influence: 100% return on your investment
As you may or may not know, I have four boys and one wife. I know those numbers to be correct, for if I had one boy and four wives, I’d be living in Utah. And since I don’t live in Utah…well, there you go. And besides, if I had four wives, I’d be the last person to advise you on wealth management. “Why’s that?” you ask. Because I’d have no wealth to manage, of course. (Because we’d spoil the only child, you see…nothing at all to do with having four wives….wink wink.)
And having these four boys, whose ages range from 6 to 15, I’ve learned that in some respects, investing for
retirement and parenting are quite similar. For example, both are entered into with long-term objectives in mind. You want a healthy portfolio one day, right? And you certainly want a healthy young adult one day. But you don’t quite see it that way in the beginning. Nope. Early on, you’re very short-term focused. With your portfolio, you’re looking for immediate returns. You’re looking for growth. You watch it every day, looking for progress, and praying that it doesn’t suffer setbacks. And the very same can be said with your kids, right? You’re watching them every day, every move they make, and you’re looking for growth and praying for no setbacks. But what we all know to be true is that both are susceptible to difficult times. And accordingly, you eventually learn how to cope with that reality.
With your portfolios, you’re trusting that you have the right asset allocation, the right advisor, and the right folks by your side for the journey ahead. And who can predict the market? Rhetorical question, of course. You know what the wisest of market analysts know – that the markets will go up, down or sideways. And like all of us, you’ll go to bed not knowing what the next day holds or what will influence the returns on your investment.
But for your kids, influence is the return on your investment. And here’s where the comparisons diverge. As for the markets, you have no influence over them, really, and you likely never will. And you certainly can’t control them. With my boys, however, and to varying degrees with each, my wife and I have control. Sounds like the solution to every parent’s concern, right? Of course not. Control is not the end result. Most of us can’t even control our flappy little tongues, what makes us think we can control our kids? We’re praying and striving for influence. If you’re a parent, you know that control only lasts so long with your children. So throughout their early years, you gradually move yourselves from a position of control to one of influence. Prayerfully, our boys will one day become men. And hopefully, they will embrace all of the responsibilities that come with that role. And while I can’t control how they get there and the decisions they make along the way, I hope to be in the conversation.
But without influence, I won’t be.
My 6 year-old started kindergarten this year. He throws his clothes all over the floor, leaves all the lights on, and REFUSES to get up in the morning. He’s a young boy and a man in progress. I’m good with that. My fifteen year- old gets his license in a week. He’s a quarterback on his high school football team, and more than one girl giggles when he walks by. He’s a man in progress. And sometimes that scares me to death. He’s beginning to set his own course, exert his independence and we’re trusting that our prayers and learn-as-you-go parenting techniques will provide him with a strong foundation on which to grow. Influence doesn’t always come easy, but it’s not hard to see how important it is. Someone had influence over your life, am I right? Good, bad or indifferent. And someone will have influence over your child’s. That much is certain. The question then, is who? Who will it be? Control is great. For a while. But control is a short-lived and one-sided relationship. Good for a season, but not for a lifetime. Influence, pardon the pun, is the money-maker. It’s a two- way relationship and I pray that I’m able to invest in it wisely and daily. I’ll go back on what I’ve said in earlier posts; some investments should be looked at daily. Investments are important. Some more so than others.
Happy Labor Day weekend! Go spend time with your investments.
