By Jessica Searcy Kmetty Personal development isn’t just about becoming a better person; it’s about working to become the best version of yourself—mentally, emotionally, and even financially. While many think of personal development as a path toward career growth or...
"You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." — Charlie "Tremendous" Jones Books are more than just pages bound together—they're gateways to new perspectives, skills, and possibilities. Each book on...
By Marc Shaffer My Journey with Pathway to Mastery® Beyond Professional Training to Meaningful Connections As a financial planner who has taken the Pathway to Mastery® course, I've discovered that this program is far more than just training. It is a transformative...
By Marc Shaffer The journey of leadership is one of continuous growth and learning, and I'm excited to share my enriching experience from this year's LEADERs Institute through Catalyst Development. This comprehensive leadership development program has not only...
By Marc C. Shaffer As a financial planner, I've always believed in the power of personal connection. Years ago, inspired by Brian Buffini's real estate coaching, I embraced the practice of sending handwritten notes. The impact was immediate and profound - clients,...
By Jessica Searcy Kmetty
I KNOW how to work out. I KNOW how to play tennis and lift weights. I KNOW how to run a business.
Knowing isn’t enough.
Ask the millions of people who are struggling with any number of issues and chances are they could rattle off 5-10 things they KNOW would change their situation for the better. And if you ask them how many of those 5-10 things they’re doing, the answer might be ZERO.
Knowing isn’t enough.
By Marc C. Shaffer
With a few short days left in my 30s, I’ve been reflecting on the choices young adults make in their 20s and 30s that can either set them up for success in their mid-life decades or could potentially set them up for failure. Here are a few potential mistakes I would talk about with people in this age group.
By Marc Shaffer
Our health is one of the most important things we have in life. It is vital for our ability to live – not to just be alive, but to actually LIVE.
There are many ways in which our health and wellness needs can be met, and the route you choose may be a mix of traditional and alternative medicines, exercises and practices.
Several studies have looked into the emotional and physical benefits of touch. How important is physical touch to you? In our isolated world, we might not realize how important physical touch is until we’ve been without it for some time. In fact, physical touch is designated as one of the five “Love Languages.”
By Jessica Searcy Kmetty
Financial planning is not a one and done process. While we have many discussions with clients about their goals during the development of their plan, we know that things will pop up along the way that can cause goals to change. In some cases, these are decisions that are made after personal reflection warrants a change. But sometimes, we are forced to change our goals.
Goal planning isn’t just present in financial planning. I’m sure many of you have personal goals that you’re hoping to achieve this year. We’re in a brand new decade, which means some personal goals you set may have been even BIGGER than normal as you looked toward a chance to start fresh and new, or were ready to make things happen that you’ve been pondering for some time.
One of the most well-known investors of the 20th Century, Benjamin Graham, said, “the investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself.”
What Graham understood – and modern research is catching up to – is the idea that we all have emotions and biases that affect our decision-making. The innate wiring built to survive premodern times can be counterproductive in our modern world, especially when it comes to investing.
Let’s take a quick look at a few of the human emotions and biases that can adversely impact sound investment decision-making.