amy florian

Don’t Let Anybody “Should” All Over You
photo shows a stop sign with a blue sky behind it

Trying to lose weight? Maybe you could focus on exercise, on diet, or on a combination of factors.  

Trying to repair something around the house? Maybe you could watch a tutorial and try your hand at it, or maybe you could hire out the work. 

But which way should you do it? 

The thrilling answer for many of life’s challenges and goals is that it depends. Lots of paths can lead to success. When we work with you, our clients, on your financial challenges and goals, the same is true.  

  • “What should I be doing to plan for retirement?” 
  • “What should I do with this inheritance?” 
  • “What should I do about this account?” 

It depends. That’s why we’re here to work with you, wherever you are in your process. 

Telling people what they “should” do with their money seems, to us, kind of gross. And we don’t want anyone to “should” all over you! 

I first heard this advice years ago from speaker and author Amy Florian, and it has roots with German theorist Karen Horney who talked about the “tyranny of the shoulds”: if we get too wrapped up with what we imagine what we “should” be doing, we lose sight of what we have and what’s within our control. 

The idea comes to mind whenever I read or hear some supposed expert on whether you “should” pay off your mortgage early or “should” retire at a certain age or “should” do anything. (I believe, quite often it comes from financial planners who seem to think they’ve been ordained to tell people how to live.) 

We think the first priority when you engage us on any issue is to outline the range of possibilities; then we can look together at the options and their ramifications. We’ll tell you what we think, but we will not tell you what to do.  

It is your money, your choice. What will help you sleep easy each night? What dreams are worth  pursuing each day? 

So what “should” you do? Well, we’d gently recommend that you not let anybody “should” all over you! 

Clients, let us know when we can help you address any of those “should” type of questions you may have.

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Convention Time Again

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One of the best and biggest gatherings of financial professionals is coming up. LPL Financial’s annual Focus Conference presents a number of opportunities to gain education, perspective, and more.

Because we 16,000 registered representatives are free to build our businesses in accordance with our own principles and interests, a wide range of presentations are held. These are conducted by an incredible array of company and industry talent, as well as peers.

Our investment philosophy and portfolio management operations are mature. We’ll be looking for ways to enhance our productivity and speed of execution, as well as potential new research and information sources.

We have a deep interest in communications theory and practice as applied to the 21st century venues we use to keep in touch with you. Fortunately, some of the most talented people in the industry (maybe the world) will be available. They understand what we’re doing at 228Main.com, they have helped us all the way along, and we expect to make more progress on our plans for the future.

The cast of characters includes communications professionals in LPL departments, as well as specialized consultants like Scott McKain and Amy Florian. McKain is the author of ‘Create Distinction,’ a business best-seller that has inspired us over the years. Florian is an expert in helping advisors communicate more effectively with those who have experienced loss or difficult transitions. I’m looking forward to working with them again.

Over my long association with LPL, I’ve been fortunate to build close relationships with the leadership team. Most of this happened in the last four years, as many people in managing director and executive roles became readers and followers of our blog and social media. As we sort out the best structure for our business going forward, these connections are a great help.

I have breakfast and lunch meetings scheduled each day of the conference with key players on my LPL team. With all this, plus gatherings with friends and colleagues from around the country, it looks to be another exceptional experience.

Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.