My Life Archives - Page 28 of 29

Sep282010

Borders Group: The Single Dumbest Investment We Ever Made

Case Studies & Profiles, My Businesses, StocksBy Joshua Kennon September 28, 2010 4 Comments

Due to our disciplined value investing philosophy, coupled with our insistence upon diversification of income and assets, we haven’t experienced a lot of big losses. When we do, we try and study what went wrong so we can understand if there was a structural problem or a blind spot in our mental cognition that should be avoided in the future. We never want to have to “return to Go” in Monopoly terms. That is just intelligent portfolio management.

Sep202010

The Best Advice I Ever Received

My Life, Philosophy, The Best Thing I HeardBy Joshua Kennon September 20, 2010 2 Comments

The best advice I ever received came when my parents dropped me off at college. As they were getting in the car, my dad looked at me and said, “Your mom and I have done everything we could for you. We fed you, we clothed you and you have a high school education. From now on, it is your responsibility to make your dreams come true. We can’t do it for you, and no one else can either. If you want it, you have to do it on your own.”

Sep32010

How I Structure My Day

Making Money, My Businesses, My LifeBy Joshua Kennon September 3, 2010 2 Comments

When I come into the office, I begin by sitting down with a white pad of narrow-ruled paper (narrow-ruled, which is smaller than even college-ruled because that is how I like it), and set out everything I want to achieve that day. If I knock off the top 5 things, I consider it a success.

Sep12010

The Secret World of Brooks Brothers

Fashion, My Life, Saving MoneyBy Joshua Kennon September 1, 2010 1 Comment

Once you begin to have success, shopping for clothes is a very different experience.

Jun192010

Red Gladiolus from the Garden in the Office

The Gladiolus Project

My LifeBy Joshua Kennon June 19, 2010 Leave a comment

Along with learning the piano works of French composer Erik Satie, Aaron’s latest project has been learning the art of gardening gladiolus and other flowers. I was indifferent to the plan in the beginning, but after seeing the fruits of his passion, I wholeheartedly support this.

May22010

How My Grandpa Dennis Could Have Turned His Pepsi Habit Into a 7-Figure Estate

Dividends, Dollar Cost Averaging, My Life, Saving MoneyBy Joshua Kennon May 2, 2010 9 Comments

How My Grandpa Dennis Could Have Turned His Pepsi Habit Into a 7-Figure Estate I’ve written in the past about how nearly every American alive today has been confronted with perhaps a dozen different companies that they knew first hand because they enjoyed using the firm’s products for years (in some cases, their whole life)…

Apr132010

“La molesse est douce, et sa suite est cruelle.”

My Life, PhilosophyBy Joshua Kennon April 13, 2010 2 Comments

In his dairy, John Quincy Adams wrote, “La molesse est douce, et sa suite est cruelle.”, which translates into, “Idleness is sweet, and its consequences are cruel.”

Mar82010

Our Value Investing Research Process for Stocks

My Businesses, Value InvestingBy Joshua Kennon March 8, 2010 Leave a comment

A week or two ago, I wrote an article called Understanding Stock Repurchase Plans for About.com, a division of The New York Times, which discussed Sonic Restaurant and the massive stock buy back program that had taken place over the past few years. In it, I walked the readers through a lot of the math and explained that I had purchased a couple hundred shares to watch and monitor the stock through one of my companies, Mount Olympus Awards, LLC. (I’ve since increased it to about 500 shares to continue watching and waiting to see how events unfold).

Mar22010

Business Should Be Fun … If It’s Not, You’re Doing Something Wrong

Making Money, My Businesses, My LifeBy Joshua Kennon March 2, 2010 4 Comments

I believe one of the signs of a life well lived is the fact that you wake up every morning and jump out of bed because you can’t wait to spend your time focusing on something that makes every part of you – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – satisfied. This is going to be different for everyone.

Mar22010

Working During the Snowstorm Is Magical

My Businesses, My LifeBy Joshua Kennon March 2, 2010 2 Comments

We are in the process of rolling out some pricing changes for our letterman jacket business (we’re going to get aggressive on certain discounts for certain products). As we were updating the website, a beautiful, huge snowstorm hit. It’s really peaceful working here right now.