Season’s Greetings

Happy Holidays to Everyone

Not my intention to brag (it will probably sound as if I’m doing it anyway) but I’m now off and will only work next year!

I know…I know…Next year is only a couple weeks away…

Still, I’m very proud to take 12 consecutive business days off !!!

If you include weekends, I’ll be out of the office for a total of 18 days…a welcome and well deserved break!

Like me, I sincerely hope everyone will be able to spend quality time and have fun with friends and loved ones during this busy and sometimes crazy holiday season. I also wish you and your family to have more happy and productive moments in the upcoming brand new year!

A Touch of Star Wars Optimism

On a different note, call me optimistic, but I recently noticed great signs that our world is improving; things may not be moving as fast as we would like…yet the overall situation seems to be steadily getting better!

How 12-Minute and Writing Saved Me

Today, I would like to tell you how 12-Minute and writing really got me out of a bad very place earlier this year.

To some extent, using the 12-Minute Approach and writing again literally saved my life.

Hitting The Wall

In 2013, lure by interesting work related projects, I gradually stopped writing. By the start of 2014, I had completely stopped any writing except from some technical stuff for work.

Working conditions and relations were far from perfect. For a while, my colleagues and I felt all our efforts were sabotaged by management. They probably didn’t do it on purpose but their lack of leadership and poor management skills resulted in a very tense working atmosphere and greatly affected the efficiency of the entire organisation.

Repetitive failures and lack of planning were also affecting the morale of the team.

To make things worse, some good employees left and sadly, the whole situation is not getting better to this day.

In those circumstances, late in 2014, I hit the Wall!
  

Black Friday Math

I couldn’t resist summiting you this basic math problem on crazy Black Friday:

Offering an insane sale, a store is giving you an additional 50% rebate on an item already marked 40% down. What total discount percentage are you actually getting?

Some may promptly answer 90%...

…the correct result is 70%. 

12-Minute Balance (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on May 12, 2012

Many believe that one of the most important keys to happiness is balance. Sadly, many lives equate to a never ending juggling act struggling in search of that so elusive concept.  

The 12-Minute Approach offers you simple yet powerful ways to achieve that so precious balance in your life.

Let’s hope that, by focusing on rhythm, order and harmony, these 12-Minute Ideas help you strive toward that balance so essential to your happiness and well-being.

Equal Balance between Needs and Activities

In order to stay happy yet still be effective, your life should be equally balanced between your needs and your activities.

Portfolio Update November 2015

Note that you can expect my next update in about 12 weeks or so, in February 2016. Meanwhile, you can also have a look at our DIY Portfolio page.

Back in August, after carefully thinking about it, I published my First Portfolio Update.

Since then, markets gave fragile investors a good scare from late August through most of September.

What did we do about it?

Again, I’ll remind you that I am not an investment or tax professional of any kind. The intent of this blog is not to give specific investing advice. Before investing yourself, we suggest you to do all necessary research and consult a licensed financial professional if need be. 

Missed Opportunities

The short answer is: Nothing!

Our 72-Hour Escapade to Ottawa

This year, back-to-school was kind of rough for the entire family. Little lady C had some issues adapting to a new school while Lady N and I were also facing tense working relations.

In that context, our early-November scheduled break was a relief and a nice change of pace from our hectic routine.  Caught in all that was happening; we lacked time to plan ahead for this vacation.

So at the last minute, we decided to drive to our nation’s capital for a romantic getaway (Lady C has no break this year). Even though lady N likes to travel abroad, I personally was grateful to avoid the airports and the extra cost.

  

Over there, the sunny yet brisk weather was quite rejuvenating. We did a lot of walking, a little shopping (to please N), ate well and visited museums. We also gamble and won a little at the Casino (to please myself). All this was quite relaxing yet not that expensive. Ottawa really has a lot to offer and we are glad we had the chance to rediscover this hidden gem.

Our shortened stay was effective to replenish our energy after an eventful couple of weeks.