Ronda Rousey Gives Investors A Lesson In The Power of Perspective

by: Brendan Magee

With Ronda Rousey you have a remarkable young woman. She has accomplished more than a lot of people could ever dream of, and after losing her championship match against Holly Holm she said she was considering ending her life. Granted, no one expected her to lose her championship much less get knocked out, and few people go to work on such a large stage as she does. It's not difficult to imagine the despair she was feeling.

However, lets take a look at what Rousey had before the fight. She was powerful  and in better shape than most people walking the planet. She was famous, had wealth, was young, admired, respected, had a world of opportunities before her, was in a committed relationship, and was the champion of a sport that didn't even exist before she breathed life into it. Now except for the championship, after the fight she still had all of those things, and was considering taking her life. How powerful is perspective?

The same trap lies hidden for many investors mainly because it is never spoken about when it. There is plenty of talk about which stocks will be the winners and losers, and plenty of talk about whether the market will tank or not. You hear plenty about how the American way of life and the security your grandparents enjoyed is long gone. You never once hear a word about how quickly your perspective can get a hold of you and lead you down the path of destruction.

In a time of despair, Rousey's conclusion (story word be a better word for it) is that she is nothing if she is not the champ and no one gives a blank about her. Hence, pull the plug seems like the thing to do. Fortunately, she had people in the room with her and let her know that she was loved and had a lot to live for. Investors in their moments of despair are , usually, alone and have no one to come to their rescue.

The thing investors need to get is how vulnerable they are to their own perspective and how quickly it can overtake them. When your perspective has them in a hot state of mind is when they need the most help.

A five minute phone conversation might be the five minutes that saves a life and your portfolio. During that phone call, let the person know exactly how you feel (Do not sugar coat it.). Let them know exactly what you are thinking about doing and then ask "Am I seeing this right? Am I right to feel this way?" Odds are they will have a very different spin on what you are going through and the solutions you are considering. Make sure you are not calling to hear what you want to hear. Check your ego at the door. Could you imagine anyone agreeing with Rousey that thing to do after losing the fight was to take a bunch of pills and end it?

It would work pretty similarly in investing.

Unexpectedly an investor's portfolio goes down and a portfolio designed to fulfill on that person's true purpose for money if given the proper amount of time, is on the chopping block.

Investor-"I keep looking at my statements and am scared to death my portfolio will fade away to nothing if I don't do something. I keep watching the news and every one is telling me the market is way to shaky to have my investments there. I heard good things about these accounts that guarantee my investments against any stock market losses. I don't care that I will be selling low and locking in my losses forever. I have to do something."

Adviser-"Hi Mary. It's your money and can do what ever you want to do with it. Yes, the market is down and you are down about five percent at this point."

Investor-"Given what I was hearing on the television I thought I was down way more than that."

Adviser-"Don't you remember when we opened the account we only had about five percent of your money in U.S. Large Company Stocks. What the news is reporting is only on U.S. Large Company Stocks. You have your money in 39 countries around the world and in over 12,000 different companies.

"Remember we said that when  the parts of your portfolio went down we would sell off a portion of what stayed even or went up a little and what went down we would put a little money in those investments that were down so we were selling high buying low all the time?"

Investor-"I do remember that conversation. I also remember I said when that happened I wouldn't panic and pull the plug on this. You know what, I am feeling better about this. I just got so scared. Lets keep things as they are."

Perspective held in check. Investor saved and true purpose for money is still on track.

Good luck Ronda.

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