journeys

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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Longing to Be Elsewhen
black-and-white graphic shows a thought bubble with a clock and a calendar in it

Clients, you know I can be a pretty enthusiastic fellow. But I don’t deny that sometimes life can be a grind. Things break and we have to fix them, we sniffle and sneeze with allergies, and there are always bills to pay.

Sometimes we might fantasize that we’re somewhere else, to escape for even just a moment.

It can happen in financial planning, too, but in a different way. Instead of longing to be somewhere else, some people daydream about getting to somewhen else. We can mistake our goals for finish lines: “Once I’m there, things will be okay. Once I get it, I’ll be fine.”

But any worthwhile goal is not just about the finish line. It’s all of it: the preparation, the training, the progress, the setbacks, the community of support, and everything in between. It’s the journey and the destination. All of it.

As we aim our plans and planning toward our goals, it’s good visualize multiple steps along the way—not just the end. What will get me where I want to go? What milestones will mark my progress? What pain can I expect along the way?

In mindfulness meditation, practitioners make a distinction between pain and suffering. Pain is what happens here, a direct result of something painful. A strained muscle sends signals to our brain that tell us we’re experiencing discomfort.

Suffering, however, is the next layer beyond the pain. You can think of it as our feelings about our feelings, like despairing about the fact that now we’re injured and our progress is stymied. That feeling is not the same as the pain that radiates from the muscle: it’s radiating from our minds. It’s a story about the pain.

Pain may be a given for us mortals in our fragile human bodies. But what if suffering were optional? Instead of wishing away each temporary discomfort, we might hang with it—here, in the present.

We can’t selectively escape. When we wish to be elsewhen, we’re not only fleeing the bad: we forego any of the good that might also be here in the present.

Good thing we’re here to keep each other company, huh? Clients, what can we be doing for you? Call or write, anytime.

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Play the audio version of this post below:

Sinking Feeling or Sinking Fund? – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

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

The Plan that Grows with You
photo shows a desert highway with

Maybe the idea of “the finish line” is overrated. You know about my long-time goal of working until I’m age 92, so this sentiment shouldn’t be a shocker.

But we’re thinking about other ways this idea applies. A lot of investment wisdom suggests finding strategies that work with your current life stage. What milestones are coming up? What are you working toward right now? What can you prepare for? Even in this approach, though, life shouldn’t be treated like a checklist.

It’s definitely a journey—and you can’t plan for all the stops along the way. Our approach has to reflect that reality.

Psychologist Carol Dweck studies motivation and mindset. Her take? If things feel fixed or set in stone, look out: that attitude may be a signal that you’ve shut down in the face of change.

We’re not saying that flip-flopping or changing for its own sake is the way to be, but we can’t grow unless we’re willing to change.

“Opening yourself up to growth makes you more yourself, not less,” Dweck explains in her book Mindset. Dweck encourages us to continue to “learn and help learn,” and that’s an idea we can get behind.

You can be a whole person every day you live, but that doesn’t mean your living is ever finished. That’s how we feel about our work, too: a strong financial advisor isn’t a teacher or guide necessarily. An advisor can be a partner on that path. We can map an approach that is complete, robust, and comprehensive—but you better believe that the plan should be able to grow right along with you.

Clients, write or call when you’d like to talk about this, or anything else.

Play the audio version of this post below:

The Plan that Grows with You – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

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

525,600 Minutes

“How do you measure a year in the life?”

Jonathan Larson wrote those lyrics for the 1996 Broadway musical Rent, but today they strike a chord in me.

One year ago, I had two homes, four vehicles, and a life split between Florida and Nebraska. I was a year into this new chapter—as a widower—with many options and a lot to figure out. Life was unsettled.

“How do you measure a year in the life?” Had two places: left them, moved to one new place. Had four vehicles: dumped three, added one to end with two. Used to swim laps in the sunshine for health: now I walk in all kinds of weather. Had a Floribraska snowbird lifestyle: came back as a full-time Cornhusker. Used to split my workdays between the Florida home and the shop in BDL (beautiful downtown Louisville!): ended up “on Main,” as we say.

“525,600 minutes…” The mid-century modern home in Louisville is what started it. Driving over to see it with my realtor the day it listed, I kept thinking, “I need another house like I need a puppy! This is stupid.” But the home charmed me very quickly, and I realized I needed just one place—that one. Fortunately, I was in a position to purchase it. Then other pieces fell into place quite quickly.

That question of location seems pressing for a lot of people in the wake of a loss or a change in the household. In the year after Cathy passed, I too was wondering where I should spend my time, but I should have been thinking with whom I will spend it. It just took me getting settled back here to realize it.

The people I care about are mostly concentrated around here. Reconnecting with the community, the place I lived most of my life, has been a joy. And rededicating myself to business has been invigorating.

A year into it, I’m happy here—I would not trade with anybody.

Resources create options, which are handy when circumstances change our plans. I’m so grateful for you, the best clients in the world, who are such a large part of my life. That I came out of the hard years still connected to you is a blessing for which I will always be grateful.

Clients, if you would like to talk about your plans and planning or anything else, please email me or call.

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Play the audio version of this post below:

525,600 Minutes – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

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

The Journey [video]

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TRANSCRIPT:

[MARK] 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.

If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Right Now
photo shows a mountainous horizon and a sign reading "now" and "past" and "future"

Maybe you’ve seen a billboard that goes like this: “If you lived here, you’d be home right now.” I’ve seen them on many road trips, as advertising for local municipalities, tourism boards, rental agencies, and real estate agents.

These signs call out to us, trying to get us to leave the commute, the trip, and the journey behind—to be here, now.

It’s not a bad message, is it?

I’m not suggesting anybody pack and move the next time they see one of these signs, but in our financial lives, we sometimes get stuck in the past. And the costs add up. The past can crowd out the present in many ways. Maybe some of these phrases have shown up in your thinking?

“I should’ve…”

“I would’ve…”

“I could’ve…”

Some folks get stuck on past missteps; others regret not getting their own plan going sooner. Acknowledging our journey to this point is important, but unless it brings us up to the present moment, we’re facing the wrong way for the journey ahead.

Letting the past live rent-free in our thoughts means we spend less time living here, now. “You could be home right now.” The secret? Embracing this present moment.

Clients, want to talk about where you are and where you’re headed? Write or call.

Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.

Play the audio version of this post below:

If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Right Now – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

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

COMPLETELY UNFINISHED
photo shows a desert highway with

Maybe the idea of “the finish line” is overrated. You know about my long-time goal of working until I’m age 92, so this sentiment shouldn’t be a shocker.

But we’re thinking about other ways this idea applies. A lot of investment wisdom suggests finding strategies that work with your current life stage. What milestones are coming up? What are you working toward right now? What can you prepare for? Even in this approach, though, life shouldn’t be treated like a checklist.

It’s definitely a journey—and you can’t plan for all the stops along the way. Our approach has to reflect that reality.

Psychologist Carol Dweck studies motivation and mindset. Her take? If things feel fixed or set in stone, look out: that attitude may be a signal that you’ve shut down in the face of change.

We’re not saying that flip-flopping or changing for its own sake is the way to be, but we can’t grow unless we’re willing to change.

“Opening yourself up to growth makes you more yourself, not less,” Dweck explains in her book Mindset. Dweck encourages us to continue to “learn and help learn,” and that’s an idea we can get behind.

You can be a whole person every day you live, but that doesn’t mean your living is ever finished. That’s how we feel about our work, too: a strong financial advisor isn’t a teacher or guide necessarily. An advisor can be a partner on that path. We can map an approach that is complete, robust, and comprehensive—but you better believe that the plan should be able to grow right along with you.

Clients, write or call when you’d like to talk about this, or anything else.

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.

For You and With You

pic for For You and With You

“People rarely need to hear our conclusion,” writes Adam Grant about advice-giving in the Smarter Living newsletter. “They benefit from hearing our thought process and our perspective.”

Grant is an organizational psychologist, but even without working at his level of research, we have felt the truth of these findings. You’ll notice that our posts don’t typically promise “the right answer” or “the most perfect approach.” And it’s not because we’re the most humble organization in the world, either.

But imagine if an advisor made all the calls for you or claimed they had discovered a one-size-fits-all solution. Sound convenient? Probably would be—for them.

We could insert a cliché at this point about how it’s about the journey and not the destination, but maybe it’s more mundane than that. It’s more like math class: if you don’t show your work, it’s hard for others to have confidence in how you got there, and nobody involved learns or gets as much perspective.

Giving “good advice,” for us, is a process that we and you must navigate together. What are the goals? That’s all you. What are the possible ways to get there? Together, we can lay out some options. How do we proceed? Well… we’ll need to figure that out.

Grant says, “The most useful advice doesn’t specify what to do.” It helps folks “clarify their priorities.”

We do this work for you—clients, you’re the heart of it!—but we actually need your help to do it with you.

If you’d like to talk more about this or anything, call or write.

A Time to Reflect

© Can Stock Photo Inc. / Klementiev

These are exciting times. With a birthday approaching, I am halfway to 120 years old. It is a natural place to stop and reflect on the journey so far, and the path ahead.

Twenty years ago, I was planning the concept that turned into Leibman Financial Services. At its heart, the idea was to build a business whose success depends entirely on the success of clients. After two prior decades of working with money in most of its forms, the experience and preparation were in place. The interest and passion was there. All we needed was people who would entrust us with their hard-earned wealth and well-thought plans.

Then you showed up. Thank you. The work is gratifying beyond words. And that leads to the next topic, the path ahead.

I plan to work to age 92. Two of my oldest friends, now gone, worked to that age in their own businesses. They were vibrant and active and happy in their later years, a good model for me.

It is amazing how a cherished objective can shape your actions and choices. I often say it is almost embarrassing to be learning so much at such an advanced age. But this is just lame humor. The need to keep learning and adapting and to stay current with developments in the economy and the markets and the business, and to get the resources and people in place to serve your needs, and the constant search for investment opportunities…all of this is invigorating. I feel like I discovered the Fountain of Youth.

The future is not guaranteed to us, in any sense. We can plan a big retirement party for the year 2048 when I turn 92. But we can’t know that any one of us will be there. So we would also like to extend another invitation, for something a little sooner.

If you would like to have breakfast with me at B’s Diner in Louisville, or lunch at the Main Street Café, just call the shop. We are scheduling through mid-July, so there are plenty of slots. The coffee’s always on, too, so if another time would suit you better, we can do that. Thank you all, so much, for the decades–past and future.