Taking the Road Less Traveled
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
--Robert Frost, excerpt from the Road Not Taken
In a recent article from Financial Advisor Magazine that identified the regrets many people have for not taking more risks in life. “Among the top regrets were: not following their dreams, not taking risks with their careers, not taking risks with their lives in general, and not being gutsy enough in the choices they made.”
What was reassuring about these findings is that many people vowed to fix these regrets by taking more risks with the time they have left. There is an optimism there that is unique to our time. People are living longer, way longer than we were even a few decades ago and with that comes opportunities to evolve and edit things about our lives that don’t make sense or don’t satisfy us regardless of our age or stage in life.
- Ninety-three percent of Americans have a favorable view of an extended life with the feeling it could open new and interesting possibilities
- Nearly half feel a longer life can enable a totally different view of how and when major life choices are made
- A longer life is going to require some different approaches to financial planning.
It got me to thinking about what it is that drives us to work with existing and new clients to help them shape their futures.
As a financial advisor I am able to empower people to take risks in their lives, by giving them peace-of-mind with their finances.
I have clients who come to me with tremendous uncertainty about finances and it makes them feel paralyzed in other parts of their lives. There are things that they need or want to do but can’t because they feel confined by perceived lack of resources or limitations they perceive due to lack of organization. They might just have general fear of the future and losing everything due to taking a risk.
The benefit of a financial plan and investment strategy is that it allows you to set achievable goals and have a roadmap for getting there. It provides a deep understanding about what your resources are and what you can do to shift the trajectory of your current financial situation to one that is aligned with the experiences you wish to have in your life.
What I try to remind each of my clients is that they are unique. I remind them to reject the notion that they have to do something one way just because most people do. In a world where keeping up with the Joneses is so commonplace, I challenge my clients to find their individuality and I empower them to embark upon the journey to get them to their chosen destination. It is a beautiful thing to see the optimism in a person’s face when they realize, possibly for the first time, that the goals that they have only let dance in their head, are now down on paper and within reach.
Taking the road less traveled, taking risks, living life to the fullest and making your goals a reality may sound like lofty naiveté, but it’s not to me.