Ever notice how hard it is to say, “Okay Einstein…” without sounding sarcastic? So I’m no Einstein, but I am thinking about my own theory of relativity. Spoiler: don’t let the project of accumulation blur the enjoyment out of life.
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“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.
Life is a three-act play.
Act One is where you came from. What are you, what shaped you, how did you get here?
Act Two is the present. This is a part of the story you begin writing anew, each day when you wake up.
Act Three is the future. It includes your hopes, dreams and plans.
When we think about our collaboration with you, it begins when you tell us your Act One. This helps us understand you in your most fundamental characteristics.
As our collaboration with you goes along, you keep us informed about pertinent things that are going on in your life. This is Act Two, and it is mostly about you. Sometimes we pitch in. If you are living on your capital, we help arrange the details of how you finance Act Two. Or if your situation changes and adjustments need to be made in your plans and planning, you get us involved.
Act Three, the future, we work to help you script that part. Sometimes there is arithmetic to do, or investment plans to implement. The future is where your plans meet reality. We believe you can make the future you want more likely, by planning it.
It seems we are never done with any part. The longer we know you, the more we learn about your Act One. And Act Two, the present, continuously unfolds day by day. Act Three is ever-changing too, as tomorrow become today. The future shrinks, the past grows, while we live in the present.
The present is where we turn the future into the past. We love striving to help you make the most of it!
Clients, if you would like to talk about any of the parts of your life, please email us or call.
The Harvard Medical School published an essay with this same title some time ago. The key lines: “Gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
Gratitude may be about past blessings, current conditions, or reflect a hopeful and optimistic attitude about the future. One of the best things about an attitude toward gratitude is that it can be cultivated.
In one study, three groups of people were directed to write a few sentences each week. One group was instructed to write about irritations or things that had displeased them. The second was directed to write about things that had affected them. The third group was directed to focus on things that had happened for which they were grateful.
After ten weeks, one group was more optimistic about life, and had a greater sense of well-being. That group also happened to exercise more and make fewer visits to the doctor. You can guess which one.
We believe there are interesting applications to the work we do together with you. Short term fluctuations in the markets may be irritating, but gratitude for long term returns might let us focus on more rewarding mindsets. The economy and markets always seem to be a mixed bag, but gratitude for opportunities may help us avoid a focus on problems that might prevent us from investing effectively.
At the heart of all this is the simple truth that we get to choose what gets our attention, what we focus on. Does choosing gratitude make us healthier, wealthier, and wiser? No guarantees, but we might have more fun while we find out together.
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.
… or, where the virtual world and the real world meet. We often talk about these two places as if we must choose one or the other. The reality is that the two work together in many ways.
Fans in stadiums root for their favorite team IRL (“in real life”), but they may also have a source for instant replays or play-by-play through a browser on their smartphones.
IRL, a grandparent plays with a grandbaby. But that grandparent may also enjoy seeing that baby between visits on social media or a photo-sharing site or some other URL—the address that connects them to a website.
And we see you at 228 Main in beautiful downtown Louisville, B’s Diner, or Round The Bend live and in person. But we’re also reaching you here at 228Main.com, plus social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
In other words, we lead integrated lives that combine the real world and a variety of virtual venues. It is not an either/or deal: we benefit when our lives have a home in both places!
It is worthwhile thinking about the advantages we derive from life in the 21st century. When we started communicating in new media, one client told us they would talk to us every day if they could, being interested in planning and investing. They knew that couldn’t happen. But they were delighted to find what we most wanted to say each day was online, plus in these three-minute essays twice each week.
A key advantage of these virtual venues: they do not require each of us to be available at exactly the same time. Nobody plays “phone tag” on Twitter. We frequently post updates early in the morning, but you can read them at your leisure or even on another day. And each of you may choose how much or how little you want.
That client and I still meet; we still have lunch together. And our real-world conversations start warmer and go deeper and farther than before—because of all we share in the virtual world.
Clients, if you would like to talk about this in any world, 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.
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.
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