“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…” – Henry David Thoreau
In the end, like Henry, our clients want favorable outcomes. What are these and why are they important? In our business a favorable outcome may be a comfortable retirement, college education for our children and grandchildren, protection for our loved ones in case of disability or death, a well funded emergency fund or a number of other specific goals. These are all long term outcomes. Today, there is too much focus on the moment and on disruptive events than on these long term needs of families. As advisors we need to help our clients not be victimized by short term circumstances but rather use these events as springboards for long term wealth accumulation.