Why you need to swim like a shark

You've got to keep moving forward in financial waters

Kevin McNab //February 12, 2016//

Why you need to swim like a shark

You've got to keep moving forward in financial waters

Kevin McNab //February 12, 2016//

It is easy to be comfortable.  Isn’t that human nature?  Feeling comfortable can lead to inaction or a sense of complacency.  Becoming stagnant can lead to the failure of so many things – a career, business or personal growth.  The culprit behind the paralysis to move forward is fear.  Fear of the unknown and fear of failure lead to comfortable inaction.  John F. Kennedy put it the best when he said “There are risks and costs to a program of action.  But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”

I recently met with prospective clients.  We had a great conversation and ended an hour and a half meeting with handshakes and a smile.  After the meeting, I felt really great about our conversation and the caliber of the couple I had just met with.

They had done well for themselves and were in the process of being able to pay for both of their children to go to college.  They were proud of this and I was happy to hear about the success of their children.  In addition, they had nearly $1 million saved up in various investment accounts.  I believe they will find their way to their main financial goal – retirement.

However, a quick review of their situation revealed that they had too much in cash, no asset allocation plan and no financial plan.  The opportunity costs lost without the proper planning was a mile long and thousands of dollars.  There is no doubt in my mind that the value I would add to their situation would be multiple times what I would charge as a fee. 

As I sat there after the meeting, I thought about whether these prospective clients would become my clients.  We clearly had a rapport and they clearly needed my help.  Unfortunately, I felt they may not take action because they were overwhelmed by the prospect of what they did not understand. They might choose comfortable inaction instead.

Constantly moving forward and taking risks is not easy.  In the last sentence of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, he writes:

              Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

              I took the one less traveled by,

              And that has made all the difference.

In life, business and with your financial situation taking action may be the most difficult path – keep moving forward and take action.