We deal with change every day. Changes in the direction of your life are probably the most difficult. To try and slide around one or take it on? That is the question.
“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.–Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember’d.”
As financial planners and advisors, we deal with more than growing your wealth, determining when to sell your business, equity options, business structures, cool stuff like QSBS, income and compensation planning, forecasting cashflows, estate planning, and tax planning. Your life has phases. Some are planned. Some are not. Change is hard. At times, change can be, as Mr. Dylan notes, rather bittersweet.
What we frequently get into with our clients is how to enable a major shift or new phase in life. This might be a career change, a move to a new employer, starting a business, buying a business, or quitting employment/working for pay altogether (traditionally, retirement, although I call it the phase in your life where you can choose what to do, when to do it, with whom you do it, for how long, without money worries). Often, changes like this involve a feeling of loss and grief, getting you tangled up in blue, as you consider leaving something that has been a large part of your life for a long time.
The number one question we are asked when helping clients form a plan: Am I (Are we) OK and will I ( we) be OK regardless of what happens in this uncertain future? Number two: Can I make a career shift to (your next career/phase here) and still be OK?
Handcuffs
“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all”
You may feel handcuffed: your income supports the lifestyle you love. Going to work each day is a long-ingrained habit. There are relationships there and a feeling of accomplishment (most days!!!) each day. You may have concerns about your ability to apply skills and capabilities in a different field, the loss or change in corporate benefits like group health insurance, ESPP, deferred compensation, and/or the potential loss of unvested equity. You may know that it is time to change and at the same time lack direction as to what is next. You read the literature and know that doing nothing, that is, reducing brain stimulation and/or physical activity, are major contributors to cognitive decline. There are any number of obstacles can be present. There’s this little thing called status quo bias. The endowment effect may be in play, as well as motivated reasoning.
Maybe you feel that you would be far happier being self-employed. This is, to most of us, an incredibly uncertain path to embark upon. It is also extremely attractive to many successful people. The challenges are many. Your paycheck? Solely your responsibility. Generating sales? On you, brother. Keeping the books, paying taxes, managing cashflow? Yup, you. Managing people (my personal least favorite aspect of owning and running a business, although sales is close)? Guess who.
Direction
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. – Seneca
Like most things in life, there are many paths. These depend on which direction you choose to go. The first thing is to determine what it is you really want. In this, you are your own captain. What is you want to achieve? Income, smaller time commitment, moving to another location, ending travel? Aligning your values with your business? Increasing your compensation? A path to promotion? Spending more time on your physical, spiritual, and/or mental health? There is no right or wrong or good or bad in any of this. It is important to know where you want to go.
You might want or need help in this process. Maybe this is you intentionally retreating from the tyranny of the day, with a target for defining your next thing, your enough, identifying your discomfort, whatever it is driving you to change. Perhaps you hire a business or life coach or therapist to help you sort things out. From Bob Seawright: “We are equal-opportunity fabulists and conspiracists, irrespective of politics, social standing, education, or status.”
Give some thought to your own thinking. Is this you?
“I've made up my mind Don't need to think it over If I'm wrong, I am right”
Sundry
I finished “Resistance Women” this week. Studying history is a good thing.
The most beautiful song I heard this week:
Professionally, I am reading Psychology of Financial Planning. There is always something to learn. Useful.
I started (re) reading Bruce Catton’s Army of the Potomac Trilogy, which begins with Mr. Lincoln’s Army.
Next up: Born to Run. No, not that one, although I do love Bruce and bought that album when it was launched. “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways”… Had to buy it and still listen to it.
Want to see/hear an amazing Prince solo?