 press conference
With interest rates at record lows, this is a time when many people are strongly considering locking in long-term,
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It's Time to Get Serious About Laughter
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
At the end of last week’s blog, I mentioned that I would be writing about laughter. I thought it was important to not stay on only one end of the spectrum despite these very turbulent times. A fascinating new interview with Bob Dylan came out last week and this caught my attention that I thought was very relevant to my pivot towards laughter for this blog.
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Hello Darkness My Old Friend
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
For this week I was originally going to continue my analysis of interest-rate cycles since last week, I looked at increasing interest rate cycles and I was intending to look at decreasing cycles this week. In light of the widely reported and fairly startling suicide of Kate Spade and now Anthony Bourdain,
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Wading into Turbulent Waters
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed,
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What's Going On? America in Crisis, in the Lyrics
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
I was intending to write about the tremendous drop in interest rates around the world in the wake of Brexit, the dramatically improved jobs report, or the $20+ billion that is now frozen in UK property funds. And then the shocking execution of five Dallas police officers shortly after the death of two seemingly non-threatening African Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota took place.
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