Stratton Oakmont Scandal: Stock Manipulation by Proxies

Stratton Oakmont Scandal: Stock Manipulation by Proxies

What was the Stratton Oakmont scandal? How did employees at Stratton Oakmont participate in stock manipulation? While there are many ways for investment firms to make money, the practice of choice for Stratton Oakmont was stock price manipulation. Jordan Belfort’s traders artificially inflated the stock price of a company during its Initial Public Offering (IPO) while holding on to more shares of that company than was allowed by SEC rules. Continue reading to learn more about Stratton Oakmont’s scandalous method of making money.

Focus on the Little Things: Email & Housework Organization

An illustration of a woman focusing on the little things as she holds coffee and works on a laptop

What are the little things you need to take care of? Do you have an inbox with hundreds of unread emails? Is your house cluttered? Sometimes dealing with little things can make you feel more in control. To get your life together, Sarah Knight recommends starting small with tasks like emptying your email inbox and keeping the house clean. Learn how to focus on the little things before tackling the big projects.

What Is the Winter Solstice & Why Does It Matter So Much?

What Is the Winter Solstice & Why Does It Matter So Much?

What is the winter solstice? What makes the winter solstice the shortest, darkest day of the year? Why have humans marked the occasion since prehistory? Each year, the astronomical winter begins with the shortest day of the year: the winter solstice, the day with the fewest hours of sunlight. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs every year on December 21 or 22. After that point, the days begin to grow longer. Here’s a look at what the winter solstice actually is and why it’s so historically and culturally significant.

How to Deal With Hardship in a Way That Inspires Others

A young man with a slight smile, trying to deal with hardship.

How do you deal with hardship? Do you respond in a way that inspires others? Every year, Yale professors Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz teach a course on living well. Their book Life Worth Living captures the course’s concepts. One of the matters they discuss is how to deal with hardship in the context of a life well lived. Keep reading for their advice based on insights from philosophers, religious traditions, and literary greats.

Self-Help for Low Mood: How to Lift Your Mood Without Therapy

A smiling woman in front of a large building who's happy from doing self-help for low mood.

What exactly are moods? Are you frequently stuck in a low mood, even when the situation doesn’t call for it? Is there a way to shift out of a low mood without going to therapy? Dr. Julie Smith writes that you can understand your moods and assert control over them to a large degree. Depression and sadness don’t necessarily warrant formal therapy. She offers several insights and tips for elevating your outlook in her book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Read more to get some self-help for low mood conditions.

The Asshole Survival Guide by Robert Sutton (Book Overview)

A woman reading a book in an office.

Do you feel helpless or angry when confronted with mean people? Do you wish you had better strategies for dealing with them? The Asshole Survival Guide by Robert Sutton offers wisdom for dealing with jerks—rude and tyrannical people of all kinds. Focusing primarily on bad behavior in the workplace, he argues that, with the right tools, you can take away a jerk’s power, lessen their effect on you, and keep them from harming others.  Continue reading for an overview of this practical book.

Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman: A Donald Trump Biography

Donald Trump waving.

What can we learn from Confidence Man, by Maggie Haberman? How did Donald Trump become the public figure that he is? In Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman, we learn how Donald Trump’s family values led to a transactional mindset in relationships that fed his success in business and politics. To understand why Trump carried the presidency the way that he did, it helps to hear New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman’s analysis. Continue reading to learn more from this biography of Donald Trump.

How Jordan Belfort’s Lifestyle Ruined His Life

A bottle spilling pills on a wood table.

What were the consequences of Jordan Belfort’s lifestyle? How did Belfort try to escape from Stratton Oakmont during a criminal investigation? Even though Belfort went to prison for financial misdealings, it was his excessive lifestyle that almost destroyed him before the law caught up. Belfort’s addictions to drugs, sex, and risk-taking behavior continue to dominate his life even after he left Stratton Oakmont behind. Learn how Belfort’s “early retirement” became a downward spiral of drug use, depression, and self-destruction.

Donald Trump’s Childhood: Conditional Love and Manipulation

Donald Trump’s Childhood: Conditional Love and Manipulation

What was Donald Trump’s childhood like? What values did he learn from his parents? Donald Trump’s childhood was marked by conditional love from his parents and an attitude that relationships are only worth what you can get out of them. Learning how he grew up offers insights into his later career and values. Continue reading for insights from Trump’s childhood and early years.