Bruce Lee – Expert Financial Planner
Many people don’t realize that Bruce Lee was an EXPERT in financial planning. Really! Here’s his most famous quote on the topic:
- I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times
Make sense? OK, let’s break it down…
Bruce is telling us that mastery comes from doing one thing VERY well REPEATEDLY. Mastery does not come from trying 10,000 different things.
So here’s the question for you:
- Are you always looking for the next magical investment strategy?
If so, Bruce wouldn’t be too worried about you in a “fight”. But as a financial advisor, I’m VERY worried about you and your investment approach.
Investing is not about hot stocks and market trends. Investment is about developing a solid Investment Policy Statement (IPS) and executing the strategy day after day, month after month, and year after year.
An effective IPS includes:
- A clear goal for your investing
- A clear statement of cash inflows and cash outflows
- A clear definition of the asset allocation that you will use
- A clear definition of the investment tools that you will use
- A clear summary of how this strategy has performed in the past – BOTH in terms of risk and return (DISCLAIMER – While the past is no guarantee of the future, it is often the best surrogate we have for potential future outcomes)
So what’s the take away? Simple:
- Don’t be the fool that practices 10,000 different investment strategies. Develop a solid IPS and stick with it through thick and thin
If you do that, Bruce would probably award you a black belt in investing if he was still around.
So here’s the challenge for you:
- Are you ready to put single IPS in place that you can use for the next 10,000 days?
At F5 Financial Planning we focus on helping individuals and families find balance between faith, friends and family, fitness and finance. We make sure that they have the financial freedom to enjoy those things in life that are important to them. And while we believe the left-brain facts and data are critical; we work with our clients to get them in the right state of mind to focus on the goals they want to achieve.
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