“Ego kills knowledge, as knowledge requires learning, and learning requires humility.” -Rolsey
In this video, Mike Brady, founder of Generosity Wealth Management, dives into the profound role humility plays in financial planning, especially as the year comes to a close. Reflecting on decades of experience, Mike emphasizes that “that which seems so very obvious sometimes does not play out the way that we think it will.” With the future inherently unknown, he encourages viewers to stay grounded, avoid emotional decision-making, and focus on long-term goals and risk tolerance. By filtering out the noise and distractions from pundits, politics, and market hype, you can approach your financial journey with clarity and confidence. Watch to discover how humility can guide your decisions and help you prepare for the opportunities and uncertainties of the year ahead.
Trasncript
Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive full service financial services firm here in Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado. But I’ve got clients all over the United States.
Today, I want to talk about humility. I usually discuss this once a year because I think it is so important. When I talk about humility, I’m talking about the future. We don’t know the future–it is inherently unknown.
So one of the big things that I like to watch out for, or when someone, whether it’s a pundit on TV, whether or not it is a newspaper article, or whether or not it’s another person that I’m talking to, is talking with a level of confidence that they shouldn’t have because it’s about the future. Well, we know that this is going to happen. This is absolutely going to happen. From a financial point of view, we’re going to have this recession. This policy is going to be bad. I think that it’s going to be really not good. I know it will be a disaster next year, and we’re going to have all kinds of volatility.
That’s where I start to discount whatever the person says. Because knowing anything about the future is impossible. You might feel very strongly, you might have a high probability, hey, I believe that this is what’s going to happen. But we also have to have the humility that we could be wrong. I’m absolutely certain unless I’m wrong.
And as I look back at my life, I’m 55 years old. Some of the things that I was so certain of turned out not to be true. Some positions that I had 30 years ago, I have changed over the last 30 years. I mean, if I was the same person today at 55 that I was at 25 or at 20, how boring would that be? I would not have grown as a human being or as a person if I hadn’t at least refined certain beliefs or certain things that I hold true, which have changed a little bit.
But the reason why I bring this up is at the end of the year, and especially as we think about politics with our investments, we’ve got to divorce the two. I think that that’s really important. I have been advising clients for over 33 years at this point. It’s remarkable that when one political party gets into the White House, the other party is certain that the next four years are going to be horrible. And the other way around, okay, it’s remarkable. And neither of which turns out to be true. I remember when the big upset, the first time that Trump won over Hillary Clinton, that I heard people talking absolutely with conviction. “Well, you know, it’s obviously going to be very volatile. How are we going to handle all the volatility?” “This is absolutely what’s going to happen.” And if you look back, 2017 was one of the least volatile years we’ve had in the last 10 years. I don’t say that that will be the case going forward. I don’t know since it’s about the future once again, but I use it as an example of let’s have some humility. That which seems so very obvious sometimes does not play out the way that we think it will.
One of the most important things that we should have as investors is to know what our goals are. What is it that we’re trying to shoot for? Meaning, what’s our 5, 10, 20, or what’s our financial goals? What are we trying to do in life? What’s our duration? What’s our time horizon to get there? And what level of risk allows me to get there, but also allows me to stay with it without trying to change it every month or every quarter, or for me to listen to people on the news or read something, et cetera, who are trying to excite my emotions, not necessarily to inform me.
I think that’s really important as well about humility is understanding the objectives of the people who are talking to me so that I can filter it. I’m the. I’m the hearer. I can take all the data in. It doesn’t mean that it’s God’s truth. It doesn’t mean that it’s absolutely going to play out the way whoever it is that’s saying it or writing it says it will. I’ve got to listen and use my own judgment on that, but also gauge them and what their objective is. Are they here to inform me, or are they here to excite me? And I think that, especially in emotional and political environments, we can get ourselves all worked up if we allow ourselves to.
I have recommended that no one make any changes due to the election. I have said this for the first, you know, 10 months, 11 months of the year, and I’m saying this now. We just got done with November. Remarkably, it was the best month of the entire year for the unmanaged stock market index, the S & P 500. And do I think that it would be different if the other candidate had won. No, I don’t. Okay, I’m just going to tell you that right off the bat.
Let’s divorce what our pundits are telling us and what we believe, you know? We have to have some humility. As we go forward from our investments, we stay with our duration, we stay with our plan, we stay with the level of risk that allows us to stay with that plan. And we don’t get distracted by who won this election, and that election–this particular policy or that particular policy.
It is about the future, and it is inherently unknown. And we don’t know the future. And anyone who says they do know it with conviction, discount them.
That’s all I’m saying. Mike Brady. Generosity Wealth Management offices in Boulder and Fort Collins. Always love to hear from you. Hope you have a wonderful December.
At the end of December, beginning of January, I’ll have a more technical outline, rehash of 2024. And as we look into 2025. So have a wonderful, wonderful month.