Creating Calm

“Past performance is used as a guide only. It is no guarantee of future returns. Your investment can go up and down and you may not get back the full amount invested.” This is the standard disclaimer that all asset managers are obliged to make part of the conversation. Investments can, and do, double, triple, quadruple, or go to zero. There is so much noise, and difference between daily, monthly, and annual returns that it bears little resemblance to a salary. Even though your money is working. A salary is more analogous to a dividend. A dividend gets declared. Management aim to smoothly pay for the use of Capital. Aim to increase it each year. To pay it sustainably. They consider the strength of the capital to endure, and the ability of the business to adjust. The challenge is looking for the signal in the noise. Creating the ability to cope with the noise. Creating calm in a continuous storm.

Staying Connected

The only thing we can be certain of, is that things won’t go according to plan. We can plan for, not going according to plan. Time matters, if in each moment we are doing something that matters to us. If today matters. If we are connecting the moments. Backwards and Forwards. There is a temptation to weight time differently. To release the past. To discount the future. To focus on now alone. That is not my approach. I love my story. Revisiting my story. It provides context to the habits, loops, scripts, drivers, responses and incentives that create the way I see the world. With attentive feedback and reflection, that rewire the way I will see the world. The way I will interact with others. I value my future. The future of the others who will follow. The connection I will have to their story. What we can plan for, is our ability to endure. Our ability to cope. To adapt, adjust, and accommodate the uncertainty. Plans don’t have to be about control. Plans can start with acceptance and investment in capacity. They can start with a deep breath. Then move forward while staying connected.