Staying Calm is a Tall Order - But it is possible...

 Proverbs 29:14a says,

A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body.

But in today's world it isn't easy. I've found that it requires a lot of conscious decisions. I say conscious because I've found I need to be conscious of everything I let into my life.

For example, I used to be on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, now I'm down to FB only. And when someone shares something upsetting on FB, I just unfollow them. (I remain connected but I don't see anything they posted. They're happy. I'm happy and all is well.)

During the week, I only watch TV between 6:30 and 8:00. On the weekend, it isn't much different.

I've come to understand why Alexander Pope said,

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”

The other day, I was chatting with a co-worker who was upset with our managers.

I responded, at the end of the day, 65 years have taught me that there are few things worth getting upset about.

For me, it comes down to this:

Does my wife come home at the end of the day?

Do people drive on the right side of the road?

Does my paycheck clear?

If these things happen, I'm happy and I couldn't be happier.

These conscious decisions on how I am going to interact with my world have enabled me to live a calm life.

How about you?

What do you do to remain calm?

*****

Clark Finnical is the author of Job Hunting Secrets (from someone who’s been there) and LinkedIn Strategies to Take Your Career to the Next Level 

 

 

 

 

Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises

 Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises by former Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, is one of the most fascinating books I've read. (I've also listened to the audio version.)

Stress Test is one of those You Are There* books where you're taken beyond the headlines and invited to see what really happened.

The most memorable takeaway from this book is the actual stress test that Geithner applied to the largest banks in America. 

During the Great Recession we watched as global financial powerhouses seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse.

It was an environment of fear. So much so that once Geithner spoke with the CEO of a top financial firm. After he hung up, he could tell that this man was clearly, obviously very afraid. So he called him back and told him not to speak with anyone. 

Ultimately what Geithner did was to get the staff in the Treasury department and Federal Reserve to examine the books of the major financial institutions of America.

This took some time, but once the work was done, he knew which banks could withstand future economic shocks, which might need some financial support and which were in such dire straits that the only way they could be saved is to be merged with a financially strong firm. E.g. Countryside Mortgage with BOA.

On page 349 of this 500+ page masterpiece, Geithner shares how he walked into the Oval Office and shared Daily Observations a publication of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund and most credible source of private sector economic analysis.

The headline was "We Agree." "The Stress Test numbers and ours are nearly the same." "The regulators did an excellent job of explaining exactly what they did for this stress test, and showing the numbers that produced the results."

The ultimate test was whether private investors would invest new capital in banks. BOA's stock price was up 63% that week and Citi's 35%. Now nearly every financial indicator was heading the right way.

This was a horrible time for Americans, some more than others, yet it could have been a lot, lot worse.

When asked why Geithner had this job, it was said that unlike others, Geithner did not lose his head when the world seemed to be falling apart.

*You Are There

You Are There is a 1947–1957 American historical educational television and radio series broadcast over the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks. Created by Goodman Ace for CBS Radio, it blended history with modern technology, taking an entire network newsroom on a figurative time warp each week reporting the great events of the past.

About the Author

Timothy Geithner is an American former central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2003 to 2009, following service in the Clinton administration. Since March 2014, he has served as president and managing director of Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm headquartered in New York City.

As President of the New York Fed and Secretary of the Treasury, Geithner had a key role in government efforts to recover from the financial crisis of 2007–08 and the Great Recession. At the New York Fed, Geithner helped manage crises involving Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and the American International Group; as Treasury Secretary, he oversaw allocation of $350 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, enacted during the previous administration in response to the subprime mortgage crisis. Geithner also managed the administration's efforts to restructure regulation of the nation's financial system, attempts to spur recovery of the mortgage market and the automobile industry, demands for protectionism, tax reform, and negotiations with foreign governments on global finance issues. ~ Wikipedia

Signing Their Lives Away, The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence - Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese

The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence is a wonderful book written by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese.

Here are some of the takeaways:

Most of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence are unknown. 

Some of the signers bankrolled George Washington's army and the new government. 

Benjamin Franklin provided the income from his new job as Postmaster General and 3000 pounds in savings.

Every time Washington needed cash Robert "Morris [of Pennsylvania] managed to find it, even if it came from his own savings. It is said that Morris gave as much as $1 million of his own money to fund the Yorktown campaign alone." The poor man later ended up in debtors prison when a real estate deal went south. When Washington offered him the Treasury Secretary job, he declined saying Hamilton would be a better choice. Washington never forgot everything Morris did, frequently dining with him in Debtors prison.

Carter Braxton of Virginia helped the American cause throughout the war, lending "25,000 pounds to the government." Money with which, he was never repaid.

George Taylor of Pennsylvania started out as an Indentured Servant. After his master died, he married the widow and became the master.

Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania actually dreamt that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson reconciled. As a result of his letters where he acted as a mediator, he was ultimately credited with restoring the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

After his first two wives died, William Paca of Maryland had a child out of wedlock with a free black woman. He publicly acknowledged the child and sent her to the finest schools.

Benjamin Harrison V of Virginia, the forefather of two future presidents, William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison, also signed the declaration.

When a friend defaulted on a loan Thomas Jefferson was forced to declare bankruptcy. This led him to sell his entire library to the government and that was the start of the Library of Congress.

George Wythe of Virginia was fatally poisoned by his sister's grandson.

Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina and his wife died when a storm hit the ship they were taking to Europe.

Thomas Heyward, Jr., Edward Rutledge and Arthur Middleton of South Carolina were imprisoned in St. Augustine from 1780 to 1781.

About the authors

Denise Kiernan is an author, journalist, producer, and host of “CRAFT: Authors in Conversation.” Her new young reader’s book, "We Gather Together: Stories of Thanksgiving" from then to now, arrives September 2023, and is a companion title to the popular adult nonfiction book, "We GatherTogether," and children’s picture book, "Giving Thanks." Her titles "The Last Castle" and "The Girls of Atomic City" were both instant New York Times bestsellers in both hardcover and paperback. "The Last Castle" was also a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a finalist for the 2018 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. "The Girls of Atomic City" was also a Los Angeles Times and NPR bestseller, was named one of Amazon's “Top 100 Best Books of 2013,” and is now available in multiple languages. It was also awarded the 2014 American Political Science Association's Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book published in the United States on government, politics, or international affairs. 

Kiernan has also co-authored several popular history titles including "Signing Their Lives Away," "Signing Their Rights Away," and "Stuff Every American Should Know." She has been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, Time, Ms. Magazine, Reader's Digest, Discover and many more publications. She has also worked in television, serving as head writer for ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" during its Emmy award-winning first season and has produced for media outlets such as ESPN and MSNBC.Throughout her career, Kiernan has been a featured guest on many radio and television shows, including NPR's "Weekend Edition," PBS NewsHour, MSNBC Morning Joe and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She lives in North Carolina.

You can follow her work at www.denisekiernan.com

Joseph D’Agnese is a journalist and author who has written for children and adults alike. He’s been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Discover, and other national publications.

In a career spanning more than twenty years, his work has been honored with awards in three vastly different areas—science journalism, children’s literature, and mystery fiction.

His science articles have twice appeared in the anthology Best American Science Writing. 

His children’s book, Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci, was an honoree for the Mathical Book Prize—the first-ever prize for math-themed children’s books.

One of his crime stories won the 2015 Derringer Award for short mystery fiction. Another of his stories was selected by mega-bestselling author James Patterson for inclusion in the prestigious annual anthology, Best American Mystery Stories 2015.

D’Agnese’s crime fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and many others.

D’Agnese lives in North Carolina with his wife, the New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan (The Girls of Atomic City).