Fleeting to Eternal

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.

Well, no Mike, not everybody has a plan. But everyone, at some point, gets punched in the mouth. Having a plan to mitigate the damage; simply being a little bit prepared, knowing the signals of trouble ahead, accumulating some knowledge puts people so far ahead when trouble comes. We can't prevent every bad possibility, can't move mountains - but we don't need to be in the path of every avalanche.

This is what a punch to the mouth looks like in financial terms:

How can anyone handle that?

How can anyone or anything withstand this?

You can never prepare for that. You can only be prepared to have the resources and ability to escape before this happens; whether literally or metaphorically. And possessions and property can be replaced or rebuilt - lives cannot.

Priorities matter. But we can't wait till everything is perfect to start executing.

Inflation is a necessary part of any complex economic system:

Now may be the time to start a business, especially if you have more experience and a large network to leverage -

How people behave, how they actually spend money, is a reflection of their priorities and an predictor of outcomes:

Too many have waited too long to do what is needed to live the life they should enjoy, the one they deserve. They did the right things, but for many reasons have no confidence in their future - so they push off retirement. And it's not because they want to continue working, they simply will have to.

But the survey says:

It's so important, and yet such a challenge, to hold onto the vision we have for ourselves and our own lives while we go through the day to day ups and downs. I have been blessed to have a platform to bring great minds in the Jewish community on Fridays here onto Linkedin Live - please join future ones

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman was my guest today - this is a quote from his book that is incredibly relevant for this time of year - whatever faith you do or do not have.

“The birth of a new year is a time of reflection and resolution; a time when hope and inspiration fill the air. We dream about what this upcoming year holds in store; how we can make the rest of our life the best of our life. We all have ideas, ambitions, and aspirations that we yearn to bring to fruition, and the new year gives us “permission” to revisit these goals and breathe new life into them. For a brief moment, everything is crystal clear; we see our purpose and our path with vivid clarity. However, there is an underlying frustration that accompanies this time period as well. If we reflect honestly, we often realize that our new year’s resolutions are awfully similar to those of last year, and the year before, and the year before…

We have brief moments of inspiration, but they soon fade into oblivion, only to be resuscitated for a few more days the next year in the hopes that somehow this year might be different. However, there is another option — a way to actually make this year different. By truly understanding this time of year and fully tapping into its powerful themes, we can turn what was previously fleeting inspiration into lasting, eternal change.”

Keep the eternal in mind, make it all different.