perspective

TENDING TO THE FLOWERS: Each season makes way for the next

by Whitney Engle, Client Services Coordinator

More content from Whitney

We were talking as a team the other day when Mark brought up a vivid memory from his first summertime job. He worked at Peony Park in Omaha, Nebraska, an entertainment venue that included everything from an amusement park and a swimming pool with a third of a mile of beach, to a dance hall and picnic grounds.  

You’d think the first memory to flood back might have been a thrill ride or the Sprite Nite dances. But Mark remembered something else. 

Walking through the park each day to get to work at the pool, Mark passed an old fellow, dressed in overalls, working in the flower beds. Day in and day out, the man tended the garden. For a long time, Mark didn’t know what he was witnessing. 

Turns out, the Malec family’s early businesses capitalized on a neighboring peony farm: Joe Malec, now of the overalls, was one of three brothers who started what became Peony Park. Fifty years later, it had blossomed into a major force in the community. 

As a kid, Mark found it odd. Wouldn’t a founder have more important things to do? 

With age comes wisdom. Fast-forward another fifty years: Mark understands why Joe was in the flower beds. Between his own efforts and the help of his descendants, Joe found the freedom to focus on what he enjoyed the most. Sure, tending the flowers wasn’t the flashiest work, but that is how he wanted to spend his time. 

Mark doesn’t have overalls, but he too gets to “tend the flowers” now, doing what he loves most: talking with you and trying to find new investment opportunities. He spends half his time in Louisville, the other half working from afar—focusing more on making memories and building relationships. 

Leibman Financial Services is now a team of seven, so Mark no longer has to be a jack of all trades. You can reach out to any one of our advisors to get the same service and care as if you were talking to the founder himself. So, if you ever try to schedule a meeting with Mark and he’s not available right away, please remember that just like a farm, the firm is a team activity. 

Doing work you love, for a living, is a true blessing. Thank you for being a part of our story. 

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

Play the audio version of this post below:

Tending to the Flowers – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

The text of this episode is available at ⁠www.228Main.com⁠.

Where are you on the ride?

Anybody else remember the drop of your stomach when your folks drove a hilly country road and you weren’t expecting the quick downhill drop? We never knew when the highs and lows or the next turn was coming—sounds a lot like the markets, doesn’t it? 

Where are you on the ride? Check out Caitie’s take on thrill rides and the rhythms of the markets this week

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

Wellness Wishes from Your Past Self

What would I have to learn if I could talk to my past self? Or my future self?

There are some mental exercises that might help us reflect on our goals, but here’s what I’m wondering: What do truck stop chili dogs have to teach me?

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

A Luck-Proof Mindset

“Who knows what is good and what is bad?” What an ancient parable has to teach us about getting a “luck-proof” approach to investing: a message from Caitie this week.

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

Aiming for Progress, Not Perfection 

What is your favorite part about the Olympics? Is it a specific event that always catches your eye, a striking outfit?

For us, it’s hard not to be blown away by the perfection among so many of those athletes.

Watching the events, we may forget how much time and effort these athletes put into their trades. We only see the polished, precise versions of the routines, or the absolute fastest times or highest heights!

We aren’t there to watch them struggle on their way to perfection. We don’t see how many hours the athletes trained, the things they had to sacrifice. Sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves that we aren’t going to get it right the first time. We are going to fall; it’s just a part of life.

The thing that sets us apart, though? What we do after we fail.

Olympic athletes don’t throw in the towel if they have a couple bad days at practice… and we shouldn’t either. We get back out there and try again!

Maybe some of us are not happy with the amount of money we have saved so far for retirement. Instead of giving up on the idea of saving all together, we can formulate a new plan. We can analyze the budget, start reallocating cash, take advantage of IRA contributions. We can take the time to invest in ourselves and our futures.

Maybe some of us have little ones at home and are starting to think about saving for their college education. We don’t have to save as much as we can, as fast as we can. There are investment options to help you contribute at your own pace, while putting the money to work to take advantage of that potential growth.

While the Olympics is a competition, saving for retirement or a life-changing event is not. We are all on different journeys, with different resources, at different points in our lives. There is not one perfect plan for all investors.

One thing we can learn from the Olympic athletes is their power of flexibility. (While of course they are physically flexible, we are talking about their mental flexibility.) If their practice routine isn’t working for them any longer, they will change it. We can do the same thing with our financial plan!

Setbacks in life are part of the journey. If we gave up when the going gets tough, we wouldn’t get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We won’t sell out when the market is low, just like we won’t sell ourselves short when we don’t stick the performance every time.

We keep our eyes on the prize and keep moving forward.

If you are going through something right now and you didn’t get it right the first time, that’s okay. You can always try again next time. We aim for progress, not perfection. Progress—that’s how we truly go for the gold.

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

Play the audio version of this post below:

Aiming for Progress, Not Perfection – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

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

Looking for Setups in the Setbacks

Time travel is a powerful way to reframe the present. The here and now will always bring its unique challenges and setbacks, but what will this moment mean to you down the road, looking back?

If you’re prone to stay mired in the moment, here’s a game of “I spy” for you: where are the setups among all these setbacks?

You’ve heard it from us before. There’s day-night, day-night. There’s up-down, up-down. Well here’s one for any challenging time: setback and setup.

Challenging times bring tradeoffs, big and small. In some moments, there is less time for work… but more time with the kids. Or less time with the gym buddies… but more time out in the sunshine. Tradeoffs.

In terms of business, our classic principles still apply during challenging times. We seek bargains. Economic activity is always shifting: some areas will slam on the brakes as demand falls off; some areas will be buzzing in a scramble to keep up with demand.

Just like the setbacks in our individual lives, the business setbacks exist alongside potential setups. Part of our job is to take a good look around to try to spot them. No guarantees, but we’re always wondering what future growth is being watered by the current storm.

We don’t ignore a storm. This approach, however, helps remind us of the bigger picture. It’s a more complete way to tell the story of a setback.

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

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

Play the audio version of this post below:

Setbacks and Setups – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text can be found at ⁠https://www.228Main.com/⁠.

Waiting for the Best View

“Getting in on the ground floor” may sound enticing. We like to be first, best, and on top of things. But just remember that the view is always better from higher up.

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

A Luck-Proof Mindset

“Who knows what is good and what is bad?” What an ancient parable has to teach us about getting a “luck-proof” approach to investing: a message from Caitie this week.

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

The View from Your Investments

“Getting in on the ground floor” may sound enticing. We like to be first, best, and on top of things. But just remember that the view is always better from higher up.

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

Plenty To Be Thankful For

Won’t you join me? I’m getting in the spirit! A little personal reflection for this fine holiday week.

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