As I'm writing this blog post, Christmas is just eight days away. While there's never a bad time to count one's blessings and to be grateful, this is really the best time of the year to do so in my opinion.
As a follow-up to my post from early 2021, here are three more of the miraculous advantages that I have had in my life to this point.
Image Source: Pexels
The First Blessing: Living In The Information Age
Having been born in 1997, I have had all information in recorded human history at my fingertips for practically as long as I can remember. That's what makes it hard for me to grasp the following reality that all generations before those of us who are alive today had to grapple with in the past: The only way to learn something used to be to read books in print form.
With the advent of the search engine and YouTube, anybody with an internet connection can learn anything, at any time, from the comfort of their own home. The dark side to the internet is that it can be a rabbit hole of distractions. But when used to obtain knowledge, there is unlimited upside to the technology. This is what makes it so revolutionary to those who understand its power.
The Second Blessing: The Democratization Of Stock Ownership
Playing into the first blessing, stock ownership has been democratized. This is because, for one, it is now possible for average folks to thoroughly research the underlying fundamentals of stocks and pick winners with the availability of information via the internet.
And with all major brokers (that I can think of) offering no-commission stock trades and fractional share transactions to customers, it has never been easier to get started. This is what makes it such a tragedy that a significant minority of Americans don't own stocks.
Thanks to numerous blessings along with this one, I am approaching the much anticipated $100,000 mark for my investment portfolio. I'm still a bit surprised that I will reach this milestone after just over five years of saving. And it would have been much sooner if it weren't for the approximately $26,000 of books and tuition that I paid for out-of-pocket completing my last two years of undergrad.
The Third Blessing: This Blog
The third blessing loosely ties into the second one. Interestingly, one of the initial motivating factors for this blog was for me to refer readers to Robinhood, so that I could pick up free shares of stock. I only received a couple of free shares of stock from this strategy. But little did I know that this blog would cement my destiny as a writer.
After not having success with getting Robinhood referrals from my website, I turned my attention to writing non-exclusive articles through Seeking Alpha with the hopes of attracting more traffic to my blog and possibly more referrals. Upon writing my first article, an editor advised me to instead submit the article as an exclusive, paid one.
Nearly 200 paid Seeking Alpha articles later, I decided to leave my day job in 2021 and to pursue writing as a career with The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha. This was such a life-changing move for the better because I believe that I'm now right where I was meant to be as it pertains to a career. If it weren't for this blog, who knows where I would be right now.
Concluding Thoughts:
I'm amazed at the trajectory of my life over the last few years. And it's not lost on me that there has certainly been a divine influence at the center of this remarkable journey. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Let's keep pushing and finish out 2022 on a high note!
Discussion:
What are your blessings for which you are most grateful?
I appreciate your readership and look forward to your comments below!
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