habits

Video

TRANSCRIPT:

[MARK LEIBMAN] They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Really, the whole journey, every inch of it, happens one step at a time. Everything you can think of is made of tiny things, tiny actions, single steps. The secret to accomplishing anything is basically to put one foot in front of the other.

The training of an Olympic swimmer happens one stroke at a time. Our quaint quarters at 228 Main were built one brick at a time. Books get written one word at a time. The 25 year history of LFS happened one day at a time. A $1 million 401(k) account gets built one fraction of a paycheck at a time. Healthy eating habits are formed one bite at a time. Relationships blossom one conversation at a time. A portfolio gets put together one opportunity at a time.

Humble, common actions within the reach of anyone are what great stuff is made of. You do this simple thing. Then you do it again. Then you do it again.

The secret to accomplishing anything great is to put one foot in front of the other, while you are aimed in the general direction of something worthwhile.

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What’s the Magic Word?
graphic shows a bright blue exclamation point with arrows pointing at it on a brick wall

An acquaintance of ours is a real charmer with her friends’ children. At her house, when adults ask children for “the magic word,” they don’t answer, “Please!” 

Instead, she teaches them to answer, “Now!” And everyone dissolves into laughter. 

“Now!” from a spunky child doesn’t carry as much weight as, say, an angry manager barking orders to an employee or a firefighter at an emergency yelling instructions. 

But “Now!” gets thrown around fairly often. Our mail, our pop-up ads, and even our dentists insist they need our attention immediately. We simply must respond to this limited offer, this overdue action, this short supply. 

Manufacturing urgency where there is none is a tactic. It compels us to turn our attention to whoever shouts “Now!” the loudest. And it can be startling. 

Fear as a mode of motivation may “work” in the short term—it can really get people moving, right away—but a person can’t sustain the fear state. Fear triggers the part of our brain that wants to react quickly and prioritize survival. Maybe you’ve heard about those reactions: fight, flight, or freeze. 

But fear is not a long-term mode of persuasion. Shaping others’ behavior has to happen with their consent and participation, over time. Habit changes, for instance, can’t be ruled by fear alone: there must be something providing positive reinforcement. 

Hope, ease, intrinsic motivation—something of personal meaning must be present in any financial goal or financial habit. Otherwise, why would you do it? 

Clients, people will shout “Now!” for all sorts of market reasons. We know to be wary. The shouting can be a sign of a stampede, sell-off, or unwarranted turmoil. 

But don’t take our advice without investigating for yourself—even if we say, “Please!” 

Questions for us? You won’t get scare tactics from us. Call the shop or write. 

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Play the audio version of this post below:

What's the Magic Word? – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.

There’s the Planning and the Plan

Folks love a good before-and-after story, but big transformative goals tend to obscure the steps in between. We highlight the accomplishment, not the accomplishing. So how does the doing get things done? Making sense of your plans and planning with Mark.

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WORK YOUR WORTH
photo shows a pair of hands holding a book and a pen and a picnic table

Financial wellbeing is rarely just about the numbers. But there are some areas where investors regularly miss opportunities.

Best of all? Some of them are free.

We’re talking about that collection of qualities that determine our human capital: the attributes, experiences, and habits that contribute to our ability to do our work and do it well.

Each of us has room for growth, and many of these qualities can be worked like a muscle. Generosity? Practice gratitude, and it will flow. Creativity? Get your internal censor a nice comfy chair in the corner of your brain so that you have the space to make something—then go for it.

Notice how we’re not talking about fighting your brain or your sense of self. We’ve known plenty of friends who flushed their energy trying to evict their weaknesses while their strengths—their true talent and potential—withered.

Even better, we don’t have to make these investments in huge, life-altering waves. Many of these qualities compound. Enthusiasm, punctuality, diligence: practice a few small actions and watch the habits improve each other!

Where can you invest in yourself? Your “earning power” is linked to a lot of domains. It’s not just your education or certifications. What areas of knowledge give you a unique perspective? What experiences have shaped you? These are parts of your financial journey that you can actively work on.

You’ll notice this investment is more about reflection than ‘rithmetic—but it’s work that can pay off in many ways. Your investments in yourself cannot be taken away, they adjust for inflation, and they help you lead a more interesting life to boot.

Clients, we’re glad to be part of the journey with you. Write or call when you’re ready to talk about this or anything else.

Thoughts and Destiny

pic for Thoughts and Destiny

Our thoughts become words; words, actions; actions, habits; habits, character.

What we “do” for work is sometimes hard to describe. Often, it starts in the mind. Either we have a hunch, or a client wonders, “What if…”

Soon, we’re writing or talking about it. We’re acting on our plan. We’re integrating the change into the overall vision. And we’ve done it! We’re working our whole, integrated system.

Simple enough, right? Deliberate motion.

But it starts with planning, taking those thoughts and arranging them in the direction of our goals.

Lately, we’ve been thinking about that series of relationships. We’ve seen the sentiment posted above in many forms over the years, and we found out that versions of that idea have been ascribed to various poets and teachers for hundreds of years (not to mention Lao Tzu, Margaret Thatcher, and even the Buddha!).

Maybe the credit ought to be shared after all, because we think there is treasure of wisdom in this notion. If we could condense the chain, it would be this: planning is the attempt to shape your destiny.

Planning is agreeing to take your ideas seriously enough to examine them. Planning is a decision that your life will no longer be a thing that happens to you.

Planning is “opting in” to your life.

Clients, there is no one path we’re prescribing here. But we are firm believers in helping you work toward your goals, and geez are we geared up about it.

Whether it’s a thought from your head or a question for us, we’d love to hear from you. Write or call anytime.

Change: Lasting or Fleeting?

© Can Stock Photo / martinan

The efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 are reshaping our lives. Work-from-home (WFH), social distancing, and self-isolation mean big changes, with some unforeseen consequences.

We have been thinking and studying some of the impacts on society, striving to understand the effects on commerce and the economy. There are many unknowns.

Fewer people commuting means less traffic past the coffee shop, less wear on automobiles, emptier workplaces. When the virus has faded, will these effects be lasting, or fleeting?

Will work-from-home gain a permanent boost, reducing the long term demand for office space?

Do those who formerly stopped at the coffee shop everyday resume that habit when they begin commuting again?

After enjoying more free time from less commuting, will more people seek to live closer to their work?

“Dinner and a movie” has given way to carry-out, cooking from scratch, and streaming services. What happens when the crisis fades?

What is the future for movie attendance?

Does cooking replace some fraction of restaurant meals?

What effects will these trends have on commercial real estate?

There have been other effects, too. Online shopping got a big boost from mass retail store closings. Weddings, funerals, and other kinds of gatherings have been cancelled or postponed. Some people report an increased interest in improving their health; others talk about using food or alcohol to deal with stress. Are these changes lasting or fleeting?

After the 1918-1919 great influenza pandemic, the Roaring Twenties followed. Were exuberance and celebration a bounceback from the isolation, sickness and death of the pandemic?

We have many questions. What do you think? If you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.

Letters to Our Children #5: Your Human Capital

© Can Stock Photo / kasto

One investment supersedes all others: invest in yourself. Renowned investor Warren Buffett promoted this idea in a 2017 interview. It cannot be taken away, it adjusts for inflation, it helps you have a more interesting life and earn more money.

Interestingly, Buffett’s prime example of this is not an Ivy League education, but a simple public speaking course, one that many thousands of others have also pursued. Early in life he realized a crippling anxiety about public speaking would impair his career. Beginning long ago with the help of Dale Carnegie, he is now at ease in front of tens of thousands of shareholders, high powered interviewers, presidents, other business leaders, or any other situation required of him.

When we invest in our selves, we are seeking to improve our value to others. The more valuable we make ourselves, the more an employer or customer will pay us. The collection of attributes that create this value are called human capital.

Many aspects of human capital are free. Years ago I became acquainted with a senior officer of a large publicly traded company whose most obvious super power is kindness. After he moved on to a leading role elsewhere, people familiar with him always remembered that trademark feature, and how he had helped them in the past, how he made them feel.

Kindness is free. So are dependability, punctuality, being true to your word, enthusiasm, diligence, and all the other traits we seek when we deal with others. Others desire those same traits in us.

Some aspects of human capital require time and money, sometimes lots of both. Think of the education and training required of surgeons, for example. Educational paths and career planning are beyond the scope of this essay, but the value and wisdom of all of your choices ultimately comes down to whether you figure out how to add value to the rest of society.

We have heard the idea of “follow your passion” debated back and forth. Understand the difference between doing what you are passionate about, and being passionate about what you do. One of them has a wider range of opportunity than the other.

The source of our wealth is our earning power, which arises from our human capital. In future letters we will talk about how to manage the fruits of your human capital, but it all starts here.

Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, or suggest ideas for future letters, please email us or call.