At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady.

She started screaming out of fear.

With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but …it landed on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behaviour of the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behaviour?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood I should not react in life.

I should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.

Always attempt to respond to situations and never just react !

Be HAPPY not because Everything is RIGHT in your Life.

Be HAPPY because your Attitude and Mindset towards Everything in your Life is Right!

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September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States.
• In 2021, there were 48,183 Americans that died by suicide.
• In 2021, there were an estimated 1.70 Million suicide attempts.
• On average there are 132 suicide per day.

Imagine if we could walk together toward a world without suicide. One in which we all have a greater understanding of mental health. One in which we all know how to be there for each other, including ourselves, when someone is struggling.

Artwork by Devon Blow

Together we can make a difference and break the stigmas around mental health, helping to prevent another person from taking their own life. Suicide prevention starts with all of us.

33 Undervalued Stocks for Q3 2023, according to Morningstar

Here’s the list of Morningstar’s top underpriced stock picks for the third quarter of 2023.

1. Albemarle ALB
2. Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B
3. Blackstone BX
4. Citigroup C
5. Cognizant Technology Solutions CTSH
6. Conagra Brands CAG
7. Corteva CTVA
8. Curaleaf CURLF
9. Dover DOV
10. Dow DOW
11. Duke Energy DUK
12. Entergy ETR
13. Federal Realty Investment Trust FRT
14. Hanesbrands HBI
15. HF Sinclair DINO
16. Illumina ILMN
17. Jacobs Solutions J
18. Kraft Heinz KHC
19. Moderna Therapeutics MRNA
20. NiSource NI
21. Park Hotels & Resorts PK
22. Pinterest PINS
23. Salesforce CRM
24. SLB SLB
25. Stericycle SRCL
26. Teradyne TER
27. TC Energy TRP
28. Tyson Foods TSN
29. VF VFC
30. Ventas VTR
31. Verizon Communications VZ
32. Walt Disney DIS
33. Zimmer Biomet ZBH

Source:  https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/33-undervalued-stocks-2

Stock picker factors:

• Stock price is cheap relative to intrinsic value,
• Company pays investor to wait
• Company ability to repurchase stock at a reasonable price
• Stock must be cheaply price (ROE, ROIC, P/E, P/Sales, P/FCF)
• Buy something at three-time cash flow and five percent dividend yield.

Source:  https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/33-undervalued-stocks-2

Investing capital in China is both risky and is wildly unpredictable given the country’s lack of transparency, weak accounting standards, absence of the rule of law, and poor regulatory oversight.

Worse, the fate of the Chinese economy and business environment is almost entirely dependent on the domestic and global aspirations of a single man, Chinese authoritarian President Xi Jinping.

China is not a democracy and does not abide by the rule of law. Chinese Communist government’s sweeping control over the economy puts businesses, especially American-based firms, in a delicate position in trying to avoid the ire of President Xi and the Chinese government.

Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass, founder of Hayman Capital Management and long time critic of Communist China, has long proclaimed, “You have to say, each country run by maybe a despotic authoritarian should be re-reviewed and maybe not invested in.”

Bass cautioned against investing in Chinese stocks. He highlighted the risk of accounting fraud due to a lack of financial audits in China, and the prospect of further regulatory crackdowns on Chinese companies in the U.S. and crackdowns on American companies in China.

References:

1. https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/07/08/chinese-stocks-are-crashing-buy-the-dip-or-stay-aw/

September is Healthy Aging Month

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Adults aged 65 and older need:

• At least 150 minutes of exercise a week (for example, 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week) of moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking. Or they need 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity such as hiking, jogging, or running.
• At least 2 days a week of activities that strengthen muscles.
• Activities to improve balance, such as standing on one foot about 3 times a week.

If chronic conditions affect your ability to meet these recommendations, be as physically active as your abilities and conditions allow.

Examples of Aerobic Physical Activity
According to the CDC, aerobic physical activity or “cardio” gets you breathing harder and your heart beating faster. From pushing a lawn mower, taking a dance class, walking or biking to the store – these types of activities and more count. As long as you’re doing aerobic physical activities at a moderate- or vigorous intensity, they count towards meeting the aerobic guideline. Even something as simple as walking is a great way to get the aerobic activity you need, as long as it’s at a moderately intense pace.

Intensity is how hard your body is working during physical activity. Try a few of these aerobic activities:

• Walking or hiking
• Some forms of yoga
• Some yard work, such as raking and pushing a lawn mower
• Bicycle riding (stationary or outdoors)
• Water aerobics

“Higher intensity exercise had greater improvements for depression and anxiety, while longer durations had smaller effects when compared to short and mid-duration bursts.

“We also found that all types of physical activity and exercise were beneficial, including aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, Pilates, and yoga

https://tinyurl.com/mt2j67jy

African American Experience During World War II

The book provides a historical perspective of the 1.2 million African American service members’ experiences on the unit and personal level serving in a segregated U.S. military and for an American society that denied them equal opportunity and basic civil rights. African Americans served in every military branch (Army, Army Air Corps, Navy and Marine Corps).

Besides serving in segregated units, they were assigned menial tasks, provided inferior training and resources, denied opportunities to serve in combat units, and faced racism despite fighting for liberty, justice and freedom abroad while being denied those platitudes at home. Basically, they battled for liberty and freedom on two fronts? home and abroad.