It’s NEVER just one thing that matters.  It’s how the pieces of everything add/work/multiply together to give a higher—or much higher— output.

I grew up in the 80s.  I was really into hard rock music.  Yeah, I knew some of the bands had a couple cool songs, and of course, I knew some were just boring or totally lame.  But some of the music was amazing.  Some of the music has stayed with me throughout life.  Some of the bands still play shows and some also create new music—some decent, some not so much.  What makes up a band?  Think about the term “band.”

When a member (one piece of the collective group) leaves and starts a new band or solo project, often it never really becomes a long-term successful career.  It doesn’t seem to matter how talented or even how popular that person was, sometimes their past success was due to the combination of efforts.

Some members of broken-up bands fell on hard times, very hard times…I’m thinking how this can relate to “asset classes” or worse, bad asses from the group. (Wasn’t that super-creative wording skipping the ‘t’?)

Your financial situation is a giant collection of individual decisions.  These decisions work together to form a group of decisions and deliver an outcome.  They can add/multiply together to have more drastic outcomes.  Imagine buying a cool old classic car that uses a lot of your money and leaves you little cash for old-car repairs.  That may subtract your money into a bad decision.  Or buying an ETF/mutual fund and re-investing the incoming dividends.  Neither the breakdown of the vehicle, or the distributions of dividends are in your control, but they add/multiply together changing the overall outcome of your initial decision—at least in a financial respect.

The collection of your decisions add together.  Acquiring loans for items over time will add together putting pressure on your financial situation.  Acquiring assets that have a positive return may over time increase your net worth.   Acquiring speculative assets may even add to your life stress, by not knowing the future outcome.

There is a reason many wise people suggest doing things in moderation.  A little of this, and a little of that, could very possibly balance out too many one-sided decisions.  Writing post this made me realize again how risk averse I tend to be in many areas of my personality.  We’re all different.  We make different decisions, but all these decision/parts combine into something, the sum of things.

As in music, it’s very possible that sectors of the market may change over time and those “assets/classes” may fall out of favor.

One crazy example:  there was once a TV channel called Music TV that played music 24 hours a day.  It was a hugely popular TV channel that shaped a generation.  Today that business (channel) still exists but it is NOTHING like it was 30 years ago.  Things change, even if the name remains the same.

Take a moment when you are facing a decision to understand the immediate impact and give some thought to its future impact.  Some decisions may seem less than optimal now, but be excellent you’re your long-term plan…some (many) just the opposite.

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice.

BEEP BEEP BEEP !!!   Oh, the sounds of mornings throughout the world.

Is it so shocking so many millions of people are angry, grouchy, touchy?  With everyone starting their day in a shocking manner, basically being barked at by an LED @$$hole ordering you to get up and get to work, no wonder there is so much discord.

You may have to live with this morning demand, but by reading this, I know you are on the right track to being your own time-boss, your own responsible party.  You are on your way to INDEPENDENCE from, well, from others.  This cannot be overstated.

Last night I went to bed a little later than normal and just couldn’t fall asleep.  I didn’t worry about it because I knew morning would arrive when I wanted it to.  Stop and think about that.  What would you give to have EVERY morning like a weekend morning?  Even better, it wouldn’t be a two-day-rush-to-complete-everything weekend.  Your life can become more comparable to a LONG weekend, or a week vacation…and even better, no thoughts of the work piling up when you return to the office.

Last week I was thinking about how amazing it is that we lived (spent) wisely in our past to have the independence we have now.  NOTHING is worth as much as having your time to yourself.  Specifically, owning your time and essentially your life.

So this morning when I noticed the sun was up and shining in my windows, I thought, “yeah, last night’s sleep wasn’t great, but I own my time, I own this day, I can just lounge here for a while and relax, read my book, breathe and when I get up, then I can do everything or nothing.  Priceless.  Absolutely priceless.

As I’ve stated before, the tone of your day, etc., may come down to your morning.  I was lucky to work from home for years.  Each morning I was lucky enough to sit in my spa for 15+ minutes.  It was always wonderful to be outside and chillin’ in hot water.  I would become even more relaxed and then start (more likely ‘continue’) my work day.  I’ve always said, “if everyone in the world had a tub of hot water to sit in each morning, the world would be a much calmer place.”  Maybe we need a “national spa program.”

My thoughts for you, for everyone, is not as complicated, or as wise as The Miracle Morning.  My thought is, just find a little bit of calm, or calming in your morning.  Find the gratitude for the great things in your life.  Tackle your day to make the greatness even greater.

*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice.  I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be.  You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice.