Hey Steve,

Last weekend my three boys and I were able to go watch the professional tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California.

One of the highlights was to watch one of the players throw a temper tantrum after losing the first set by two points.

He yelled while smashing his racket to the ground over and over and over until it broke into pieces.

Below is the GIF of it. Hopefully it works for you.

I think we all have emotional triggers, whether it is anger, excitement, happiness, fear etc.

The most common emotion that new clients have before working with us is WORRY…

They are worried they are going to run out of money in retirement.

They are worried they aren’t going to be able to keep up with inflation.

They are worried that the market is going to crash and sweep away their hard earned savings.

They are worried that they are going to be paying too much in taxes.

And so on…

One of the reasons I love what we get to do is because we help our clients reduce the negative emotions that are tied to their retirement.

I can’t say that we can remove fear or worry…and I don’t think that would be healthy.

But I can say that we can help them “Sleep When the Wind Blows”

If you don’t know that reference, below is the short story I think you will enjoy.

 

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An old folk story tells of a farmer who was looking to hire a hand to help him in his daily work. 

A young man showed up in response to the job offering and the farmer looked at him pointedly and asked, “What can you do?”. Without missing a beat, the young man responded, “I can sleep when the wind blows.” 

The farmer was taken aback by his answer and proceeded to ask him for further qualifications for working on a farm and to each question the young man responded, “I can sleep when the wind blows.” 

Although this answer confused the farmer, no one else had applied for the job and the man appeared strong and able so he decided to give him a shot. Weeks went by and he was impressed by the work ethic of the young man, finding the lad well versed in all the duties of a farmhand. 

One night, however, a huge storm kicked up long after they had gone to sleep. The farmer was awakened and rushed to the attic to wake the young man so they could get the farm locked down in order to minimize damage. He banged on the door to the little attic room and was met only with loud snoring. 

Frustrated, the farmer stomped down the stairs and set about to do the work himself. Firstly, he came to the big hay pile and was surprised to find it covered in a tarp which was weighted down on all sides. He rushed to the barn to see about getting the animals inside and upon opening the doors found each animal in their proper stall, fed, and watered. The man stood in confusion and then it hit him. 

“I can sleep when the wind blows.” 

The young man went to sleep each night fully prepared for whatever may come, allowing him to sleep peacefully. 

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If you aren’t confident that you can “sleep when the wind blows” as it relates to your retirement simply reply to this email and we will find a time to set up a no-obligation discovery call and see if we can be of service.