How to Be More Resilient, According to an Elite Performance Coach

How to Be More Resilient, According to an Elite Performance Coach

By Clay Skipper  July 5, 2022

We're past the days of “no pain, no gain.” Steve Magness, elite running coach and performance guru, on what toughness looks like now.

As a kid, Steve Magness used to run until he puked. “That was my thing,” he says. This model of toughness—pushing through pain—worked well for him. So well, in fact, that he clocked a blazing 4:01 mile in high school. But several years later, when trying to break the four-minute barrier while running at the University of Houston, his strategy backfired.

Trying to work through an uncomfortable sensation in his neck, Magness collapsed. He’d given himself a condition that caused his vocal cords to malfunction by reflexively closing (and making it hard to breathe) at the first sign of stress. He could no longer just will his way through pain.

“I had to relax, to keep my breathing, neck, and mind steady and under control, all at the exact moment when discomfort and doubts were at their highest,” he writes in his new book, Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness. “In many ways, this book started the moment I collapsed. A search for what it means to be tough, for understanding how to control an inner world that often goes haywire.”

That was almost 15 years ago, and in the time since, Magness has become not just a successful running coach but an expert on human performance, working with everyone from NASA to Nike, and co-authoring the 2017 book Peak Performance with Brad Stulberg. What makes his new book unique—and especially useful—is that it threads the needle between the outdated outlook of “no pain, no gain” and the more contemporary model of self-care, which can easily tip into lazy self-indulgence.

He’s exploring a different, more productive way to navigate our pain that neither advocates ramming straight through it nor tries to escape it entirely. That might be the discomfort of trying to run your fastest mile, or will yourself through another hour of work, or simply use your phone less.

Whatever pain you’re trying to endure, here Magness lays out the lessons he’s learned on persevering in a more productive manner.

GQ: What was your childhood model of toughness?

Magness: My model came entirely from sports. I tried and played practically every sport possible: baseball, football, basketball, even street hockey somehow down in the middle of the South. When you go through that, especially in Texas in the ’80s and ’90s, you get a particular style of toughness placed on you. Put your head down and do everything you can to get on the other side of the pain.

I remember coaches telling me not to show emotion. You didn’t give the competitor any hints that anything could ever be wrong. No matter the chaos inside, you didn’t give away that you had doubts or insecurities. But eventually there are competitions where you dig deep, you reach down to find that extra oomph, and it’s just not there. It backfires.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.gq.com/story/steve-magness-do-hard-things-interview

How Our Perceptions of Time and Money Change as We Age

How Our Perceptions of Time and Money Change as We Age

BY RETIRE BEFORE DAD

Our perceptions of the value of time and money shift as we age.   In early adulthood, time is abundant, while money is scarcer. We want more money and are willing to sacrifice our time to get it.

By middle age, a thriving career helps us earn more, but job and family obligations consume our time. Life is expensive, and working middle-aged people never seem to have enough time or money.

Approaching retirement, we’re more willing to spend money to save time. Why mow the lawn when you could be playing golf or Bridge? And what good is all that wealth if we have no time to enjoy it?

Time was valuable all along.

But as we age and grow wealth, we learn to appreciate time more because we have less of it to live.

The sooner we learn, the sooner we can shift our focus to what’s most important.

Important of time vs. importance of money chart.

The crossover point — when we fully embrace time as the superior resource and prioritize accordingly — is realized at different stages of life for different people.

It may be gradual or sudden.

The approach to retirement is a typical time when priorities shift.

Does retirement change our perception of the value of money?

The standard path of attaining an expensive education and then working full-time for the next four decades to retire at 65 is still predominant.

But that’s Baby Boomer gold-watch thinking.

We have more options.

Time vs. money purpose?

Maybe when we find our true purpose in life, we modify priorities to elevate the importance of time, relationships, and our impact on the world over income and wealth.

For those with a clearly defined purpose, time spent not fulfilling that purpose is wasted time.

There can be prosperity in purpose. Finding work you love that serves others and makes you wealthy might be the holy grail.

Diagnosis as the cross over point.

A serious health diagnosis, accident, or death of a loved one might change your feelings about time and money too.

Imagine a doctor telling you there are only a few months left to live.

Life’s priorities would shift immediately.

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.retirebeforedad.com/time-and-money/

Why Did Inflation Surge To A 40-Year High? Here Are 4 Causes Of The Worst Monetary-Policy Mistake In Years

Why Did Inflation Surge To A 40-Year High? Here Are 4 Causes Of The Worst Monetary-Policy Mistake In Years.

The MarketWatch 50  Published: Nov. 1, 2022 By Greg RobbFollow

‘I don’t think I would do that again’: Jay Powell grapples with how the Fed got inflation so wrong and lands on the MarketWatch 50 list of the most influential people in markets

How Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jay Powell is ultimately remembered will depend on whether he’s able to tame inflation without driving the U.S. into a deep recession. GETTY IMAGES

The Federal Reserve has made two major policy blunders in the last 25 years.

The first was being unaware that the foundation of the U.S. banking system had been eroded away by complex mortgage securities that carried high credit ratings but turned out to be toxic during a broad housing downturn. The resulting meltdown in valuations caused the global financial crisis in 2008 that hobbled the U.S. economy for years.

More recently, a misreading of the strength of the labor market and the persistence of price shocks sparked by the pandemic led to the highest inflation rate in 40 years and the final chapter of this saga is still to be written. The policy error paved the way to make 2022 the worst year in financial markets arguably since the 1930s. Both stocks and bonds have plummeted and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome “Jay” Powell is at the center of the financial turmoil, landing him on the MarketWatch 50 list of the most influential people in markets.

Critics have pounced on the Fed. Powell’s insistence that rising inflation was “transitory” and would quickly dissipate once the economy reopened more fully has been called “probably the worst inflation call in Fed history” by Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser for Allianz.

The economist Stephen Roach has compared Powell to former Fed chair Arthur Burns, whose indecisiveness under intense political pressure led to the crushing inflation of the 1970s. As recently as March 2022, when the Labor Department was reporting a 7.9% annual rise in consumer prices, Powell and the Fed were just wrapping up their injections of liquidity into financial markets.

How Powell, who is not a trained economist, is ultimately remembered will depend on whether he’s able to tame inflation without driving the U.S. into a deep recession. It could still all end relatively well, but the debate about what signs the U.S. central bank ignored and why will be studied and debated for years to come.

For now, outside experts are debating the causes that led to the big policy mistake. Some Fed officials, including Powell, have started to chime in. Following are the four underlying causes of the initial policy error that emerged in interviews with experts. They include the Fed’s new policy framework, Powell’s distrust of forecasts, unintended consequences of some forward guidance the Fed gave markets in 2020, and the nature of the pandemic’s perfect economic storm.

A New Policy Framework Unveiled In August 2020

In August 2020, as the nation was emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns, Jay Powell’s Federal Reserve announced a monumental shift. For more than a year prior to the pandemic, the Fed had been working on a new policy framework and the pandemic wasn’t about to stop the U.S. central bank from implementing what it had been putting together.

“The economy is always evolving,” Powell said. The Fed interest-rate committee’s “strategy for achieving its goals must adapt to meet the new challenges that arise.”

Powell was not referring to the extraordinary economic events associated with the early days of the pandemic. Instead, the policy shift had been designed for a world of low inflation, a reality that had dragged on for some two decades.

“The framework document came after 20 years of it being very difficult to get inflation to 2%. And so, unfortunately, the framework assumed that type of environment was going to persist,” said former Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren, in an interview.

With the new playbook, the Fed essentially decided it would not raise interest rates at the first sign of a strong labor market, which had become a cardinal rule after the the bout with high inflation in the 1980s. Instead, the Fed would be more patient before using the blunt tool of raising interest rates to increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers to tamp down inflation

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-did-inflation-surge-to-a-40-year-high-here-are-4-causes-of-the-worst-monetary-policy-mistake-in-years-11667318263?siteid=yhoof2

40 Interesting Facts About Halloween

40 Interesting Facts About Halloween

By Editorial Staff

Halloween is now considered as a global holiday that is celebrated by millions around the world. Given this level of popularity, you might be wondering how it came about and what led to its development. In this article, we delve deeper into the origins and other interesting facts.

1. Halloween happens every evening of the 31st of October. It marks the start of Allhallowtide, a series of Christian holidays meant to remember the dead such as loved ones, saints, and martyrs.

2. Current Halloween customs can be traced to the pagan traditions of ancient Celtics, particularly the festival called “Samhain” which means summer’s end. It is part of their preparation for the gloomy winter.

3. Celtics believed that the boundary with the Otherworld is weaker during Samhain, allowing spirits to pass through and walk among us. People left food offerings outside their homes to appease the spirits.

4. By the 1500s, the festival began to include costumes and house-to-house visits. Young people impersonated the spirits, recited verses, and sang songs in exchange for food. Households obliged to receive good fortune.

5. “Halloween” first appeared in Christian writings around 1745. It is a shortened form of the term Hallows evening, referring to the vigils and other activities the night before All Hallows Day (also called All Saints Day).

6. Most celebrations of saints and martyrs were held from spring to summer. In 837, Pope Gregory IV moved All Saints Day to November 1 which coincides with Samhain. This was a practical decision to decongest Rome from pilgrims during summers.

7. By the 1100s, the festivities included street parades with criers in black asking people to remember the dead. Homes baked soul cakes marked with a cross and gave these out in exchange for prayers. Shakespeare mentioned this souling tradition in his play “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”.

8. Although most people consider Halloween as major US holiday, it did not reach mainstream consciousness in North America until the 1800s. Mass immigration of Scottish and Irish people allowed their traditions to flourish here.

9. New York‘s Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is the largest of its kind in the world. It features over 50,000 participants in costume. Millions of spectators turn up each year to cheer them on throughout Manhattan.

10. In the Middle Ages, Christians would carry carved out turnips turned into lanterns while going around homes for traditional souling. These lanterns are thought to symbolize the souls of the dead.

11. Fires, such as those burning from jack-o’-lanterns, were thought to prevent demons from haunting homes and guide wandering souls back to their families. People roaming during the night could also ward off evil spirits.

12. While Ireland and Scotland preferred turnips, US immigrants used native pumpkins instead. These were larger, softer, and easier to access. Pumpkin carving was a common harvest time tradition before being linked to Halloween.

13. A popular Irish folktale explains the origin of the jack-o’-lantern. It is said to contain the soul of a person who was denied entry to both heaven and hell, condemning him to roam forever.

14. Another enduring image of the holiday is the skull. This is a reminder of death and the fragility of life. In the Christian tradition, it is a reference to Golgotha where Jesus was crucified.

15. Trick-or-treating comes from the medieval practice of mumming in which costumed actors parade on the streets and perform in homes. Aside from Hallows Eve, they also did this on other feast days like Christmas, Shrove Tuesday, and Twelfth Night.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://thefactfile.org/halloween-facts/

32 Fun Halloween Facts That Are Sure to Surprise and Delight

32 Fun Halloween Facts That Are Sure to Surprise and Delight

From scary movie trivia to interesting tidbits about the holiday's history

By Sarah Lemire and Amanda Garrity | TODAY • Published October 27, 2022

How Much Do You Really Know About Halloween?

Even after all these years, the haunted holiday remains a bit of a mystery — which is why we've rounded up some fun Halloween facts to teach you (and everyone else) a thing or two.

We've covered all the bases here. Below, learn the history of beloved Halloween traditions like trick-or-treating, homemade costumes and carved (and no-carve) pumpkins came to be. But that's not all: Get a taste of everyone's candy-eating habits, along with a look behind your favorite Halloween movies and songs.

They’ll come in handy, no matter what Halloween throws your way. Use ‘em to break the ice at a costume party, study them before a round of Halloween trivia, list off a few not-so-obvious Easter eggs about the scary movie you’re watching or incorporate bits of trivia into the caption of your annual Instagram post.

Now, take a moment to read over these fun and festive facts, then memorize a few standouts to surprise and spook everyone who crosses your path on October 31.

The White House Was First Decorated For Halloween In 1958

Mamie Eisenhower decorated the White House for Halloween for the first time. She decked out the State Dining Room in twinkle lights, shocks of dried corn, jack-o'-lanterns and autumnal flower arrangements for a lunch for wives of staff members. Things took a spooky turn outside the dining room, though: Black cats, owls, witch heads and goblins hung from chandeliers in the foyer.

HALLOWEEN

Americans Spend More Than $100 On Halloween

And it's not going down anytime soon. In 2022, the National Retail Federation estimated that Americans would spend an average of $100 on costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards — just short of last year's estimate of $103.

Spending is expected to increase across the board, except spending on greeting cards is taking a slight dip this year. Looks like we're going digital this Halloween then!

Jack Nicholson's Divorce Inspired A Scene In "The Shining"

There's a scene in "The Shining" that writers — including Nicholson — know all too well: Wendy approaches Jack at his typewriter and he scolds her for trying to get in the way of his writing process. Nicholson later revealed that his character's reaction, although exaggerated, stems from his own personal experience.

"That scene at the typewriter — that’s what I was like when I got my divorce. I was under the pressure of being a family man with a daughter and one day I accepted a job to act in a movie in the daytime and I was writing a movie at night and I’m back in my little corner and my beloved wife, Sandra, walked in on what was, unbeknownst to her, this maniac — and I told Stanley [Kubrick] about it and we wrote it into the scene," the actor told The New York Times.

William Shakespeare Wrote The "Song Of Witches"

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble” is from William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” A trio of witches recite the poem as they scheme over a bubbling cauldron and it's been associated with witches ever since.

People Used To Carve Turnips, Not Pumpkins

Initially, the Irish and Scottish carved turnips as a way to remember deceased souls. When they immigrated to the U.S., they realized that pumpkins were much easier to carve and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Most-Googled Costume Is A Witch

Classic Halloween costumes never go out of style. Here are the most popular children’s Halloween costumes in 2022 (in order), according to Google:

Witch   Spiderman   Dinosaur   "Stranger Things"   Fairy   Pirate  Rabbit   Cheerleader   Cowboy   Harley    Quinn   Clown

Halloween was once known as "Black Halloween"

To read more go to original article  here:

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/holidays/32-fun-halloween-facts-that-are-sure-to-surprise-and-delight/3926209/

59 Spooky Halloween Facts

59 Spooky Halloween Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer  Published August 20, 2016 Updated October 26, 2022

Because the movie Halloween (1978) was on such a tight budget, they had to use the cheapest mask they could find for the character Michael Meyers, which turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. Shatner initially didn’t know the mask was in his likeness, but when he found out years later, he said he was honored.[19]

The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips.[16]

Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.[17]

The word “witch” comes from the Old English wicce, meaning “wise woman.” In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings, or sabbats, on Halloween night.[18]

Halloween Fear Facts

It sometimes presents itself with related phobias, such as phasmophobia (the fear of ghosts), wiccaphobia (the fear of witchcraft), and nyctophobia (the fear of darkness)

Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.[7]

Fifty percent of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, compared with 24% who prefer non-chocolate candy and 10% who preferred gum.[7]

The owl is a popular Halloween image. In Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant someone was about to die.[18]

According to Irish legend, Jack O’Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was forbidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.[18]

The Guinness World Record for Heaviest Pumpkin is held by Mathias Willemijns from Belgium and his 2,624.6-pound pumpkin.[9]

Stephen Clarke holds the record for the world’s fastest pumpkin carving time: 24.03 seconds, smashing his previous record of 54.72 seconds. The rules of the competition state that the pumpkin must weigh less than 24 pounds and be carved in a traditional way, which requires at least eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth.[13]

Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.[13]

“Souling” is a medieval Christian precursor to modern-day trick-or-treating. On Hallowmas (November 1), the poor would go door-to-door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes.[16]

The first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada.[13]

Halloween Cat Fact

Cats have a prominent place in Halloween folklore and decor

 To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.factretriever.com/halloween-facts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=61&v=zx8GZW4vAKw&feature=emb_logo

Handle Hard Well

Handle Hard Well

Oct 27, 2022 by Ted Lamade@collabfund

Guest post by Ted Lamade, Managing Director at The Carnegie Institution for Science

Ihave been writing these articles for close to a decade now. In doing so I have covered many topics, but none have resonated more than this issue of adversity. As a result, my antenna is up. This is why I happened to notice something this past Sunday afternoon while watching the Buffalo Bills play the Kansas City Chiefs, specifically the two starting quarterbacks — Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

Allen and Mahomes may be the two best quarterbacks in the NFL today. Allen is currently the frontrunner to be this year’s MVP, while Patrick Mahomes was the League MVP in 2018 and Super Bowl MVP in 2020. Yet, neither was expected to even make it to the NFL. In fact, Mahomes wasn’t even ranked in the top 50 recruits in his home state of Texas and Allen failed to receive a single scholarship offer coming out of high school.

Intrigued, I started doing some more digging.

Like Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, the four-time and two-time reigning NFL MVP, also didn’t receive a scholarship offer coming out of high school. He was then passed over by 21 other teams and had to back up Brett Favre for three seasons before starting his first NFL game.

How about the 2019 MVP, the year between Rodgers and Mahomes? Lamar Jackson was a three star recruit (out of five) who wasn’t even among the top 400 recruits his senior year in high school. He was also strongly encouraged by the “experts” to play a position other than quarterback.

The the last MVP outside of this group? Tom Brady, who has become the greatest quarterback of all time after being passed over by every NFL franchise multiple times in the 2000 NFL draft until the Patriots finally drafted him in the 6th round.

The list doesn’t end there. Of the top ten quarterbacks heading into this season, only one was rated a five-star recruit coming out of high school. Of the 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL today, you can count the number of five-star recruits on just one hand.

The fact is, this group of predominantly three-star quarterbacks was considered by many to be too short, slow, inaccurate, or raw to become regular starters. Yet, they are currently occupying the most demanding job in all of sports, while countless five-star “sure things” have flamed out along the way.

The question is why?

Duke women’s head basketball coach, Karen Lawson, said it better than I ever could in a recent speech to her team about how important it is to “handle hard well.”

“Most people think things are going to get easier. Life is going to get easier. Basketball is going to get easier. School is going to get easier. It never gets easier. What happens is you become someone who handles hard stuff better. And if you think life when you leave college is going to all of a sudden get easier because you graduated and you got a Duke degree, it’s not going to get easier. It’s going to get harder. So make yourself a person that ‘handles hard well’.”

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://collabfund.com/blog/handle-hard-well/

Democrats And Republicans Why Are They Donkeys And Elephants

Democrats And Republicans Why Are They Donkeys And Elephants

Published September 21, 2020

While the bald eagle is a national symbol for the United States, the two major political parties that govern it are often represented by two different animals: a donkey for the Democratic Party and an elephant for the Republican Party. These animals are commonly linked with these two parties in everything from political analysis to bumper stickers.

Why these two animals, though? Why not an ostrich and an alpaca, or some other unlikely combo? Incredibly, the popularization of both the donkey and the elephant being associated with the parties can be traced back to one person: cartoonist Thomas Nast.

Was the donkey originally a jackass?

Thomas Nast was an American cartoonist who joined the staff of Harper’s Weekly in 1862. Nast’s cartoons were very popular and his depiction of Santa Claus is still the most widely used version of the holiday icon we see today. During his career, Nast also drew many political cartoons that harshly criticized the policies of both parties.

Nast first used a donkey to represent the Democratic party as a whole in the 1870 cartoon “A Live Jack-Ass Kicking a Lion” in which Nast criticized the dominantly Democratic Southern newspaper industry as the “Copperhead Press.” While he did popularize the donkey, Nast wasn’t the first person to use it in reference to the Democrats.

Over 40 years earlier during the presidential campaign of 1828, opponents of Democrat Andrew Jackson referred to him as a “jackass.” Jackson actually embraced the insult and used donkeys on several campaign posters. Nevertheless, cartoonist Anthony Imbert would use a Jackson-headed donkey to mock Jackson an 1833 political cartoon.

However, the donkey never really caught on after the end of Jackson’s presidency, and Thomas Nast apparently had no knowledge that it ever was used to represent the Democrats.

What does the elephant symbolize?

As for the elephant, Nast first used the behemoth to represent the Republicans in the 1874 cartoon “The Third Term Panic.” The cartoon depicts the Republican Party as a lumbering elephant about to walk off a cliff. As for why Nast chose an elephant, a common theory is that it is based on an old phrase of “seeing the elephant” which pro-Unionist Republicans used to mean that they had seen battle during the Civil War. Nast himself was a proud Republican and diehard-Unionist so it is entirely plausible he was aware of this phrase at the time.

Thomas Nast worked at Harper’s Weekly until 1886. It is an understatement to say that Nast’s cartoons were extraordinarily popular. President Abraham Lincoln referred to Nast as his “best recruiting sergeant” and President Ulysses S. Grant, one of the highest ranking Union generals, said that Nast had done as “much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end.”

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.dictionary.com/e/political-parties-animal-mascots/#:~:text=Incredibly%2C%20the%20popularization%20of%20both%20the%20donkey%20and,joined%20the%20staff%20of%20Harper%E2%80%99s%20Weekly%20in%201862.

Why Are Republicans Red and Democrats Blue?

Why Are Republicans Red and Democrats Blue?

By KIMBER STREAMS  

Today, citizens across the US are casting their ballots, hoping to tip the balance of their state to red or blue, but few stop to wonder from where the concepts of "red" and "blue" states stem. According to Smithsonian Magazine, red did not always denote the Republican party and blue wasn't always symbolic of Democrats — this now-common lexicon only dates back to the 2000 election.

In 1976, NBC debuted its first election map on the air, with bulbs that turned red for Carter-won states (Democratic), and blue for Ford (Republican). This original color scheme was based on Great Britain's political system, which used red to denote the more liberal party. However, other stations used different colors and designations for a variety of ideological and aesthetic reasons, which often differed from person to person.

"It was a more natural association."

The color coding we're familiar with today didn't stick until the iconic (and extremely lengthy) election of 2000, when The New York Times and USA Today published their first full-color election maps. The Times spread used red for Republicans because "red begins with r, Republican begins with r," said the senior graphics editor Archie Tse, "it was a more natural association."

The election, which didn't end until mid-December, firmly established Democrats as the blue party and Republicans as the red — denotations which will likely hold fast for some time to come.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/6/3609534/republicans-red-democrats-blue-why-election

"A Story Book Ending and an Idiot Dad" Posted by Mot at TNT

TNT:

Mot: ~~~~ A Story-Book Ending and an Idiot Dad ~~~~~

A Story-Book Ending and an Idiot Dad

He learned something very important from his/my youngest daughter yesterday.  Probably a lot more than she would think.

She is 18 and moved away to college last week.  Her passion in life has always been riding horses and showing them.  She began showing horses when she was 7 years old.  Every year, she has competed in numerous horse shows.  Each year, the World’s Championship Horse Show is held in Louisville, Kentucky, near our home.  She has entered every year and to her great disappointment, never won first place.

Long ago, she made it her life’s dream to win a World Championship.  Over the years, it became more and more apparent to me that her chances were low that she would.  In this business, the horses that win are usually very, very expensive.  More expensive than we could afford. 

Several years ago, when she told me about her lifetime dream of winning a World Championship, I told her she would probably never win.  She was crushed and ran off crying. 

I knew right away I had made one of the worst mistakes I would ever make as a parent.  My intentions were good–I simply didn’t want her to aspire to something that wasn’t possible.  I also felt guilty because I couldn’t afford to buy her a horse that was needed to win.

What I failed to realize in that brief moment, is that she subscribed to the story-book notion that as long as you work hard, believe in yourself, and never give up, you can always achieve your goal.  Being a pragmatist with pessimistic leanings, I subscribed to the “life isn’t fair” theory and I wanted to protect her from further disappointment.  What I told her that day was just plain stupid and it’s something I’ll regret until the day I die.

Despite the growing odds that she may never achieve her goal, she never gave up and she worked very hard at countless lessons and countless horse shows–many of which led to only more disappointment.  She persevered.

I’m one of those parents that NEVER misses the activities of my kids unless something totally unavoidable prevents me from doing so.  So, as the years dragged on, my heart was crushed each time she entered a show that ended in disappointment. I dreaded going to each show, knowing we were getting closer and closer to a lost dream.

Several years ago, we told her once she went off to college, we would no longer be able to afford keeping the horses we had, so just as she began college this year, she entered her last event at the World Championships.  This was going to be her last ride.

What happened next was nothing less than remarkable.

She was entered in a large class of 33 horses.  Her horse had been giving her trouble all year long and the prospects did not look good for the last ride of her career.  Because the class was so large, the class was split into two divisions to compete separately.  She was to ride in the second division.  As the first class was about to enter the arena, she was preparing to warm up her horse just outside the entrance.

Along with the rest of my family, I was anxiously awaiting her ride in the fabled Freedom Hall at the Kentucky State Fair Grounds–hallowed ground among this community of competitors.  Unknown to us as she was preparing to warm up her horse, a trainer from the first division yelled out “I need a rider for our horse!  Right now.”  It turns out, one of the riders had become suddenly ill and could not enter the ring.  If someone did not show her horse, it would be disqualified for later showing. 

My daughter’s trainer heard the call for help and said “My rider can do it!”   The other trainer told ours that this horse was game and had mostly only been ridden by professional trainers.  Our trainer responded “Yes, you bet she can!”  Somewhat intimidated, but excited to ride the other horse, my daughter mounted this horse she had never seen before and within seconds, entered the arena with 13 other riders.  My daughter and her trainer instinctively knew that not being able to warm up her own horse would likely mean they would do poorly in the second division.   Besides, who knew, maybe she would have a better chance on this horse she didn’t know.

From that point forward, she dominated the class and was cheered on by the crowd.  And when the announcement of the ribbons came, my little baby girl was announced the winner, a World champion rider.  She smiled and cried her way through the award announcement and her victory pass.  Afterward, she sobbed uncontrollably for nearly 30 minutes.  All those years of hard work had finally paid off and she got her story-book ending in the last ride of her career.

Her tears were mostly tears of joy of course, but combined with thoughts that validated her abilities as a rider.  No more doubts about whether she had not won because of lack of ability.  She had indeed proved her abilities in that single event.  Riding a game horse you’ve never been on before and doing so well is a remarkable feat.

So, what did I learn from my daughter?  Well, if you work hard and never give up, and you believe in yourself (no matter what your Dad says) you can indeed achieve your goal.  I learned this from my daughter.  The very thing I was supposed to teach her.

It later occurred to me that this was a God thing.  No, I don’t think God made her win that championship.  I don’t think God helps people win things as trivial (in the grand scheme of things) as a horse show, but I do think he helps things along that shape a young person’s life.  I have little doubt that winning that championship was more important to her than anyone else at that show.   I think God set some extraordinary things in place to give her the opportunity to do so–to allow her to prove herself.  And when she did, I’m confident that God smiled with the rest of us and said “Well done daughter.  Well done.”

Oh, and Caroline, first I want to say how sorry I am for saying such a terrible thing to you at a such a vulnerable time in your life and when you needed encouragement.  Parents aren’t perfect, and I proved that in spades that day I told you you couldn’t do it. 

Secondly, you’ve made me the proudest Dad in the world. Not just because you won.  But because you proved to me and many others that perseverance and hard work will always pay off and you did it with grace, humility, and joy.

The Definition of Foreign Exchange Management

The Definition of Foreign Exchange Management

by Kofi Bofah   Published on 13 Sep 2019

Foreign exchange is essential to coordinate global business. Foreign exchange management is associated with currency transactions designed to meet and receive overseas payments. Beyond these transactions, foreign exchange management requires you to understand the relevant factors that influence currency values. From that point, you may execute the proper strategy to manage risks and improve potential earnings.

Foreign exchange management is the process of limiting a company's exposure to foreign currency fluctuations. In most cases, this is done by companies that engage in foreign trade.

Management Of Foreign Exchange

Foreign exchange management begins with trading currencies to exchange goods and services overseas. International businesses convert overseas profits back into their domestic currency to spend at home. Meanwhile, consumers exchange domestic currency for foreign banknotes to buy overseas goods. These transactions occur within the foreign exchange markets, where networks of private individuals, banks and organized financial exchanges provide the infrastructure to trade international banknotes.

Foreign exchange occurs at rates that are associated with currency valuations. Foreign exchange rates describe the amount of one currency that must be given up to receive one unit of another currency, and they tend to parallel the political and economic environment of a particular country. For example, domestic foreign exchange rates appreciate when the economy is strong and the currency is in high demand to buy the nation’s stocks and real estate. Conversely, currency values fall amidst political and social instability. Foreigners generally liquidate business assets in war-torn nations that struggle with development.

Effective foreign exchange management requires you to preserve purchasing power by staying current on any events affecting rates and operating accordingly. You will exploit the buying power of high exchange rates to acquire overseas goods. Alternatively, low exchange rates are an opportunity to boost overseas sales, as your wares become relatively cheaper overseas.

Foreign Exchange Examples For Governments

Government officials manage foreign exchange reserves to influence the domestic economy. On the national level, low exchange rates are ideal for exporters, while strong currency valuations benefit consumers with increased purchasing power for imports. Treasury leadership may spend domestic currency to buy large amounts of foreign exchange, which effectively devalues the home currency. As of May 2019, China had purchased more than $1.11 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, which devalues its yuan and supports its export economy. https://bizfluent.com/about-6554689-forex-management-.html

Foreign Exchange Management Strategies

Foreign exchange risks include lost profits and purchasing power related to adverse currency movements. Canadian businessmen that hold reserves of Japanese yen suffer when the yen falls. Alternatively, Canadian exporters lose out on sales when Canadian dollars strengthen and make their goods more expensive for foreign buyers.

Foreign exchange risk management calls for diversification. Large corporations expand multinationally to balance currency risks. For example, elevated energy costs benefit resource-rich nations and currencies, while industrialized energy importers are subject to recession and inflation. Caterpillar is a multi-national corporation whose profits in oil-rich Russia may exceed any lost sales in America at that point.

Smaller investors that lack the finances to set up multinational enterprises can diversify accordingly with global or international mutual funds. Both types of funds consist of a portfolio of securities from many different countries, minimizing the risks associated with an economic downturn or currency devaluation in any one country. Global mutual funds also contain securities from the United States, while international mutual funds exclude American securities.

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