Four simple rules for navigating life, finance, and business

Photo Credit: Jean-Frederic Fortier https://unsplash.com/@jffortier

In my travels and experience, I’ve come across a few people who ask my advice on “life planning” - whether it be business, finance, or personal.  Invariably, they are currently experiencing events that have taken them by surprise.  My first retort, although cryptic, is always:

“Stop looking down”

I learned this valuable life lesson while learning to ski in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Courtney and I booked a personal instructor (we’ll call him Teddy) for the day, and as with all new skiers, we began on the kiddie run.  After learning the basics, we started out on a novice trail with wide expanses of snow.  My first few runs, however, were not as smooth as I would have imagined given all the “kiddie slope” training we’d just experienced.  After following me around for a few meters, my ski instructor stopped me and said “your technique looks good, but you gotta stop looking down.”  The best way to get through an entire ski run on your feet is, not surprisingly, to look at the path ahead instead of your skis.  That way, you can focus on staying on the good snow, avoiding the big obstacles, and successfully completing your run.

For reasons I still can’t explain, that conversation made an outsized impression on me.  In the following months, I began to see examples in my own life where I was unsure of my skill level…which caused me to look down and focus on “not stumbling”, and in turn, kept me from charting a proper path that guaranteed success in my endeavors.  Once I regularly applied the things Teddy taught me to life’s “situations”, success became a foregone conclusion.

Thus, my curt advice to “stop looking down” is usually followed by the above story and four simple rules for navigating most situations in life, finance, and business effectively.

#1 Make sure your foundation is solid

Turn the basics into instincts.

People tend to jump headfirst into projects and experiences without having a high level of confidence in their ability to execute. Notice I didn’t say capability; plenty of people are highly competent, but still constantly ask themselves “am I doing this correctly?”  That’s why I always recommend beginning your journey by turning the basics into instincts.

This usually means that you need to build your foundation to a level at which you are comfortable handling at least 80% of the “curve balls” that will inevitably be thrown at you.  Building your foundation can mean several things - for example:

In life:  Make sure you’ve chosen the right partner and friends to make the journey with you.  From there, your relationships will thrive and flourish as long as you put in the work.

In finance:  Make sure you have a solid understanding of basic economics, and know the impact of your spending and savings.

In business:  Make sure your job aligns with your purpose (i.e., the thing you were “born to do”), which allows you to be guided by your instincts rather than relying solely on your brain power.

Once you can do this, you should never have to “look down at your feet” again.  In other words, you’ve done the work to ensure basic survival, success, and happiness.  Now, it’s time to plan your journey.

#2 Stay on the “good snow”

Chart your journey.

This step is all about charting your journey.  On a ski slope, as in life, it is relatively easy to find a path to success as long as you’re paying attention to the landscape. 

Where do you want to go?  If you are working at a “9-5 job” and you really want to be an entrepreneur, then select experiences and opportunities (and even employers) that will get you closer to your end goal.  You are taking in information holistically now; you will have enough time to plan for success and adjust if necessary.  There is absolutely no need to make rash decisions.

Let’s say you simply want to become financially independent.  Utilize your solid financial foundation to first create a “safety net” that allows you to take calculated risks; then focus your brainpower to create the income streams and investments necessary to achieve your goal.  Standard tools, such as an Investment Policy Statement come in very handy here.

Your challenge here is to rely on your foundational expertise and allow your brain to focus on finding the  most likely path to your success.

#3 Avoid the big obstacles

Understand potential setbacks and develop alternative routes.

Nothing in this life has a guarantee attached.  There are often random “gotchas” thrown our way that may cause us to deviate from our pre-planned path.  These things are going to happen, whether they be in the form of a financial setback, a health-related one, or an event that negatively impacts our business.  Luckily, most of the obstacles we face are massive and highly visible - much like a tree or a boulder on a ski trail. 

It is extremely important to understand the location and probability of potential setbacks, so as to develop alternative routes to success.  This advance planning allows us to be better prepared to deal with truly unforeseeable events.

Using personal finance as an example; market downturns are a natural part of economic cycles - therefore it makes sense to develop a plan to alter your fiscal behavior and activities during these phases.  Doing so will help to preserve capital and allow you to take advantage of rare opportunities.  Job loss, on the other hand, is often unexpected.  However, the same capital preservation planning you performed in preparation for a downturn will help ensure financial stability as you begin your search for other sources of income.

#4 Successfully complete your run

Never abandon your journey.

This one should be obvious, but it’s not.  If you decide to stop skiing halfway down the mountain, you’re not partially finished; you are simply stranded on a mountain.  Many of us begin endeavors that we do not finish, which expends unnecessary energy and leaves us in a worse place than we started from.  Once you view life from the above perspective, you will begin to realize the importance of completing your run.  

If you’ve followed the key steps and built a solid foundation of skills and expertise, plotted your journey and planned for likely obstacles; you are more than equipped to ensure a successful ending to your “run” each and every time.

The most important advice I can give anyone about their life’s path is to make sure you want to be on the particular path you’re on.  “Have you thought about why you’re here?” is a question that comes to mind.  Stated another way; before you begin any journey in life, it is imperative to make sure you understand your purpose.  It is exemplified by the things you do without prompting, and the characteristics you have that cause others to seek you out.  Understanding your purpose makes your journey obvious.  With a little confidence and planning, the rest is easy.

AZF Strategic Consulting was founded to help you connect with your purpose, and to bring your life’s work into alignment with that purpose.  If you’d like to chat with us, please send us a note and tell us about yourself and your needs.

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