Centuries ago mathematicians figured out the shortest path between two points is a straight line. In life we often make plans that, in the beginning, may seem straightforward, but along the way encounter a multitude of ups and downs that require us to change course. Simply put – life happens.
Some plans are modest in nature. Think about it. How many times does your family day at a local festival, a trip to the park, or a shopping excursion to the mall pan out as expected? On a grander scale how many times have your family vacations turned out exactly as expected? How many hours did you spend trying to make it “perfect” just to have someone’s sudden illness, injury or sunburn force changes to be made.
Major life events are planned as well. These are our most treasured moments and we want them to play out a certain way, right? We dedicate our lives to developing our careers, getting married, and having children, but we also must overcome challenges and “dark times” such as confronting illness, facing divorce or losing a job.
Ask anyone you know who is at or near retirement age – – did you have a plan in your 20’s that resembles how/when/where you ultimately retired? Our experience is that very few can say yes. Even asking the same question, but referencing their 30’s or 40’s, is likely to get the same answer.
Life happens. We are all in constant motion and along the way things will always happen. Ask any pilot how many corrections they have to make after takeoff to keep their plane safely on course. Cross winds, storms, wind speeds, etc. all force them to correct their course, but they’ll also caution against overcorrecting. This causes lost time, energy and precious resources (fuel).
Having a plan for your major life events is important, but so is tracking your progress towards those stated goals. Measuring, monitoring and correcting your actions is how you can effectively and efficiently reach your goals. Many of our clients realized lack of time, complicated circumstances and mixed information from the financial “news” created a challenging situation for them to handle it all on their own.
At Odyssey we accept that life is a journey, and we encourage our clients, with our guidance, to navigate it wisely. They benefit, and maybe you could too, from our collaborative approach to goal definition, problem solving and the implementation of sound financial strategies that meet life’s ever-changing needs.