March 2026

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”
^{– Steve Martin}

Here’s something that’s been tossing around in ye olde noggin’ recently.

You ever notice the sense of awe that comes over people while watching someone extremely talented? It’s hard to describe, but there’s something gripping about witnessing someone effortlessly create, work, or play at a higher level.

For me, I’m usually thinking about all the time and dedication that must have gone into it and what it would take for me to reach that level. I’m usually left inspired and find it can often refuel my tenacity with regard to my own passions.

It’s as if you can perceive how much time and effort it took to reach that level of expertise, and it magically takes you out of the mundane, bringing you right into the moment for you to pay respects to it.

It’s like they’ve transcended and have tapped into something deep within themselves.

Witnessing it feels like a mini out-of-body experience where the world fades away and your focus becomes single-pointed on them.

I’m currently rereading The Occult by Colin Wilson (1974) and I found this passage relevant to this month’s theme.

“Whenever I am deeply moved by poetry or music or scenery, I realize I am living in a meaning universe that deserves better of me than the small-minded sloth in which I habitually live. And I suddenly realize the real deadliness of this lukewarm contentment that looks as harmless as ivy on a tree. It is systematically robbing me of life, embezzling my purpose and vitality. I must clearly focus on this immense meaning that surrounds me, and refuse to forget it; contemptuously reject all smaller meanings that try to persuade me to focus on them instead.”

I hope it comes across that I’m not trying to speak from some place of higher enlightenment, as if I’ve got things figured out over here. I write as if I’m reminding myself, whether I’m going on about trading or the trials of life.

I believe in the collective unconscious and think that sometimes we can all be learning lessons or experiencing similar themes simultaneously. If I talk about my current situation, more often than not, someone else can relate, and that can be comforting. And frankly, it’s helpful for me to write it out.

Oftentimes someone has some handy advice or a slightly different viewpoint to offer that can change one’s perspective. Sometimes you just need someone to listen. Wisdom comes from within yourself, other people just help to remind you of what you already know.

Everything is practice

In this post, and just about every other post for that matter, I talk all about the things I do every day. It includes: yoga, meditation, aprendo un poco de español, journaling, ceremonial magick, and I toss in a weekly run for good measure.

Of course, I can’t seem to leave well enough alone, so at the beginning of the New Year I added one more to the list. Guitar. I’ve played for around 25 years, and though I identify as a drummer, I sure do play an awful lot of guitar.

My casual approach to playing had me feeling stagnant, so I decided to adopt a more focused, daily practice. I’ll spare you the details as my point here is to encourage you to fully commit to that thing you got going on over there.

Time is not for the wasting.

These rituals take up a lot of my time. I’m usually doing them after working outside all day. My energy is spent and I want to sit, watch body cam videos, and do nothing. And recently I’ve been a big baby about it, honestly.

Normally I carry on with these daily tasks just fine, but I’ve just gone through a period where I’ve really felt bogged down by them. I was left asking time and time again why I gave myself so much daily homework.

But every day, step by step, I attempt to get a little bit better. I’m either recalling my day and realizing some small change I could make, or just practicing some scales on guitar. I’ve learned through life and trading that success isn’t made in giant leaps. It slowly blossoms by showing up every day. It’s in the little things. But you have to make time for the little things.

God is in the details.

Time is the only currency we spend without knowing the balance. We spend time, save time, and, Lord have mercy, do we love to waste time.

Time is money and it’s not gonna feel very good at the end of our lives if we spent it on a bunch of nonsense. Invest in the things that align with your true will.

All this is to say that I’m having to remind myself to be persistent not just with my musical and spiritual pursuits, but also with my finances and trading. Things are down pretty bad right now in my portfolio, but now is not the time for quitting.

But I will keep showing up, because that’s the part that actually works.

Also, if you did happen to read the post linked in this section, you might recall a small portion where I mention that my dad and I didn’t talk. Since that post, we have reconnected. I’ve even been teaching him how to trade options and he’s up over $3k so far this year. So I think I should be allowed to add those profits to my running tally 😉

Snitches Save Bitches

One last story to round out our little chat on persistence.

We just hit the one year anniversary of buying our house. Soon after moving in, I became aware of dogs being mistreated in the area. It took one whole year of me buggin’ the ever-loving hell out of law enforcement before my complaint finally happened across the right person’s desk.

They had been watching the house but didn’t have access to view the conditions of the dogs. But you could from our yard.

This led to the owner’s arrest and the rescue of 12 dogs from a fighting ring.

Things don’t always happen fast, and at times it may seem as if you’re getting nowhere, but it’s important to keep up the good fight, nonetheless.

I can’t tell you how good it felt to see those cage doors open.

Monthly Roundup

Oh yeah, forgot this was a stock blog. In April I made $301 lol.

This is the boring part of the strategy where I’ve been assigned a bunch of shares and now I’m having to sell Covered Calls against them at very low premiums. Slowly climbing my way back out of this hole.

Here are the trades.

As a short recap, over the past few months I’ve been assigned a few hundred shares of Sofi and Hood through selling Cash Secured Puts. Their current stock prices are a lot lower than the price I paid when I was assigned the shares. This makes the Covered Calls not worth as much.

To briefly explain this, let’s say I paid $115 for the shares, but the price is at $80 now. Selling a Covered Call against those shares doesn’t bring in as much premium because the chances of a stock jumping from $80 to $115 in a short amount of time are very low. The contracts aren’t worth a lot because the thing I’m selling is not likely to be profitable to the person buying it from me. I’m basically selling these contracts to gamblers at this point.

A few months ago I was able to sell Covered Calls on Hood for around $400 in premium because it was trading around the price that I paid for it. Now that the price has dropped significantly, I’m getting pennies. Hence, the low returns.

Find home. Again.

So I hope you’re out there setting a little time aside to do something that you love or want to improve on. 5 minutes is all it takes. You might even find yourself shedding some of the nonsense from your life in order to make time for your own pursuits.

Doing small, meaningful things for yourself can let in the light when we’re blinded by the curtain of everydayness.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Love is the Law.
Love under Will.

From me to me,
Chris

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_{If you’d like to give trading on Robinhood a try, you can click my referral link HERE and we’ll both get some free stock.}

_{This is not financial advice. Unless you’re into losing money.}