If you’ve ever driven a car in Italy you will know that the landscape can be breathtaking, but as the driver you need to be aware of the fairly common potholes along the way. When there is a pothole or some other road damage, the road crews will put up a pretty good-sized barricade that…
During my time as a financial advisor and a father of a large family, I have learned a thing or two about managing money. I’m not talking about the technical things you learn in school. I’m talking about the real practical learning that comes from doing and observing. I have been blessed to learn from…
Ten years ago, a normally cheerful couple came to my office in an unusually solemn mood. After some prodding they confided that they feared their only son may one day try to take their assets while they were still living, and asked if there was anything I could do to help. The conversation was difficult…
It’s a new year and it feels like a great time to think about the future. There is often no better way to plan our future than to begin with a lesson or two from the past. I remember in Elementary school how excited we all were when the teacher showed up with a projector.…
This year’s new college football playoff schedule is certain to bring some exciting games. We’ve already seen several great games during the regular season with the Miami/Cal game standing out as one of them. Trailing badly in the third quarter 35-10, Miami seemed to be on the ropes and heading towards a disappointing loss, but…
On January 15, 2009, US Airways 1549 departing LaGuardia airport hit a flock of geese, causing the extremely rare loss of both engines. What followed became known as the Miracle on the Hudson in which all 155 people on board miraculously survived, although the geese didn’t fare quite so well. The recent movie “Sully” has…
While going through some old boxes I stumbled across my investment research records going back to the 80’s. I found dozens of notebooks on which I had written down my daily market trades. Every page was filled with stock ticker symbols and pricing, as well as the financial results of each transaction. A flood of…
While hiking in Switzerland years ago, Launa and I were surprised to see someone jump from a nearby cliff wearing what we later learned was called a wing-suit. Just before hitting the ground, the jumper pulled a small parachute and landed on his feet to great excitement from a nearby crowd. This was followed by…
Americans have always had a soft spot for the underdog. Our natural compassion leads us to cheer for those who face great adversity and yet are still willing to put everything on the line, even when they know their chances of success are low. This may be partly due to our own historical underdog status…
I was in Salt Lake City this week for a large event. Tens of thousands of people had come to town and the city was quite crowded. As I stood at my window on the 7th floor I looked down at the heavy traffic on the street below. The sidewalks were full, the crosswalks were…