Guns, San Bernardino, & Investing- We Have The Power

Guns, San Bernardino &; Investing- We Have The Power

by: Brendan Magee

Finding the words to put San Bernardino in a proper and justifiable context is just about impossible. Since Friday a week ago, I have been scared, angry, frustrated, saddened. I can't imagine what would cause someone to pick up a gun and kill 14 of their neighbors, friends, and coworkers. I can't imagine the pain of your loved one not walking through the door at night all because they attended a Christmas party that turned into mass murder.

Like it was at 9/11, I am asking a lot of questions where there doesn't seem to be any answers that make sense. How or who do we need to turn to make sure things like this never happen again? At times like these it is easy to feel powerless. To gain perspective, I often turn to the experience of others who dealt directly with overwhelming circumstances.

I just got done reading a book, The Price of Courage, which documents the German invasion of France during World War II and how a French family dealt with the occupation of Paris. Two sisters and a brother risked everything to serve in the French Resistance. They endured the constant threat of being discovered as agents of the Resistance and the instant death sentence that would bring. The brother even endured and survived being thrown in Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Where most of the country wouldn't, this family took responsibility and said no to the loss of their country and liberty to Nazi Germany. Ordinary citizens who took responsibility for themselves and their country.

We tend to forget just how powerful we truly are. Some times it is easier not to assume responsibility. I do not know whether or not it falls on deaf ears or not, but when I begin to coach someone on their investments, I start out by telling them that what ever success they achieve or failure they suffer it will be a direct result of what it is they do or don't do, what they allow or do not allow to be done with their money.

Take some of the most sinister and devastating investment scandals of our time. Bernie Madoff could not have stolen $65 billion unless the people who invested with him said yes to what ever it was he was offering them. On a much less sinister scale, over the past 20 years investors would not have underperformed the stock market, by half, if they had not continually sold low bought high. If they would have maintained the discipline to stick to a prudent strategy they'd be doubling their money roughly every seven years according to the available statistics. No matter how complex or overwhelming the situation, it usually boils down to very simplistic decisions.

So as we grapple with the next few weeks of the tragedy in San Bernardino or , with what pales in comparison, our portfolios, pray for the victims, their families, the people who will be left to take care of them, our leaders, and yourself. Pray that you will have the courage to do what you know is the right thing to do, even when it seems as if you can't.

God Bless America!

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. With questions or comments e-mail brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322.