There’s a moral component to self-directed investing… and the gravity of that component outweighs every other factor of success.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you about that overlooked dimension of financial success right now in Episode 188.

----

Hello, SDI Nation.  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!  Get ready for another dose of predictably profitable thinking!

Folks, I can tell you right now… some of you will be offended by the content of this show.  I regret that, but I’ve got to share this with you anyway.

There’s a concept that’s long been popular among business people and self-motivated types:  Clarity.  Clarity, they say, is the key to making your hopes and dreams come true.  Without clarity about your goals, you don’t really have a goal.  Without clarity about your strategies, you can never implement those strategies.  Without clarity about your purpose, you have no purpose.  But with clarity comes true purpose… and an amazing alignment of intent and interest and focus happens to create the results you seek.

All of those things are true.  Absolutely, 100% undeniably true.

But my friends, there’s something that matters more… a logical level up from “clarity”…

That level up is MORALITY.  That level up is realizing that there is such a thing as right and wrong, and that making wrong choices has impact far beyond the narrow circumstance where the wrong choice is made.

What kinds of moral choices am I talking about?  Well, I’m glad you asked.

Look… it’s EVERYTHING.  From the choice among absolute honesty to little white lies to outright deception.  It’s everything from the choice among perfect faithfulness to your spouse to the questionable wink, nod or kiss all the way to downright infidelity.  It’s everything from the choice among being a good steward of your capital to the occasional splurge all the way to utter theft.  Every moral choice has a continuum ranging from ideal to absolute wretchedness.  And the older I get, the more I’m convinced that there’s just not room for gray areas.  The only right choice is the one that’s entirely right… the one that would stand up well in view of your loved ones… it’s the choice that would stand you in good stead if you’re standing before God.

Lest you think I’m preaching against you, I’m not.  To be very clear, I’ve made many, many poor choices myself and am not suggesting otherwise.  I’m speaking to you as a profoundly fallible human just like you, not as an exalted saint, which I am not.  Today’s commentary is not about judgment of anyone… except maybe myself.  But today’s commentary is my encouragement, even my imploring of you to get it RIGHT morally… and do it day in and day out. 

Why are we discussing morality on a show for affluent self-directed investors?

It’s very simple, really:  Remember that “clarity” thing?  You can NOT have clarity with morality.  Morality opens your field of vision.  Morality allows you to see things as they really are.

And seeing things as they really are… that is the very essence of clarity.  And clarity is the basis upon which sound decisions are made.

If you’re not absolutely committed to doing the RIGHT THING in your life… both related to and totally apart from your investments, you begin to have FALSE CLARITY.  Your mental faculties become clouded.  It’s not that you can’t make decisions or be certain… it’s that your decisions and your certainty are based on a TINY SUBSET of reality because at the end of the day, moral failings make our scope of vision much narrower and shallower.

There’s a TV commercial for the allergy medicine Claritin that illustrates this very well.  The commercial opens with a shot of a lovely nature scene and all seems well.  You could see that there was a lovely mountain and some mountain climbers getting ready for their ascent.  You could see that the sky was blue and it was a beautiful day.  You could see people smiling and happy.  And you’ve got a clear picture of what’s happening… and it’s all good.  But then a film is ripped away from the screen… and it’s clear that your vision has been obscured the entire time… only you didn’t know it.  You could see only a shell of what was actually there, with all the important details thoroughly obscured.  You could see the mountain, but you couldn’t see the contours of or crevices in the mountain.  You could see that there were mountain climbers with ropes, but you couldn’t see the stitching on the climbing ropes.  You could see the faces of the mountain climbers and their equipment… but you couldn’t really make out any of the details.

And here’s the thing… you didn’t even know those details were there… that you had missed the entirely… until that film was torn away.  It’s not just that you missed the details… it’s that you didn’t know those details existed.  Those details were wholly invisible before than film was ripped away.

That film is like the residue that accumulates from a life filled with immoral choices.  It clouds your vision, leaving you able to see less… while giving you the impression that you’re seeing all there is to be seen.

This is not a suggestion that immoral people cannot be profitable as investors.  That’s certainly not the case.  Anybody can be lucky.  And frankly, immoral people have a proclivity towards being – or at least appearing – very successful in the short term.  Bernie Madoff, anyone?

But at the end of the day, I believe sincerely, and believe more every day, that morality… which I define as doing the obviously RIGHT THING… well, I am pretty sure that the more fundamentally moral a person’s life is, the more likely they are to be able to make wise decisions… including wise decisions about their money.

You know, this requirement to DO THE RIGHT THING is particularly true for self-directed investors.  That’s because you and I get more involved in our portfolios, and thus there’s more opportunity to be fast and loose with details, or to maybe take advantage of a counter party or an endless number of other things that, while maybe even wholly legal, are also clearly wrong.

Do the right thing, my friends.  Always do the right thing.  And when you don’t do the right thing for whatever reason, go back and make it right, right away.

Doing the right thing, the GOOD thing, the MORAL thing… and doing that every day… it’s that which leads to the clarity to allow you to see the contours of the investment landscape, the crevices in your asset selection and the real opportunity – or the real danger – lurking just around the corner.

My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.