Disturbing news can make us feel overwhelmed. When it seems like a fine time to panic, we’ve got an opportunity. How to take a moment—and make room for only what matters most.
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priorities
Life Is Short… Pick What’s Precious
Decades ago, my father told me something about perspective. He said, “The mortality rate is 100%.” It was a lesson, one which gave me a better understanding of his terminal illness. But the more lasting perspective is the one it gave me on life, a lesson that reminds me how precious—and short—life is.
We got into a discussion recently with a person who is close to retiring from an active career. After getting a sense for what life in retirement might look like for them, our talks focused on money and numbers.
After it became evident that this whole retirement thing could work out, anxiety about the change began to build.
When we spend four or five decades earning a paycheck, having them every month for several hundred months in a row, it is sort of jarring to step into the unknown—to live without the steady comfort of that paycheck coming in. Some uneasiness is understandable.
It is one thing to understand the concept of owning the orchard for the fruit crop—living off your portfolio—but it is a whole different thing to trust that concept with your wellbeing and way of life.
Yet if we never make that leap of faith, we might labor at a job forever, even one that drains us, even when our means actually exceed our needs.
And we can’t think or logic our way out of facing our feelings. (If we could, many of us would’ve already flexed our smarts and sidestepped these pesky feelings, right?)
So perhaps it is useful to try to finish this sentence: “Life is short, we better __.”
The fact is, time is what life is made of. Another day spent as an employee is one not spent on our own, personal priorities. When we fill in the blank, we are defining those priorities.
Clients, if you would like to talk about how you would fill in the blank, or finance it, please email us or call.
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Play the audio version of this post below:
Life Is Short… Pick What's Precious – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text can be found at https://www.228Main.com/.
Investing in Worthy Ways [video]
A COHERENT COMPOSITION
On my morning walk recently, I captured a sunrise scene. Colorful clouds with interesting texture reflected perfectly in one of the Louisville lakes. I am strictly an amateur, but a good picture jumps in front of me once in a while.
Pondering later what goes into a successful photo, I came up with this list:
- Choose a pertinent subject.
- Frame the key elements, focusing on the important stuff.
- Keep it centered and level.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this same formula is what goes into writing a blog post or telling a story. And it’s what we strive for in our work with you.
There are a thousand things we could talk about or think about, but you and I work on your highest priorities—the most pertinent subjects. Our goal is to frame them so you can make effective decisions. By keeping it level, we can use a balanced approach.
Clients, if you would like to work on your story, email us or call.
What Are We Going To Do With All This Future?
It is tempting to think of the future as a place of endless possibilities, fulfilled dreams, unleashed potential. “What are we going to do with all this future?” is the work of Spanish artist Coco Capitan, in collaboration with the Gucci fashion brand. It seems to capture that spirit of possibility.
Our work together with you is about the future. But when you get down to it, saying yes to one goal might mean saying no to others. We cannot do everything.
Resources are finite. As we think about retirement destinations or second home locations, choosing a Rocky Mountain high might mean that finding your beach is out of the question. Relocating may mean less time with family. Retiring at a younger age could mean getting by with less money.
This is why we invest so much time in striving to understand and clarify your priorities.
Of course, creative thinking may let us meet apparently contradictory goals by making thoughtful adjustments. A more modest home in one location may free up money to travel other places, or even have a second home. (This is the strategy I employ to live in Floribraska, Florida and Nebraska.)
Clients have chosen to retire and work at the same time by making the retirement-age job a part-time or seasonal or flexible hours arrangement in a field they enjoy.
Some couples choose to spend weeks each year pursuing different interests. Golf in the sunshine is hard to reconcile with watching grandchildren play winter sports up north.
So your own answer to ‘what we are going to do with all this future’ may take a lot of thought to get your priorities defined. Some creativity or adjustments may be needed to make the most of it. This really is the first step in long term planning.
Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
Rocks, Pebbles, and Sand
I recently heard the simple lesson about rocks and pebbles and sand again. You probably know it.
If you take an empty jar and fill it with rocks, you can still add pebbles and shake it until it is full again. Then you can fill it again with sand. The pebbles fit in around the rocks, and the sand fills in around the pebbles. Everything fits.
But if you empty it the jar and try to refill it first with the sand, then the pebbles, and finally the rocks, it comes out differently. The rocks will not all fit.
The moral of the story: focus on the big things, and do not let the little things get in your way. We each are happier and more effective when we have thought about our priorities and acted on them first. When we have time to take care of less important matters when they fit in. When we aren’t focused on little things that just bog us down.
We have rocks – priorities – in our personal lives, in our relationships with others, in our work or business. Our best lives may be when we can put all of our rocks from all parts of our lives into the jar, thinking about priorities and taking action. And keeping the sand out of the works, no matter the source.
Narrowing the focus to you, what are the rocks in your financial plans and planning, the big priorities? Let’s work on them first, and get to the fine points later.
In our work for you, the rocks are doing our research and taking care of portfolios, handling the service you need so your money connects to your life, and communicating with you every way we can.
Rocks – pebbles – sand. Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
Living the Reality
We have heard the phrase “living the dream” when someone describes a life in which everything is going well. I have used it myself once or twice.
But the truth is life has rough spots. What dream would include family and friends with chronic diseases and other issues, funerals for those we admire or love, and all the other challenges one might face?
Of course, there are joyous and glorious things in life, too. Most of us would have a difficult time counting all of our blessings. So joy and pain—both are part of the deal. Some have it better, some have it worse, and our fortunes do fluctuate.
We believe the long-term view that serves investors well is also valuable in keeping the bad patches in perspective. “This too shall pass” is helpful in thinking about both the worst times in our lives and economic recessions or market turmoil. One may find glimmers of hope for better days even on bad days.
Another way to cope is to find ways to soften or cushion or rebalance some of our worries. I outsource worrying about the lawn to a lawn service, for example, while I get to worry more about how to grow your buckets. Hopefully, by letting us worry about your buckets for you, you might have less worrying to do. If we can do that, we will know that our work has value and we are probably doing something right.
We are not living the dream. We are living the reality, coping when we need to, celebrating when we can. That is life in all its glory.
So grateful you are a part of it.
Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
I Mow My Lawn with a Checkbook
You may have heard a thousand times that “time is money.” For me and perhaps for you, the reminder to use our time well was a needed and useful lesson.
As we grew into adulthood and established our lives, careers, homes, and everything else, money seemed scarce and time was abundant. Using time to get money made a whole lot of sense.
Things change as we age, you may have noticed. A client shared a revelation that came to them shortly after they retired: “I spent all those years worrying about having enough money in retirement, and quickly learned that the scarce thing is time, not money. I’ll run out of time long before I run out of money.”
This conversation led us to the thought that money is time. The point was driven home recently when I received a compliment about my lawn from a neighbor down the street. “You must spend a lot of time taking care of it,” they said.
I was forced to admit I spend virtually no time on it.
I mow my lawn with a checkbook. That same tool takes care of the landscaping and keeps my home clean. It has more functions than a Swiss Army knife. Time, for me, is a scarce resource—a valuable commodity. It is a blessing to be able to spend money and get time.
From time to time you have heard us advise “invest wisely and spend well.” These things mean different things to different people. A very dear friend loves to mow the lawn, tinker with lawnmowers, fool around with the shrubbery. Good for them, I say. One of the ways they spends money to gain time is by paying us to help with their financial affairs.
To our young clients, a reminder: time is money.
To our not-young clients, a different version: money is time.
If you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
The Right Stuff
Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book chronicled the elite test pilots from whose ranks the first astronauts were chosen. The title The Right Stuff referred to the combination of mental and physical characteristics required for their work.
According to author Charles Duhigg, the same words apply to people who have reached high levels of effectiveness in business. People who become much more productive do not necessarily get more done—they get the right stuff done. Thinking deeply about the work enables them to focus on the most important elements.
At 228 Main Street, we began focusing a long time ago on our three most important activities. Talking with you to collaborate on your plans and planning is at the heart of our work. Investment research and portfolio management are the other most valuable activities. These are the things that make the most difference—they are the right stuff for us.
We figured out that we needed to develop a staff to take care of the important details of service. Having the right beneficiaries, getting money out to you when needed, preparing the forms and maintaining the files we need simply to be in business—all of these things are vitally important, too.
There are about 10,000 minutes in a week. By focusing our work time on the right stuff, we have a better chance to understand what the right stuff is for you—your most important objectives, your most cherished goals—and help you strive to reach them.
Clients, if you want to talk about your ‘right stuff,’ please email us or call.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
Passion and Indifference
“Indifference is as important as passion.” Organizational expert and author Robert Sutton (no, not THAT Bob Sutton) included this on his list of 15 things he believes—his core principles.
In recent years, seeing the occasional life and death struggle up close, juggling time constraints and geographical complications, most of the non-essentials have been stripped from life. Time and energy must be focused on the things that really matter.
Health and family are at the top of the list. But business provides the resources for the necessities of health and the niceties that keep life worth living. So 228 Main is really integral to everything else. It is fair to say I am passionate about my work for you.
What makes room for our passions, our priorities, is indifference to many other things. If it has a spark plug in it, chances are good that I am indifferent to it. If it is on television, ditto. Worrying about my appearance? That would have to rise a thousand places to get on the bottom of my list. Yardwork, fine wine, dust, arguing with strangers on the internet, complaining about things beyond my control…we do not have enough space to list the things to which I am indifferent.
Connecting with you, time with family and those I love, attending to health, the economy and markets, striving to grow your buckets, building an effective organization, these are the things that matter to me now. It is an interrelated, integrated life.
We all have interests, preferences, and our own ways to regenerate. But we can’t focus on our passions unless we let go of a lot of things that really don’t make much difference. Wise clients, mastering the art of contented retirement, made this point to me recently. Many things that seemed important enough to worry about years ago don’t even appear on their radar anymore—indifference is the word.
Clients, if you would like to talk about your passions or anything else, please email us or call.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
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