What are the CORE BELIEFS of the true self-directed investor? This isn’t a touchy-feely notion. When it comes to the financial security of yourself, your family, of future generations… and of the world-changing causes you believe in, your CORE BELIEFS as a self-directed investor…. What are they? Or rather, what should they be? I’m Bryan Ellis. Let’s talk it through right now in Episode 165.
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Hello, SDI Nation. Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!
So, folks, I’ve usually got a very clear idea of where I want to go with a show before I start it.
Today… I’ve got an inkling, but not perfect clarity.
Here’s the deal… There are certain core issues that bind people like me and you together. Or, maybe not. That’s really the issue. I want to find the words that get to the commonalities that will be like a bright-shining beacon in the night to those who understand self-directed investing – and the opportunities and responsibilities of wealth – in the same way I do.
You see, I want to create – I will create – a “platform” for Self-Directed Investors… a set of core beliefs… things that are central, primary and unquestionably true for all of us… almost like a statement of faith, albeit not requiring faith at all… a statement of the things that bind us together.
And even as I say these words to you, the right term to describe it has come to me: a manifesto.
I will create a manifesto for the self-directed investor. I’ve got some clear ideas about what should be part of that manifesto right now… and some parts of it are developing still.
Here are some definite things to be a part of it… none of them yet well worded, but important each one:
As Self Directed Investors, our most core principle is that we RESPECT our capital. Risk is our ENEMY.
We are open to opportunity but very rigid on principles.
One of those principles is the SIMPLE, SAFE and STRONG mantra I repeat for you over and over again. We recognize that our investments must be simple – because complexity hides risk. Our investments must be safe because, again, we eschew risk. And our investments must produce STRONG results, because at the end of the day, unacceptable returns are just another form of RISK that must be avoided.
So yes… every investment we take must be simple and safe and strong. No exceptions. But those criteria can have different means at different stages of life. Risk that’s acceptable once you’re already financially independent is very different than risk that’s acceptable while you’re still in building mode. Simplicity means something different when you’re investing $100,000 to buy a rental property versus if you’re a billionaire with the capital to do a huge acquisition and to commission thorough due diligence by professionals.
That’s what I mean… we’re open to opportunity, but rigid on principles.
Another thing about us… we’re unapologetically seekers of profit, and we have the strength of character to realize that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
And we’re protective of that profit and the principal that bore it. That capital is the fruit of our labor… the results of our wise decision making… indeed, our just due. And so we do everything the law allows to shield it from risk.
We recognize that the biggest risk to our capital isn’t actually bad investment decisions… it’s actually far more fundamental than that: Taxes. We believe in paying our fair share, and we always do. But we will, without shame or apology, do everything we can to make sure that our fair share is as small as possible. At a core level, we believe that government wastes money… and it’s worst when the money they waste is ours.
We also recognize that we’ve got to protect our capital from the wealth vampires who prefer to use the legal system to steal from us. So we – with regret, and against our own will – will spend time and money necessary to make sure that what we’ve worked so hard to achieve can’t be easily taken from us by greedy lawyers bending the law to suit themselves.
But it’s not just about accumulating and protecting our money. For self directed investors, investing has a purpose beyond mere profit. Indeed, a purpose for the profit.
First is, unapologetically, to provide for the needs of our immediate families and ourselves. We want the best for our families: Safe homes, food to eat, fine educations and wonderful opportunities. These are the people we love… the people whose lives have been entrusted to us. It is our job to provide for them, and we do so with unwavering abandon.
But for us, there’s more.
There’s both the FUTURE of our families… and there’s the PRESENT reality of those in need outside of our loved ones.
So we structure our affairs to pass on the assets we build to future generations. We fully intend for our spouses, our children, our children’s children and our special loved ones to benefit from that which we leave behind.
Much of what we leave behind will be financial. But as self-directed investors, we realize that there’s far more than just money. So we work aggressively to convey the intellectual capital generated through lifetimes of wise stewardship.
Whether that intellectual capital is as simple as a secret family recipe for banana bread… or it’s as substantive as a long-standing banking or business relationship… these things are important. They matter to us, as self-directed investors. These are the things that make us who we are, much more than any amount of capital.
And there’s purpose for our profit in the present day, too. Because we recognize that the blessings of wealth carry with it a responsibility to be a blessing to others. It’s not a one-way street. We are not a dead-end for wealth, where it reaches a point and continues to grow but never leaves again. No… we’re more like a funnel, focusing resources where they need to go to make the biggest impact.
And those choices… of where the “deepest impact” can be made… those choice are deeply personal to us. We are not fickle. We do not let the shifting sands of public opinion or the waywardness of political correctness influence our commitment to the causes which we hold dear. We listen to that voice inside that tells us where to go and what to do with the blessings of our success.
At the core of it all for self-directed investors is one word: Stewardship. We recognize that we are blessed… we recognize that there’s a power involved far beyond our own power… and while we all may not agree exactly what or Who that power is, we all know it’s much bigger than we are… and that living wisely leads to financial blessing… and those financial blessings lead to the greatest wealth we can imagine: The wealth of generosity.
That, my friends, is what I believe it means to be a self-directed investor.
If you have any thoughts to add, I’d REALLY love to hear from you. Can you share your thoughts with me on the website? Just got to SDIRadio.com/165 and leave a comment. That’s 165 because this is episode #165. Again, SDIRadio.com/165.
I look forward to writing all of this up in a cleaner, more concise way and sharing it with you as the Self-Directed Investor’s Manifesto.
My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever!
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