Your Survival Guy

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HELLO: “How’s It Going? I Don’t Know Anything”

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By Hrytsiv Oleksandr @ Shutterstock.com

“How’s it going?” I ask.

“Good,” he replies. “I don’t know anything.”

And with that, I know he’s good because he’s been telling me that for twenty years now. Now, I can assure you when he says he “don’t know anything,” he knows quite a bit. Because you see, he quit a lucrative job in his 30s to go to medical school simply to try his hand at being a doctor. He, we’ll call him Doc now, is still working part-time as a doctor in his 70s.

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When telling me the story, his brother-in-law, also a client, tells me Doc’s the smartest guy he’s ever met. Another client, the brother-in-law’s best friend, concurs, “Yeah, Doc’s as smart as they come.”

After spending time with Doc in Newport and talking to him regularly, I see the intelligence. And when he says, “I don’t know anything,” I know we’re just talkin’.

One of my favorite parts about working with you is we’re always “just” talkin’.” Your way of talkin’ is your way of talkin’, and yes, you have phrases that make me smile because I know you’re being you. It’s what makes this whole thing called a relationship, a relationship.

With all the noise out there, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of it all and to begin to wonder about what you’re doing. I know this. Because it’s what you tell me. That’s life.

In speaking with thousands of investors just like you, not one of my conversations has ever been the same. Period. Yes, every day we’re a little bit older, and decisions we made months or years ago aren’t always relevant today. And that’s OK. But it would be a shame to react without thinking about what you’re doing or talking it through.

Action Line: Sometimes it’s in times like these, you need someone to hear you out. Someone who knows your name simply by the way you say hello. We should probably talk.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
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