Par? Hole-in-One? 10 over Par?
A day of golf is always an interesting day. Several times a year it is my joy to sponsor a Golf Tourna-ment for some worthy non-profit organizations. I might have 4 to 40 players that enjoy a game on me. Whether the golfer's skill level is excellent or classified as a "hacker", everyone has a good time – that's what the sport is really all about!
But, the expectations vs. the results is a story to be told. I have witnessed golfers with a "5 handicap" have a bad day – they were expecting to play par or under, but for whatever reason (a blister on the hand, a knee acting up, a disturbing family phone call earlier in the day – whatever the reason), a drive didn't stay in the fairway but sliced into the woods! Or, the first stroke off the tee landed on the green 7' from the hole but a birdie went out the win-dow as the putt went around the hole and rolled down the hill all the way to the rough!
He was expecting a Par or better game score, but ended with 12 strokes over par. His results didn't match what was expected.
On the other hand, I've witnessed a 2-3 year "hacker" have a good drive to the green – and then stand amazed to see the ball roll mysteriously into the hole for a "hole-in-one"! I've actually had that experience.
Expectations vs. Results! Sometimes these two do not mirror each other.
What should you "expect" your future lifestyle to be? What's the basis of your projection for your future security? … or the future security of your lov-ing spouse, should one precede the other in death
I've listened to many public speakers, financial ana-lysts, authors of best-selling novels, and I have not found one that totally agrees with the other's projec-tions for the next 8, 10, 20 years. Sitting in a large public meeting (August 2014), I heard Dave Ram-sey say "put your long-term money in a well-diversified portfolio and you can expect a 12% re-turn". I cringed when I heard that and I think Ram-sey is a smart and quality guy. Others, such as Jeremy Siegal (Stocks for the Long Run) tells us that the long-term rate of return after inflation for U.S. stocks has been 7%. Others have projected that, evaluating the current economic environment, a better expectation for the next 10 years is a real return of 5%.
What are you expecting? Is your future income stream based on a 5%, 7%, or 12% return?
Are you expecting to have a "par" game return for the rest of your life?
No one likes uncertainties – not the market, not a family or individual, not your own individual portfolio. But, one certainty we must accept is that "uncer-tainties" are certain to happen in the future! We have labeled this situation as the "New Normal".
So, to bring more certainty into our future lifestyles, one must have a Plan – then analyze this Plan all along the journey. Don't just sit back and hope for the best. Surprises are certain – a Plan that is structured for uncertainties will bring more certainty into your game.
Long Term – there must be a Plan in place!! Plan for the expected…prepare for the unexpected.
Surprises? They will appear.
Will it be next month? Next quarter? Next year? I don't know. I do know there will be surprises for us sometime in the future.
Are you ready?
Are you disillusioned about your expectations?
Is your future convoluted with daydream expecta-tions?
Is there, or will there be, a gap between your expec-tations and the final results?
Close the gap!
Meet with a professional that can guide you in blue-printing your future Lifestyle and Legacy – and mon-itoring the design to buffer the surprises and uncer-tainties that will arise.