The idea was to buy them and then sell them online for a profit.

It hasn’t worked out so well: I spend around $40 and sold one of the books. I did make a profit off it, but the other books haven’t sold, so I’m in the hole.

But one of the books I found was a first edition copy of Michael Lewis’ The Blind Side. The book is also autographed by the man himself, who just happens to be an idol of mine.

The Dilemma

Now that the book is being turned into a big Hollywood movie (comes out on Friday) and there is a lot of chatter about Lewis’ book, I figured it would be a perfect time to do my very first giveaway on The Writer’s Coin. I could create some buzz on the site by getting people to comment or subscribe to my RSS feed, or something.

But then I opened the book up and flipped through it a little—it’s in fantastic shape. It’s autographed by the man himself. It’s about Michael Oher, whose story is unbelievable and who may turn out to be a force in the NFL (he’s a rookie this year).

Hell, he may turn out to be a monster in the NFL, one of the greatest ever. And that means a signed, first-edition book about that player’s life written by one of the greatest writers of our generation would be worth quite a bit of money down the line.

You see where I’m going with this?

Give Away or Invest?

For now I’m keeping the book, but I’m curious to hear what other people out there think about treating this book as a potential investment. It feels like I have a penny stock that I think might shoot up in 10 years, but that’s quite a long shot.

If that were to happen, I would look back at the time I gave the book away for a few extra RSS subscribers and think to myself, “What the hell did you do that for?”

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So I got in touch with him and he graciously agreed to let me interview him via email. Before we get to that, I want to say one thing to people that are scared/skeptical of learning more about options: they are not as complicated as you think.

You still have to have an idea of what you think a stock is going to do, but options give you the flexibility of playing that idea in a variety of different ways.

On to the interview:

How useful do you think technical analysis can be for the beginning options investor?

The beginning options investors, after reading my book, will realize the importance of the underlying stock when deciding when or if to buy or sell options. Therefore, technical analysis is extremely important, but not mandatory. That is how the options trader will determine the timing and direction of the underling stock. Learning technical analysis and how to read charts is essential whether investing or trading stocks or options. It is another piece of the puzzle called the stock market.

If there’s one thing you would like readers to take away from your book, what would it be?

How about two things? First, the advice given to me by some of the top traders, and I agree, is to start small. Begin by only trading one or two contracts when first starting. And you should do this for as long as it takes until you gain experience and confidence. I’ve talked to professional options trainers who don’t let their students make a trade for the first year! The second piece of advice readers should take away from my book is to quickly take money off the table. With stocks, you have the luxury of time. With options, you don’t. When the call or put price spikes up, take the money and run.

What was the toughest part of writing the book?

The toughest part of writing the book was making sure that all of the information was correct. Options have their own particular language and there are many exceptions to the rules. So after the book was written, I gave it to a couple of true options experts who went over the book in painstaking detail. I quickly learned why options have a reputation for being “rocket science.” I had to take what the experts told me and decipher it so the novice options trader could understand it. Believe me, that wasn’t easy!

How do options fit into the current market climate?

Options fit in every market environment. But right now, if we can get through September and October, it’s possible the market will go much higher, especially as the stimulus works its way through the economy. Others, however, might disagree. Therefore, you can buy calls or puts depending on your view. The beauty of options is you can make this play without risking a lot of capital. On the other hand, because it’s not easy to get the timing and direction right, many people end up with a handful of worthless options. So although risk is limited, you can lose your entire investment. This is why it’s essential you read as much as you can about options before trading
them.

What type of person do you think should consider learning about options?

Personally, I believe everyone should learn about options, assuming they have the time to devote to learning how to use them properly. After reading a book like mine, or others, you can determine if options are for you. Anyone who is actively involved in the stock market, whether conservative or aggressive, can find a way to use options, especially to reduce risk. But if you are not an active investor or trader, then you don’t need to trade options, but you can learn about them.

I just read Understanding Options, which book would you recommend to continue my options education?

The book that I would recommend is Mark Wolfinger’s book, The Rookie’s Guide to Options (WA Publishing, 2008). My book is ideal for someone who has little or no knowledge of options. His book should be next. He also has an excellent blog aimed at options traders, . In addition, be sure to check out the website for the OIC (Options Industry Council). This site if filled with useful information.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I am sometimes amazed that people all over the world write me with questions about options. Many people think that options are confusing and risky, but the more you read about them, the more you realize they are not dangerous — as long as you use them properly. Options got a bad name because gamblers bet their entire portfolios on a single trade — not a smart move! But when options are used to enhance a stock portfolio or for insurance, they really are brilliant. The best part about trading options is you know the maximum loss before you make the trade. Many people don’t know that. Finally, thanks for the interview and I’m really glad you enjoyed my book.

One Last Thing

Just want to add one thing that I took away from this book to anyone that’s interested in options: make sure you have a plan. This book drills it into you time and time again, and it makes complete sense. Don’t just make a trade and cross your fingers, have a detailed plan of what you’ll do if you’re right and what you’ll do if you’re wrong.

Hope is not a plan—not in the world of stock and options, anyway.

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I think hucksters like that guy (Gary) are full of nonsense. Not everyone can “do what they love” and make money at it.

Agreed, but Gary is hardly a huckster.

Few are able to do what they love and make a living from it. Hence, it’s important to be PRACTICAL, and also do what you love on the SIDE.

Practical is all well and good, but how do you balance passion and practicality?

I don’t think you can “love” anything that you are forced to do every day (lack of freedom) but you better like it a lot if you want to be any good at it!

This is probably the most sensible comment I got on this. Although I disagree that because we’re forced to do something we can’t “love” it.

After going through all the comments, I realized I phrased the question incorrectly from the start.

I don’t think that picking something you’re passionate about and then trying to make a living off of it is for everyone. Just like starting your own business or running marathons isn’t for everyone, it takes a very unique type of person to pull it off.

But I do believe it can be done.

For most of us, we’re going to pick a job we hate as little as possible and do that. We try to minimize our hate and that’s usually good enough. We make up for it in other ways: working with people we like, having a rewarding hobby outside of work, volunteering, etc.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to build a career around something you absolutely love. It can be done.

I admit it isn’t for everyone, but who is it for then? What kind of qualities would be required for someone to successfully start with what they love and then later try to successfully monetize it?

• Persistence: There are going to be lots of excuses to quit.
• Money: Either a side job or a timely inheritance…you’re still going to have to pay the bills.
• Passion: Is it necessary or is this too idealistic to be on the list?
• Luck: As much as we don’t like to think about it, luck plays a huge role in how successful we are.

That list reads an awful lot like the lists I see out there for good candidates to start their own business…

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Thanks for your review of “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.” I am reading this book along with four others during this work-intense semester and your review helped direct my attention to some important details, and it helped outline some interesting ideas the author is trying to get across.

Two years ago someone taking the time to write in and say something nice about something I wrote would’ve made my day. These days I’m so jaded that it barely registered as a blip in my day.

How sad is that?

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A Moveable Feast

You get to enjoy Hemingway’s legendary sparse writing as he looks back to his days as a young, happy man in Paris. He goes to cafés, he writes, he talks about writing and about the city. It’s part biography, part writing clinic, part ode to Paris. And I was lucky enough to first read it as a young man in Paris myself. So every time I go back and read it I feel like I’m back walking the banks of the Seine thinking about everything that’s possible.

A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this was the book that got me turned on to writing. After I read it I felt like any topic of any kind could be made to sound interesting and exciting—that’s how good David Foster Wallace was. He writes about the most disconnected subjects you can imagine (tennis, TV, going on a cruise) and manages to make them all funny, interesting, and entertaining. No small feat.

The People of Paper

Talk about an experiment in storytelling. This novel is about a writer writing about a town that is trying to rebel against the writer. If the story itself sucked, than the experiment would be just that: an experiment. But the story is entertaining, the writing is solid, and the way he puts it all on paper is pretty awesome. Especially when one of his characters breaks through the page and into the writer’s room. Talk about a meta moment! Oh and the hardcover book is the most beautiful book I own (courtesy of the folks over at McSweeny’s).

On Writing

Whenever I feel like giving up the whole writing bit, I go back to this book. I remember reading it for the first time (also in Paris) and being shocked at how motivated it got me. I was never a huge Stephen King fan but this book is a must for anyone interested in writing. You absolutely have to own this book. It’s part biography and part writing advice, but it’s all good stuff. Even if you hate sci-fi and think his books are odd, this one isn’t. This one is worth several reads.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

My favorite book from my favorite writer (DFW again). You’d think it would be hard to pick a favorite from DFW, but this book of short stories is actually a pretty easy call for me. He does a lot of experimental stuff in this, and it all just absolutely kills. The one problem is that, after you finish, you’ll wonder what else there is to innovate on and if anyone will ever come along to match him. Makes his death even more depressing. He has the ability to find that bit of dialogue or voice that everyone can recognize and identify with.

Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

One of my favorite novels of all time. Diaz has managed to tell an epic story and to weave a whole bunch of background on his country, his people, and his culture. I’d love to do the same one day. Middlesex used to be at the top of my list, but this book came storming along and kicked its ass. Diaz takes no prisoners, makes no apologies, and tells his story the way he wants to tell it. I salute him.

What books have inspired you?

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You see, a month ago I read Adam’s fantastic post on how not to suck at blogging. In it, he posted this now-infamous video of Gary talking about passion, patience, and doing what you love:

It did what it’s done to hundreds of people: it got me fired up. But it also got me thinking.

A lot.

In the video he tells the audience to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life and then “do that thing.” He talks about how, when he started Wine Library TV he became 1% unhappy. Which is pretty damn good if we’re being honest.

I’ll take 1% unhappiness in my life every day of the week.

But before you can give into all the energy and passion that Gary unleashed on that stage, you have to figure out the answer to that question.

And it’s hard.

So rather than keep pushing myself to post on this site, I’ve been trying to find the answer to that question instead of just falling into the rut of posting every day.

Maybe the answer lies within the confines of this site, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe the answer lies at work. Or maybe not. One thing I do know is that I don’t want to write more and more posts on how to save X dollars by doing this or that tweak.

I’m done with that.

I’m interested in the bigger picture. Bigger things. I’ve graduated into the Ramit/JD school of personal finance. Or as JD calls it, “the third stage.”

Anyway, I’m curious to hear a couple of things from readers out there: have you figured out the answer to the question of what you want to do for the rest of your life? And two: what percent unhappy are you right now?

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Everyone, at one point or another, goes through difficult times in their life.

Viktor Frankl was born in Austria in 1905, spent three years in a Nazi concentration camp, and eventually founded logotherapy. He led an incredible life, and I would never have heard of him if it wasn’t for his book, A Man’s Search for Meaning.

It was through this book that I learned some very important lessons about how to deal with adversity in life. Now, let’s make one thing very clear: nothing in my life (nor probably in your own) will ever compare to the horrors Frankl experienced in the Nazi camps. But as he tells us in his book, there’s something everyone can learn from his experiences.

The book is structured into two distinct parts.

In the first, he talks about his experiences in the camps, the things he saw, and what he and other prisoners felt throughout the experience. There was misery, there was laughter, there was pain, and there were even moments of peace.

The second is his introduction to logotherapy, which believes that the most important aspect of a man’s life is finding meaning in life. The second part sometimes gets a little technical, but Frankl interweaves some personal and professional (he was also a therapist) experiences that make everything crystal clear.

But one thing stood out for me in this book and really hit home for me: how he looks at his experiences in the camp and the meaning he derives from them. From his book, I learned three things about dealing with adversity:

Adversity is a Unique, Sacred Opportunity

In his book, Frankl talks about moments of adversity as opportunities. How often does someone get imprisoned in a concentration camp? Not very. Think of the worst possible thing that’s ever happened to you and ask yourself, “How rare was it?”

Instead of seeing these moments as terrible things that we must overcome, why not use them as tests? Have you ever wondered how strong you really are? How kind you could be? How generous you could be? These types of moments give us a chance to see what we’re really made of.

They test us and sometimes only through these tests do we really learn about ourselves and who we are.

The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up the cross, gives him ample opportunity—even under the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.

One of the worst things that’s happened to me (and it’s really not that bad) was a serious jaw surgery I underwent some years ago. There was pain, stress, and a pinch of despair. But I was a really good patient. I also learned to listen (I couldn’t talk, which helped).

This type of procedure is very rare, and it showed me the kind of person I am capable of being when stripped of my chattery mouth and upbeat personality. What I saw was someone else entirely, but still someone I was “OK” with.

So the next time something “terrible” happens—be it a slip-up at work, a break up with a significant other, or some other event that shakes your universe—look at it as an opportunity to see what you’re made of. Of enduring with dignity and class.

As Frankl said, when all was stripped of the prisoners and they knew they were going to die, they went into the gas chambers with their heads held high.

The Power of Humor

You wouldn’t expect to hear a lot about humor in a book that talks about life in a concentration camp, would you? Well, Frankl singles it out because it was one of the main ways the prisoners dealt with the situation:

Humor was another of the soul’s weapons in the fight for self-preservation. It is well know that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds.

If humor has a place in Nazi concentration camps, then it’s clear we can all use a little more of it in our everyday lives. So laugh a little at work: it’s good for you.

The Importance of Setting Goals

Personal-finance sites talk about the importance of setting goals all the time, and it makes sense if you really want to get things done. But did you know that setting goals can save your life? Frankl mentions certain prisoners that gave up—it entailed no longer setting goals. Goals to see family members, friends, etc. They simply stopped seeing the possibility of anything worthwhile happening in the future.

None of them knew when they would get out (which was understandable maddening), but these prisoners no longer cared about the future and they typically died a couple of days later.

The lesson here? Set goals—they’ll give you something to live for.

I may or may not have described Frankl, his book, and his philosophy very well, but I highly recommend his book. It’s a quick read and you won’t regret it.

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This despite the fact that the only story I ever got paid for (it won an award) was written in two and a half hours and then edited a whole bunch afterwards.

National Novel Writing Month has already taught me this lesson: I can write a short story in no time. If word count is what we’re using to judge a short story, I can write one out in an hour if unleash the reins and just let go.

I’m in the middle of a month-long marathon but it’s amazing to see the ground I can cover in one day: 2,500 words is not too bad. That’s about the length of my “award-winning” short story. I knew running was a good analogy for writing.

The writer Haruki Murakami knows this all too well.

Gotta get back to the writing…I have a quota to make!

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After a two-year hiatus, I am undergoing one of the most transformative experiences I’ve ever had as a writer: I’m doing NaNoWriMo again.

For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and the goal is to start from scratch on November 1 and write a 175-page novel, or 50,000 words.

The goal is to get writers writing and what setting a quota like this does is gets your brain to shut off so you can just write and write and write.

I did it a few years ago and it was amazing, you learn a lot about yourself and the craft of writing. To complete the goal, you pretty much have to write every single day, or at least think about writing every day.

So for a month you get to live the life of a writer.

So far I’m at around 4,000 words. The first time I did it I calculated around 2,500 per business day (so I’d still have my weekends) and that worked great until Thanksgiving came around, then it all fell apart.

This year I’m planning on pushing the envelope early on so I can actually hit 50,000. The first time I came in around 42,000. Oh and this time I’m writing on a computer, so I won’t have to manually count and calculate how many words I’m at.

Some early observations:

• Writing in stream of consciousness: That’s what this is all about. To find that rhythm where the words just start coming and you just get them out on the page without really thinking about how good or bad they are. Silencing the inner editor is the key to getting started. This is, after all, a shitty first draft.
• I can type a LOT faster than I can write: After an hour of typing yesterday I had met my quota, and I was shocked. Writing by hand slows things down, which can be good, but it can also get in the way. I’ll worry about prettying stuff up and everything after I’m done. Right now I only have 29 more days!
• There is no such thing as fiction: Everything you write has some basis in fact. What’s happening in your life and in your mind has an impact on what you’re writing, so it’s hard to say that something is 100% fiction when it’s wrapped in so much reality.

I’ll continue to post interesting stuff about money and all else, but it may be very sporadic (you’re probably used to it by now) since my time is being focused in the writing.

I’m off to a good start and I’m feeling inspired!

It’s about time…

Image by binbing

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I wanted to highlight a post I wrote for Wisebread a while back that I really think flew under the radar when I first published it.

For whatever reason, it didn’t seem to ring true with many people even though I keep seeing more and more instances that remind me of this question: are you a swiss-army knife or a hammer at work?

The question is simple: when it comes to the workplace, are you really good at one specific thing or pretty good at a variety of things? And which is more valuable in the long run?

Check out the post to see what other people have commented.

Image by Basheertome

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