The Pursuit of Experience
The pursuit of experience is an interesting one. Mentors are invaluable. After all, they have what you seek. Good resources help too. Together they provide valuable context to filter your own observations. As the years accumulate, you and your filters evolve. It is an advantage to own some history, after studying it. 20 years in, I am grateful for all of it. The process, the mentors, and the experience. Interestingly, the insights gained have more to do with expectations than answers.
Market prices are truly unpredictable. Short-term uncertainty, for investors, is a certainty. This we have touched on many times, in our newsletter, blog, and within meeting discussions. It’s liberating to accept. It changes everything.
Habits create wealth, well before you see it. With short-term price uncertainty, today’s portfolio value isn’t the best measure of progress. Better to define today’s habits as the only measure of tomorrow's success. Sort of the “if you build it, wealth will come” approach.
Stay out of the weeds. This one is difficult. Politics and economics are intertwined. Policy matters. Market timing is tempting. There is a lot of noise along the way. With each new cycle, both sides will point fingers. Don’t fall for it. Market prices move for lots of reasons. There is always truth within an incomplete story. Stay the course.
The payoff is worth it. As you work through life decisions, unpredictable markets, and inevitable “in the weeds” discussions, good habits will patiently create wealth. When the impact of that wealth becomes real, people do cool things with the realization. It does not change people; it simply increases their options. They experience more flexibility to live out what’s important to them.
As we work through the rest of this and future cycles together, let’s control the controllables and keep these truths in mind – the payoff is worth it!
Dustin Smith, CFP®
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