Déjà vu: Contrarian Investing

It feels like this happened before. It feels like this happened before.

Look out, folks...The market’s booming and it seems like the party will never end. Not even Apple’s 15% plunge could derail this gravy train.

But as we rocket ever closer to all-time highs, it’s important to pump the brakes and glance in the rear view mirror. 

When things seem too good to be true, it’s usually time to sell. And vice-versa.

It was just 17 months ago that I urged people to start buying stocks because sentiment had turned so negative. Since then, the S&P 500 has returned over 27%. 

Of course, trying to guess short-term market direction is a fool’s game. No one except Ms. Cleo can predict the future. But time and time again, having the guts to zig while everyone else zags pays off.

I’m not saying sell everything--this rally may have steam left--but it makes sense to trim back some of your high-flyers and reinvest the cash in more defensive, dividend-payers. 

Or for bolder, bearish investors, take that money and invest in TZA (Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3x Shares), a hyper-aggressive, leveraged ETF that can deliver big returns quickly if the market moves down.

Note: TZA should only be used in the short-term and with “play” money. 

NFL Reviewing Brady, but Bill's the Criminal

Instead of reviewing Tom Brady's slide in the AFC championship game this past Sunday--Tommy made a kicking motion as Ed Reed came in for the tackle--the NFL is overlooking the game's most egregious offense:  Bill Belichick's coaching performance.

Bill, who's brilliance typically buys the Pats a few points per game, put together one of his all-time worst performances.

For starters, Bill owns the most prolific offense in football, guided by the league's most consistent QB, yet decided to punt from the Baltimore 34, 35 and 42-yard line. He was playing scared.

On top of this, he acted like a baby and refused to talk to reporters after the game. Scared and childish...not qualities we look for in elite coaches.

Listen, there's no one I'd rather have coaching my football team, but Bill's performance in the past few BIG games has been embarrassing.

Obama's Call to Action

Now it’s time to finish what we started – let’s get going.

High-stepping into his second term, President Obama offers a challenge to America’s compatriots: come together and serve. 

Blaming our inept Congress for all life's ills has turned into a national pastime. But is Congress really what’s holding this country back? The president knows if we truly want change, it’s up to us to get it done.

And as Warren Buffett sagely pointed out on CBS’s Sunday Morning show, “What is right about America just totally dwarfs what’s wrong with Washington. 535 people are not going to mess up 315 million over time. I know it.”

That's not to say positive change comes easy, there's a reason Obama said “We, the people” five different times in his inaugural speech. Meeting our challenges will require the best of all us, 315 million people working together. 

This is our journey, our time. Let’s not waste it.

For those needing a nudge, Serve.gov is a great place to start. 

Stay Revelant with Online Education

The Internet makes it easier than ever to teach yourself a new skill. And best of all, it's usually FREE! With unemployment still uncomfortably high, especially among recent grads, it's negligent not to take advantage of this.

Find a topic that interests you or that smart people, like Seth Godin, recommend. A number of sites provide quality education on a broad range of topics. Even Harvard and MIT have joined forces and are at the forefront of delivering FREE online education.  Hang out with ivory tower scholars from the comfort of your couch!

For those who are tech challenged, I recommend W3 Schools to learn web development technologies. They offer easy-to-follow tutorials on HTML, Java, SQL and more. You can practice as often as you'd like and they have quick reference guides available too.

Learn something new and use it, use it and then use it more. Keeping your skills fresh is hugely important. If you lack the confidence to use them in the real world, you're wasting your time.

Get out there and have fun with it. Surprise yourself and stay relevant.

Avoid this email marketing miscue

When creating design and copy for email campaigns, remember that Gmail won’t initially display images (the user must manually change settings).

So while art typically leads the digital marketing dance, it’s essential to have killer copy at the top of the email.

With so many Gmailers out there, it’s important to test what your content will look like display-less.  Otherwise, you'll be deleted before you can say "call-to-action."

My bad...

Watching John Edwards deliver his phew...no jail for me speech, I felt compassion for the guy.

He was coming clean, taking all responsibility and acknowledging the hurt he caused to those who love(d) him. Johnny's only human after all. Haven't we all sinned? No sympathy for the devil?

For a few moments, I fell for the con. And of course that's the danger with crooked politicians, or anyone else skilled at the art of BS.

Words can be powerful, but ultimately it's about what you do. And Johnny is...

First Go 'Round w/ a CSA

We're excited about our first summer doing Community Supported Agriculture. We linked up with Lindentree Farm out of Lincoln, MA. Their vegetables and fruit are all organic and the owners have been at it for 22 years.

With a CSA, you pay for a share at the beginning of the season. It works out to be about the same amount we'd be spending on fruits and vegetables for the summer, but with the added benefit of  knowing where our food is coming from. And they deliver our share to the rad folks at Clover in Inman Square--so we only have to walk a couple blocks to pick it up.

Fun orienation at the farm on Sunday:

Blondie with heavy machinery

Blondie with the chicks