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7am Saturday
December 28, 2019
Good morning! Welcome to the last Saturday of the decade! I hope you enjoyed Christmas. I am taking some time out of the office this week and it’s been a relaxing time with the family. Since I’ve been trying to take this week to truly rest and enjoy the season this week’s newsletter will be a bit different.
Market, Economy & Business Update
This week’s market and economy update will be on the lighter side, and much like last week as the market continues to hit new highs…
S&P 500: All-time high. Five straight weeks of gains.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: All-time high.
Nasdaq: All-time high. Hit 9,000 for the first time this week.
Bottom-line: Don’t let what you see on CNBC guide your investment decisions. A year ago today CNBC aired a “markets in turmoil” special with the S&P 500 having its worst December since the Great Depression. It closed that day at 2,489. Today the S&P 500 closed at 3,240, hitting its 35th all-time high of 2019. Total Return over the past year: +32.8%.
My 2010’s…
I’ve seen this going around on Twitter, so I thought I’d share mine with you:
👧 Nyla was born
👦 Jax was born 18 months later
✂️ No more kids…we love our family of 5😃
🐶 Tucker, an English Bulldog, joined our family
👩❤️👨 Celebrated 20 years of marriage
⛪ We began attending CedarCreek and made it our new church home
🇭🇳 I went to Honduras with a group from our church
🏘️ We sold a home and bought a home…3 times…becoming professional movers along the way
🏢 We moved our firm into a new (bigger) office
🛥️ We bought our first wake boat and then upgraded it as the whole family gets into water sports
🚙 I bought my first Jeep
🏋️♂️ Discovered CrossFit and two knee surgeries later discovered I am too old for CrossFit
🏐 Avery’s high school volleyball team won a State Championship
📈 We grew our firm from $27 Million in Assets Under Management to $175 Million in Assets Under Management (6.5X)
💼 Our team grew from 3 to 10 team members
🔮 We built the team, systems, and processes for a $1 Billion AUM firm that will serve over 1,000 families in the 2020s
It’s been an incredible decade and it seems every year just keeps getting better as each year compounds on those before it. This, by far, has been the best decade of my life. I can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring!
Looking Ahead…
I believe the next 10 years will be some of the most important of my life. Looking ahead my kids will be 16, 18, and 25 a decade from now. I like to look at life like that. Beginning with the end in mind always helps me be more intentional. These will be critical years for our kids and I hope to have a big influence on them these next 10 years.
Speaking of being intentional, this week I will take some time, as I do every year around this time, to review my Life Plan. I created my first Life Plan several years ago after reading Michael Hyatt’s book, Living Forward. I highly recommend this book if you want to be more intentional about living your best life. The book lays out a process for creating a written life plan and then reviewing it on a regular basis.
Someday, I will write more about the Life Planning process but for now here’s a quick summary:
- Begin with the end in mind: What would you want people to say at your own funeral?
- Define your priorities: What matters most?
- Decide what areas of your life you will focus on. Here are mine:
- Spritual
- Physical Health
- Spouse
- Kids
- Intellectual, Self-Development & Capabilities
- Career & Professional
- Financial
- Free Time & Hobbies
- Social & Friends
- Create an action plan for each area. This is where the time of reflection and intentional planning can help you get from where you currently are to where you want to be:
- What is your envisioned future?
- What is your current reality?
- What are your specific commitments?
The key is to review your written life plan regularly and update it as needed. I will admit that I did not look at mine enough in 2019. However, I think that it’s just part of me now that I’ve been doing it for several years. I am going to find a way to look at it along with my goals more frequently in 2020. I’m thinking quarterly. I need to put it on my calenar now so that I don’t forget as the year goes along.
How about you? Have you done anything like this? If so, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know what works for you.
Happy New Year,
Adam
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