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After 16 glory days of the olympic competition, the games ended
with a spectacular closing ceremony on August 24th, 2008. For
the first time, China
is the host country of the Olympic Games and it does a good job keeping it
a successful event with no major regrettable incident.
I watched most of the games on television and was amazed of the
numerous world records set by athletes around the world. It does not
happen overnight. It is the result of hard work and a strong mind set to
compete and to win. It sure looks easy to stand up on the podium to have
a gold medal wrapped around the neck but I am sure there are blood, tears
and sweat behind the success.
After this Olympics, I am sure most of us know Michael Phelps, the U.S.
swimmer who won all 8 gold medals of his events with world records after
just one week of competition. On the other hand, Kobe
Bryant, a well known U.S.
basketball star, won just one gold medal after two weeks of competition.
I look at it this way: Michael
competed for one week with less chance of body injury and more chance of
winning a gold medal. If Michael missed a gold medal in one event, he
still had numerous chances to get his gold medal in other swimming
events. On the other hand, Kobe
competed for two weeks with more chance of body injury and with only one
chance of winning the gold medal. If the U.S.
lost to Argentina in
the semi final game, Kobe’s
chance of winning a gold medal in this Olympics was over. If I were a
young and talent athlete, I will choose to train myself to be a swimmer
instead of a basketball player. I want to compete in less time, less
chance to injure myself and more chance to win.
The other supper star of this Olympic Games is undoubtedly on the
track and field. Mr. Usain Bolt of Jamaica won gold medals in all 3
events he participated: 100 meter, 200 meter and 4 by 100 relay. He did
not only win it, he won in style: He set world records in all three
events. He won the 100 meter race with 9.69 seconds, the 200 meter race with
19.30 seconds and the 4 by 100 relay with 37.10 seconds, all new world
records. On the other hand, Mr. Samuel Kamau Wansiru of Kenya won his only gold medal in Men Marathon in 2 hours 6 minutes and 32 seconds. Think
about it. The Jamaican sprinter won his 3 gold medals in seconds whereas
the Kenya
runner won his only gold medal in hours. On top of it, the Jamaican
sprinter had multiple chances of winning his gold medal in the same
Olympic Games whereas the Kenya
runner had only one chance of winning his. If Usain Bolt missed the gold
medal in the individual 100 meter race, he still had another chance in
the 4 by 100 relay. If Samuel Kamau Wansiru missed the gold medal in his
marathon race, he won’t have another chance. If I were an athlete with
running talent, I will choose to train myself to be a sprinter instead of
a long distance runner. I want to have multiple chances of winning and
win it with less time, not more.
The reason I choose to be a stock and option trader is because I
want to work less, earn more and have multiple chances of making money.
The best part of my profession is if I miss a golden chance to make
money, I don’t have to wait for 4 years like the Olympians do; I only
need to wait for the cycle to repeat for me to enter the trade. When a
friend of mine listened to my philosophy of working less and earning
more, he told me I am a lazy trader. Well, I have another word for it. I
don’t call myself a lazy trader; I call myself an efficient trader.
Dennis
Phan 潘家墉
Khai Minh, UCLA
& Investools Alumni
Los Angeles, California,
U.S.A., 25 August
2008
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