My copy of the masterpiece, Dante’s Inferno, is in Italian, so I will attempt to translate into English the sign that hung above the gates of hell in that poem. It said, “Leave behind all hope, you who enter here.” To Dante, the loss of hope was the loss of everything.
I thought of that poem during a call from our son Jayden. He is currently serving a two year church mission in England. Normally he spends his days out among the people. For several weeks he has been quarantined in his apartment, allowed to leave for only one hour per day. Jayden is 19 so imagine how a teenager might respond to being indoors 23 hours a day with no video games or movies and a very limited selection of music. Add in the current world health crisis and being in a foreign country away from family, and you can imagine how stressful it could potentially be.
Yet, when we spoke to him he was just as happy and optimistic as he has always been. Jayden has always looked for the good in life and in the midst of a world crisis, he is still finding it. He is finding new joy in reaching out to people by phone and through social media, people who are appreciative of his concern as they endure their own isolations.
I realized as I was listening to him that the world of the future, the one that is being molded during this pandemic, will be much more his world than mine. The immediate health risk of the virus more directly affects older generations, but the longer term social and economic effects of the crisis will likely have a greater effect on the younger ones. In light of this, it was refreshing to see that Jayden’s vision of the current and future world remains filled with hope and optimism.
After our conversation I wondered what investing advice I could share with my readers. Even though it may not fit into any textbook financial strategy, my message would be one of hope. Jayden has always lived with the belief that nothing good comes from being negative. No happiness results from complaining.
Our country has faced many disasters and we have a 100% track record of overcoming them. Let that sink in for a minute. We have also come out of each of them stronger, better, and with a brighter future. I have full confidence in maintaining our perfect record as we overcome and then emerge from the current challenge.
As an investor it is useful to note that in past economic crises, it is usually true that things begin to turn around just when they seem at their worst. Thus the Wall Street axiom, “Sell the rumor, buy the news.” In other words, the time to sell is when it looks like it might be bad. The time to buy, is when it is bad. Don’t be one of those investors who gives up hope just before the new day starts to dawn.
Wyson Financial | Wealth Management in Southern Utah
Financial Planning and Investments
