Professor Elam

Thanksgiving Day    November 22 2012

Someone asked for more time to post an assignment which involved a report on the balance sheet and equity section of a public company. While the student was working Friday thru Sunday, I asked about today, which elicited a repsonse of 

what, study on Thanksgiving!

When Mike Phelps (winner of the most Olympic swim medals ever) coach was asked about Mike's practice routine he replied, he swims every day. The interviewer on Sixty Minutes protested that surely he did not swim on his birthday or Christmas or New Year's when we all watch football?  Yep, he does. 

As the coach put it, if you want to win at swimming, 

Get in the water. 

That is a great metaphor. If you don't love what you are doing enough, if you aren't jazzed enough to be engaged every day of your life, clearly you have not found your siren song in life yet. 

Here is the overview for this blog

Since beginning in September 2006 I have written 2,869 posts which interestingly is 467 more than the student comments. In that time I have also authored a newspaper column, every week. Oh I began another blog in 2009, here is the box score on that one. 

The pageviews on the investmnet blog shown above have recentlybeen hitting 250 and we have recorded hits from some 92 different countries around the world. And some 56 folks logged on today or perhaps one person who was just trying to run the number up to 56. 

My point here is that folks interested in investing don't consider reading about investing work or drudgery or something they have to do, they love it. 

I'm a lucky guy. I am doing what I like to do, reading what I like to read,writing about what interests me. 

I log on to marketwatch or finance.yahoo or read several market blogs as well as watch the markets every day. 

If you are going to succeed in accounting or swimming, the same is true. Getin the water. If the water isn't fun for you, you are in the wrong swimming pool, simple as that. 

Eventually you will take a certified exam if you stay in this field. The exam won't be giving you a pass on when you decided to get engaged. It won't care if you drive a new M series BWM or a clapped out hand me down Toyota Corolla to the test center. it will just expect you to be ready. 

Repent now, get engaged.