My unexpected stock trading activities today have spurred me to express some thoughts about the importance of timing, taking advantage of opportunities and the effect this has on moving forward in life. Each year I write something lamenting the fruitless exercise of participating in the New Year's Day resolution ritual. Recently I did so with Being set up for failure, disappointment and self-defeating beliefs again where I particularly referenced the self-defeating aspects of initiating a life improvement plan based upon some arbitrary setting. It's like awakening to an alarm clock rather than when the body is rested and prepared. It has been years upon years since I have used an alarm clock. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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As life marches forward in a chronological pattern it becomes easy to get stuck in a perpetual routine as though each day is passing through a mirror - looking back you see the now and looking forward you see the now. The way you live today is how you will live the rest of your life. Thus, timing becomes important.
On Wednesday whilst preparing for the arrival of my number one son, Therin - my only son -, I was contemplating my options of where to play around in the stock market. I didn't have time to watch the market that day but still felt the urge to play. I settled upon the ultra safe bet of just buying the Dow Jones Transportation Index ETF [IDU] if it dipped. It was trading around $84.50 and had a 52 week range of 82.53 - 93.97. It earns about 10% per year and pays a dividend of 3%. So I entered a limit order of $83.95 which hit within a few hours. The closing price for the day was $84.40. I figure it's a buy-and-hold which I'll dispose of if it hits around $88 in the next few months.
So today I get online to do the myriad of tasks that have accumulated since the arrival of aforementioned Number One! This wasn't the onset of my day though. That began with my Yoga routine followed by a rather lengthy meditation session and then the recitation of the daily affirmations. Of particular note is “Financial rewards come to me”.
Again, I had no intentions of playing in the market today. I was holding a short position in the S&P 500 and my utility ETF which I didn't expect to see any action until a European calamity of Fiscal Cliff fears. Out of the blue I checked IDU which was trading at $85.05 - a comfortable gain and quite reassuring. I watched it continue to climb and didn't see the rationale or for that matter care. It was now at $85.50, up 1.9% in two days. A substantial move for such a banal index. So I sold and pocketed the profits.
How quickly plans change. Opportunities appear when they are least expected. These changes are a part of daily life though. Adapting to them and taking advantage of these opportunities is what propels us forward in life.
While it is important to draw broad outlines and set a reasonable timeline towards achieving goals one must not become locked into patterns or limited by an inflexible chronological standard.
Today, when I affirmed that financial rewards come to me I didn't expect it to be in the stock market. Maintaining that affirmation led me to check where I have financial opportunities. I discarded my previous plans and profited from today's opportunity.
More important than money though is the relationship you have with your child(ren). Nowhere is there more important opportunities to take advantage of than with a child or regarding custody. These will range from courtroom proceedings to unexpected learning moments when in the company of your child.
In a recent custody battle we developed our war strategy and established the chronological attack well ahead of the hearing date. Much to our surprise the other parent substantially violated the Court's order just two days prior to the hearing. The answers provided to our line of questioning proved to be an unexpected blessing. The net result was my client being given a most favourable significant modification in the parenting time order.
Since that time my client has been able to offer additional opportunities for parenting time to the other parent and also receive some reciprocal time. The children are reportedly pleased with the schedule and are not experiencing the levels of anxiety or other stressors that had been evident preceded the hearing.
While these parents are by no means best of friends now -- amicable communication remains tenuous – they are not experiencing their previous level of high conflict parenting. They have each taken advantage of opportunities that didn't come at an expected time and are moving forward in life and with their children.
Parents who would like to achieve the best outcome for their children in a contested child custody case should visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. Attorneys may request a free consultation to learn how I can maximize their advocacy for their clients.
Connect with me for the latest Indiana child custody related policy considerations, findings, court rulings and discussions. 
Monday, November 26, 2012
Timing, Opportunity and Moving Forward in Life
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Gaining favourable child custody and well-being from being thankful
Tomorrow will come and go for many in traditional fashion: the gathering amongst friends and family, the chatter of banal conversation overplayed against a sporting type event presented on the television, the typical rote recitation of a prescribed thanks followed by the indulgence of a feast. If that rings familiar with you then I offer to you the opportunity to mix it up a bit this year. Not break from traditions but to focus on the deeper impact of giving thanks and to whom, especially for those of you with children.
This is not necessarily targeted to those of you embroiled in a custody battle or high conflict relationship, although you may receive greater benefit, but also those who are “happily married”. Often overlooked is the importance of maintenance of our interpersonal relationships. Like clock-work some people will have the oil changed on their automobiles, replace various filters, even go so far as to engage in “health” care by having regular check-ups. But somehow relationships don't receive the same attention, or maybe they do. There are opportunities for regular relationship check-ups such as marriage and birthday anniversaries – I am somehow bothered that people will still refer to my birthday in the present tense although it occurred over 40 years ago – but I think they go unfulfilled.
These anniversaries are a time to give reverence to their underlying event and be thankful. The presentation of gifts has become a commercialized acknowledgment of the event with little or no significance or feeling. A birthday card should express your gratitude that the recipient exists and include thanks that you are of part of that person's life. Likewise so should the wedding anniversary card. It may even be appropriate to express a more contrite display of gratitude that your spouse has put up with an accepted your petulant ass for another year.
So when tomorrow roles around take an opportunity to disengage from the banter of retail opportunities and gross commercialism of another upcoming holiday and consider your thanks. It is popular to claim greatest thanks for your children although so parents do view them as a burden and the bane of a carnal interlude.
While you should and may be thankful for having a child and the challenges, joy, heartache, pain and pleasures – yes, all of those -- that your child brings into life that thanks must be extended. Your child is not yours alone. You had a partner in that glorious creation. If that partner will be with you tomorrow then I suggest that you take a moment to sincerely express the richness of the rewards that your union has brought to your life. If that partner is no longer living then take a moment to give reverence to that person's life and that which is carried on through your child.
Now for the BIG LEAP. For those of you who do not enjoy – or in any lesser sense – cohabitation with that partner of said glorious creation you must also give thanks. My ex-wife – the mother of our son – and I had a notoriously hostile dissolution replete with regular police involvement and my having to wear body armour and have an armed security escort at times. Yet I have forgiven all of that. We are far from buddy-buddy now but our tenuous relationship is much less hostile now and although not reflective of the previously shared intimacies it is peppered with civility. I have expressed to her my thanks that I was the person for whom she chose to bear a child and that we both continue to care for, nurture and support our son, albeit in different environments.
Are you still with me? I want you to express sincere gratitude to that person who may have bankrupted you, taken your child out of your daily life and caused distress detrimental to your well-being. That person who may have pointed a gun at you and threatened to kill you. That's the person that I feel you should give thanks to in a meaningful manner. This is for you not that other parent.
Trust me on this one. You will find this to be step towards greater tranquility, harmony and balance in your life. Your psychological and physiological well-being will benefit.
If you would like to improve your well-being and achieve greater success in relationships, finances, fitness and more then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2012 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Tuesday is Indiana General Assembly Organization Day for the 2013 session
Tuesday 20 November 2012 will be Organization Day at the Indiana State House for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly. The date and duties of Organization Day are proscribed by statute as follows.
IC 2-2.1-1-2 Sec. 2. (a) The first regular session of each term of the general assembly shall convene on the third Tuesday after the first Monday of November of each even-numbered year to do the following:
(1) Organize itself.
(2) Elect its officers.
(3) Receive the oath of office.
This year will see 29 new legislators joining the General Assembly; twenty-five in the House and four in the Senate. This eclipses 2010 when 23 new members joined the General Assembly. The House had a high turnover rate of 25% while the Senate, whose members are elected every six years, remained much the same.
Organization Day is an opportunity for freshman members to be introduced to the veteran members, become more informed of the process and take the oath of office.
Members generally start arriving to the Indiana State House around 10:00am. The House will meet in session at 1:00pm while the Senate will meet at 1:30pm. The day general concludes around 4:00-5:00pm.
While not in session or caucus members are free to tend to their own business or meet with constituents.
Members of the public are invited to attend Organization Day so I encourage you to do so. If you are interested in affecting child custody legislation and would like to meet your legislator please call me at 317.474.3143 or contact me by email.
If you are involved in a child custody battle and want to position yourself for the best outcome then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
Follow my activities more closely by sending a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2008, 2012 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Friday, November 16, 2012
2013 Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines [IPTG] - update
The Domestic Relations Committee [DRC] of the Indiana Supreme Court convened today for the purpose of preparing media presentation for judges and attorneys to learn about the changes made to the current IPTG. The DRC has submitted the proposed guidelines to the Indiana Supreme Court who will decide to accept the proposed rule as submitted or made changes. The revised IPTG will then be promulgated before going into effect.
Based on past experience I anticipate that if the process runs smoothly then we could see the changes going into effect in the early spring of this year. The DRC does not and will not have any additional information as the Supreme Court does not keep the committee updated as to its progress.
I will begin a round of media appearances soon to inform the public of and help explain what some of the changes mean. I will provide updates here as to those appearances.
In the meantime, although numerous parents are adopting the recommended holiday schedule, especially the winter break, it is not a rule yet. This does not obligate parents to follow the current guidelines, as parents may always agree to modifications, unless there is no agreement.
If you are involved in a child custody action and would like assistance in facilitating an agreement with the other parent or need coaching to prepare for a contested custody hearing then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2012 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The 15 Minute, 5-step Easy Fitness Quiz
As Americans continue to demand higher sick care costs, those who want to avoid these elevated expenses are more concerned about their fitness and well-being. So with that I give you a fitness quiz in which anyone can take just a few minutes to assess their physical fitness using these five easy steps. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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The first is the simple and literally is a measurement. Using a string or tape measure determine the circumference of your hips and waist. Divide the waist number by the hip number to get your abdominal ration. For women it should not exceed .80 and for men .85.
Step two is to determine flexibility. Sit on the floor with your legs outstretched. Hold the heels of your feet and allow yourself to lean forward while focused on a point on the wall commensurate with the level of your head. Allow this stretching position to naturally pull your head towards the floor for about half a minute. Then tilt your head down. Your forehead should come to rest on the floor. I do this shortly after awakening but you may want to wait until later in your day after you have be mobile for awhile.
The third measure includes some mental processing as well as general muscular coordination. For this you will be in the yoga pose Mountain – standing with heels together, reaching overhead with palms pressed together and back curved convex. Rise to your toes and while breathing deeply close your eyes and maintain the pose for 10 seconds or so.
The fourth, a simple standing exercise. Sit on the floor, outstretch your legs, press the bottoms of your feet together then pull them close to you. Now rise to a standing position quickly. Take particular note of any feelings of dizziness or being lightheaded. These are signs of cardiovascular stress.
Finally, the easiest. Find your favourite foods or those you eat most often and start checking in descending order for any that contain artificial colours or flavours, high fructose corn syrup [HFCS] of hydrogenated oils. The first one you come to take it and any additional that you have and toss in the appropriate receptacle for what it is, garbage.
There are no set correlations between these and any measures of fitness that a medical professional would provide such as nutrient levels in blood, vital signs or stress test. These are just some simple measures that I have composed to give you an overview of your fitness. Your particular circumstances may vary but special circumstances aside a generally fit person should be able to meet these measures.
Your abdominal ratio may not meet what I recommend but you can use that as a relative measure. If your head doesn't touch the floor you can still get a relative measure of your fitness. Are you an inch away, maybe three? If more, you have some work to do. Can't stay balanced for 10 seconds with your eyes closed then try with them open for awhile. If you can't easily rise to your feet then go ahead and give yourself a little boost with your hands. If you get lightheaded and have to sit immediately then you have a blood circulation or oxygenation problem that could be a sign of a serious cardiac issue. You may go through less than 20 products to find the garbage. You should not be able to find those ingredients amongst anything you consume more than one serving per week of though. If you didn't through it out then you certainly need to examine why you are eating garbage instead of food.
While you may not be preparing for a contested child custody matter those of you who are will want to maintain optimal fitness, especially if you are self-represented. In closing of Being set up for failure, disappointment and self-defeating beliefs again
I said child custody is not a legal decision but a judgment made upon the parenting behaviours and skills of the parties involved. To effectively advocate for your parenting responsibilities you should be in the best condition you can.
I say it here again because of its' importance.
Parents who would like to achieve the best outcome for their children in a contested child custody case should visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. Attorneys may request a free consultation to learn how I can maximize their advocacy for their clients.
Connect with me for the latest Indiana child custody related policy considerations, findings, court rulings and discussions.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Being set up for failure, disappointment and self-defeating beliefs again
It's November and that means it is time to usher in the “Holiday Season” – or the year-end thrust of decadence as I call it. And you know what that means – a burgeoning belly for most followed by the obligatory New Year's Day resolution to tighten-up, get right and lose the fat. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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This month brings the first feast -- Thanksgiving -- where families gather, discard what few remnants of morality remain and engage in the festival of indulgence. Tables will be adorned with the dead animals that were most likely raised in tightly confining pens, fed a grain based diet and injected with hormones to add quick bulk. Their visceral fat, unlike their free range counterparts, will promote the production of free radicals. Cranberry sauce complete with High Fructose Corn Syrup and a smattering of pastries with HFCS will likely be the trimmings and desert. In between may come a few vegetables, sprinkled with various meats and chemicals such as sodium chloride [table salt] and a salad accompanied by saturated fat based toppings. Yes, it's the morally replete cancer cocktail holding it's dividends in reserve until enough add up for the payout of a stroke, heart attack or cancer.
Next comes the Christmas Season which is kicked off by retailers about the time the plaque from the festival of indulgence is weaving it's way through the recently released free radicals until it can find a perch on your artery walls in which to embed itself. The hustle and bustle of the retail extravaganza will find many people rushing around to acquire the latest electronic gadgets and other hotly touted products to give out as conciliation for the neglect of interpersonal relationships as though the growing materialism resolves all spiritual debts. Cars will line the drive-thru's of the quick-trash restaurants so that the exhausted shoppers won't have to slave in the kitchen to prepare but can just dispense the family meal consumed by the various members scattered about the house. As the synthetic additives take their toll those weary shoppers will awaken to another day and a jolt of a chemically induced state of wakefulness to attack the mind-numbing daily grind again.
The culmination of it all is the big day. Families gather together as their busy schedules allow, mute their various personal communication devices or other electronics for a prayer declared in rote fashion before diving into another feast featuring the same immunological crushing consortium of adulterated foods. A nearly week long trance will be broken by the gala of galas – New Year's Eve parrrrrrrrrrrrrrty!!!!!
It's time to make the self-destructive indulgence and morality dearth of the previous six weeks appear like child's play. It's closing in on midnight and the obesity challenge is in full throttle mode. Millions will race through all the deep-fat fried concoctions and other tasty trans-fat permeated morsels that food engineers along the New Jersey Turnpike can devise. 400 calorie drinks and 300 calorie hand fulls of snacks should produce that last pound of fat to add on to the annual total to ensure that the following day's resolution will be a for sure success.
Once again, success will elude these revelers who declare a commitment to some form of self-improvement while passing across that arbitrary invisible demarcation line which marks a new circumscription of the Sun. While these resolutions may be an admirable first step on that journey to self-improvement, that step is off-balance and will lead to a collapse. Those who experience this collapse will feel the familiar sense of disappointment that occurs a few weeks or months into each new year. The blame will be assessed against one's self because of the lack of will power, motivation or any other character trait that can be applied to this failure.
Yet others who make the same resolves enjoy complete successes that seem to be almost effortless. It would not surprise me at all if I were to enjoy the upcoming feasts, that will usher in a period of reduced travel for me – which I do by cycling or walking -- and still maintain my current weight. Better yet I may likely shed some of this bothersome fat around my gut and drop to 125 pounds as my appetite shows a marked decline.
Particular resolves need not be made upon a set date but, rather, should be done when you are most suited to begin the process of change. Any positive change will be beneficial in ways not immediately foreseen. If you are involved in a child custody case then the law [I.C. 31-17-2-8 and 31-14-13-2] provides particular factors that the court must consider. These include well-being of not only the children but the parents also and the environment in which they reside, relationships with others and the wishes of each parent.
Others of you not involved in child custody conflicts may still seek to improve your interpersonal relationships, physical health, financial standing or any of an unlimited list of possibilities that can be as minor as finding time and money for a vacation or as major as becoming organized. All start at the same point and require a similar level of dedication and assistance.
Self-improvement is enmeshed in a network of integrated life traits and skills that have a circular relationship. So whatever benefits you seek, having a strategy as to when and where to jump onto that merry-go-round will determine your success or failure.
In thinking of child custody, it is not a legal decision but a judgment made upon the parenting behaviours and skills of the parties involved. To effectively advocate for your parenting responsibilities you should be in the best condition you can.
In thinking of financial security, it is not a matter of earning more but effectively managing the portions of your financial world that you have immediate control over and then adapting to the conditions of others.
Parents who would like to achieve the best outcome for their children in a contested child custody case should visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. Attorneys may request a free consultation to learn how I can maximize their advocacy for their clients.
Connect with me for the latest Indiana child custody related policy considerations, findings, court rulings and discussions.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The first day of profit from the O'Bama victory
O'Bama's re-election as president was no surprise to me and thus I profited on the first day. I shorted the S&P 500 and sold in the aftermarket on Wednesday. In the upcoming four years and each thereafter I will continue to profit but not just in the financial markets.
I am not like most who will profit from the O'Bama victory – lawyers, sick-care providers, school administrators and others who are part of a regulatory scheme. Yet, I will still enjoy financial success. If he is able to further implement his agenda, median real wages will continue to decline unemployment will rise and the divide between those with the greatest financial assets and those with the least will continue to expand. That spells opportunity for someone with my acumen for which I will profit. It's not because of any particular skill set or economic system either.
Tomorrow the United States could revert from a socialist country to a liberty based free-market economy and I would still profit. The reason for this is as fundamental as life itself. As Darwin explained in his Origins of Species [a must read book] the survival of a specie or it's individual members is dependent upon adaptation – survival of the fittest. In this instance proximate adaptation will allow those who can manage to do so to survive and flourish in a changing environment. It could be called – profit of the fittest.
As all of my clients have come to learn and experience, it is proximate adaptation which leads to their successes. Regardless of whether you voted for either candidate representing the two factions of the incumbent party, a smaller challenging party candidate or didn't vote at all you too can profit from the re-election of O'Bama. You just need to know how to adapt.
If you would like to be one of the few who enjoy greater financial successes, improved well-being and more life satisfaction then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2012 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
