78 days until Christmas!
Those who know me will be aware that I see the financial world as utterly divided.
I see the dark forces pedalling the unimportant (products, Bitcoin, Tesla, stock tips etc.) on one side, and professionals who use evidence and focus on the important on the other.
I often describe this as the old or traditional industry versus the future, next generational profession, or even as The Empire and the Jedi!
I therefore wanted to begin by sharing a video by Andy Hart on 'Hidden Magic'.
Like myself, Andy is a behavioural financial planner and he eloquently explains how people like myself operate along with companies such as Amazon, Starbucks and even Sir Mo Farah to create 'hidden magic'.
Whether you want to improve your own business or your understanding of generating real wealth, this behind the scenes look will help.
On the topic of the unimportant, there is still plenty of quality information (if you still want to read it!) around at the moment on the wisdom of ignoring market noise. In this article, David B. Armstrong discusses 'preparing your investment portfolio for the Presidential Election'.
At retirement, life essentially collapses down to one binary question - will your money outlive you, or will you outlive your money?
Many of the business owners and senior professionals I meet aren't sure which retirement outcome they're going to get, in part because they have always been asking the wrong questions and obsessing over the unimportant.
Once you have your answers to the important questions, you gain the clarity to know which strategies will work best for your particular situation.
No matter how accomplished or happy you are in life, there are always areas that could use some improvement. My friends at 2bLimitless are great at bringing out the best in people and I loved an article this community shared this week on 'daily routines'.
Given it is World Mental Health Day on Saturday, I wanted to share a 50% discount code (MADUK50) for the 'Mad World Summit UK' (starting today) when registering at this link. Make A Difference is all about a call for greater investment in workplace mental health and you can find out more about the movement here.
On the topic of gratitude, here is an interesting and nostalgic article showing all the improvements to our lives since the 1990s!
As always, and true to my own military roots, the final word is taken by former British Army officer, inspirational leader and Ironman champion David Labouchere on 'Mission Command'.
Contrary to popular belief, modern military doctrine enshrines controlling less and trusting more.
The equation for Trust = Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy / Self-orientation. How can you control less and trust more today?
A question for you
Chapter 6 of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland carries this discussion between Alice and the Cat:
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where -" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
"- so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
All throughout your life, you may have wanted to get somewhere, but have you ever thought enough about where that is? Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve? Who do you want to become? What can you do today to get there?
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading and happy weekend! If you liked this post, please share it with others using the icons at the top, or just forward them this blog.
Andy Hart on 'Hidden Magic'
David B. Armstrong on 'Preparing your investment portfolio for the Presidential Election'
ABC News on 'A daily routine supercharged my work life. Here's how to build one that works for you'
Forbes article on the workplace mental health movement
Gwern Branwen's article on 'Improvements since the 1990s'
David Labouchere's article 'Mission Command'