Should you wait until you're ready?

At Endeavour Wealth Management we like to promote a culture where our stakeholders can take the opportunity to travel, see the world and gain new perspectives. It's even built into our contracts where we don't place a maximum on vacation days that our staff can take in a year but instead a minimum. I get a lot of questions about this policy because it's so uncommon in our society but my belief is that I would rather trust our people to do the job right and that measuring performance is a lot more efficient than measuring how many hours someone spends away from the office.

Live in the Moment, Not in the Past, Not in the Future

Beyond that, I want to encourage our people to live for today because we don't know what tomorrow brings. Yesterday (on the day I am writing this) I along with many others was disturbed to hear of the tragic news that Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven other people had passed away in a tragic helicopter accident. I just so happened to be away on a family vacation with my parents when this occurred and so my Mom and I started talking about it and how we react when things like this happen.

For my Mom and also my wife Sam, they take this as a sign that we should be careful and in our case we shouldn't take a helicopter ride over the Big Island of Hawaii next week. In my mind, the lesson to learn is something completely different. Life is short and we need to say yes to opportunities more often and seize the day.

What's Holding You Back?

I encounter this a lot in my work with clients as well. Often, people have spent their entire lives building up their assets so that when they are older they can do everything they ever wanted to do. For some it works out but for many they never feel ready for a variety of reasons. Here's the real kicker, I'm not telling you something that you don't already know and that you haven't heard a million times. So what's holding you back? Terrorist attacks? Coronavirus? Fear?

Aside from the fact that violence on a global scale has been declining in dramatic fashion and that more people die annually from the regular flu than has been the case with coronavirus (of course this could change), the truth is that you are more likely to die in a car accident on your way to work than you are from any of these other concerns.

In many cases I see people who fear that they are not financially stable enough to do the things they dream of doing. Perhaps that is true, but more often than not when we draw up financial projections for people it shows that not only can they achieve their goals, but we can also start on exceeding them. For those that aren't quite there financially, there is nothing more freeing than having a plan that will help you to get where you need to be to live free.

How will you know when you are ready?

Listen, as always I am not suggesting you completely ignore your responsibility for your future but I am suggesting that you need to have a list, or even a dream board, for everything you want to do in your life. From there, you need to know which priorities are ahead of others both short and long term. Don't hold back on this, it's big picture time and those big hairy audacious goals are what is going to separate average and exceptional.

There are a million reasons to not do things and there are new excuses which come up every year. To my best knowledge we only get one shot at this life and so accepting what is average in my opinion is just not good enough. Exceptional lives are within reach and it only requires a little bit of planning and a lot of openness to opportunity in order to achieve it. Make 2020 the year that you tick off at least a few items from the bucket list, I promise you that you won't regret it.

- Grant White, CIM, CFP

Grant White is a Portfolio Manager/Investment Advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management with Industrial Alliance Securities Inc, an award-winning office as recognized by the Carson Group. Together with his partners he provides comprehensive wealth management planning for business owners, professionals and individual families.

This information has been prepared by Grant White who is a Portfolio Manager for Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. (iA Securities) and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of iA Securities. The information contained in this newsletter comes from sources we believe reliable, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy or reliability. The opinions expressed are based on an analysis and interpretation dating from the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. Furthermore, they do not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any of the securities mentioned. The information contained herein may not apply to all types of investors. The Portfolio Manager can open accounts only in the provinces in which they are registered.