Well, the new year is upon us again. Last year at this time, I wrote about the importance of “Just Start” on your sustainable wealth-creation journey. After an outsized down year across most financial assets in 2022, many have been left disheartened with the economy and their finances—particularly regarding their goals of wealth.
However, history tells us that the path to sustainable wealth remains the same: Be an owner of high-quality businesses and maintain consistent and positive financial habits.
To this point, I began the journey of starting my own high-quality business over 12 months ago, towards the end of 2021, to focus on a large need I saw in the industry to help people live their best financial lives. My goal was to build the profitability of the business to the level of jobs I left behind within three to four years. By building and maintaining consistent positive habits, I was fortunate enough to accomplish well over 50% of this goal in 2022 alone while bringing on more than 30 great clients. While this is incredibly exciting and certainly worth celebrating, my work isn’t done.
Just as I imagine, your work towards your goals of personal wealth creation isn’t either.
Get Momentum on Your Side
If you’ve started on this path and are yet to see the results that you imagined, you’d be understandably dissuaded. The last 12 months most likely would have hurt your finances. So does this mean that you should give up? Well, if you are contemplating this, please remember:
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”—Winston Churchill
A new year has arrived, which means we get another chance to reflect, reassess and retake ownership. In this post, I want to focus on that last word. To achieve wealth, you should seek to own the best businesses that will generate wealth on your behalf—but this is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to take ownership of your finances, your behavior and how you plan to reach your goal.
2022 exposed many mistakes people have been making with their finances and investments in the previous years, which is OK, if we learn from this. Often attributed to Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. This applies to any number of things, including inaction and not learning from your mistakes. If you don’t make any changes or moves toward achieving your goals, you probably aren’t going to make them a reality. You need to take back control of your life and start moving in the direction that you need to. This includes taking ownership of your life and your goals.
One aspect of success that many overlook is momentum. We see this in all aspects of life, from sports to global markets. In sports, teams with momentum can use it to drive themselves to success or continue to fall down the ladder. Oftentimes, success breeds success, and the reverse is also true. If momentum isn’t swinging your way, you need to take steps to get it working in your favor once more. This is why the journey to wealth is often referred to as a “path” and not a step. It twists and turns, rises and falls, but typically the only way to arrive at your chosen destination is to stay on the path.
I can’t promise that the path to wealth is an easy one. It certainly wasn’t for me, or anyone else who has taken a similar path.
After all, anything that is truly worth having in life is never easy to obtain—otherwise, everyone would have it!
Uncapped Earning Potential
Another key trend in 2022 was inflation. It reached levels around the world not seen for more than 40 years1, as governments and federal banks attempted to grapple with the events brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This past November, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered insight into the role that wages play in inflation rates in a speech he made at the Brookings Institute2 when he stated:
“To be clear, strong wage growth is a good thing. But for wage growth to be sustainable, it needs to be consistent with 2% inflation.”
No need to read between the lines here: The key to controlling inflation is controlling wages. In short, your earning potential is in the hands of someone else, and it’s one of the key determinants of maintaining the proper inflation levels in the global economy.
This isn’t a new concept in economic theory, it’s the actual reality for most people. Most people work tirelessly in positions at companies and only get a fraction of what we contribute in return. This way of thinking tells us that our time and effort have a price that can be measured by someone else. This is what caused me to leave Wall Street, the “comfort” of working for someone else, and branch out on my own. I was sick of working for an industry that I didn’t truly believe was helping others, and I was tired of not seeing returns from my efforts.
Does this sound like you? Did you just realize that your wages were actively trying to be controlled by others? If so, then it’s time to start on a new path. It’s time to take ownership of your goals, your time—and your life. It starts by having an ownership mindset and understanding that though the stock market was down in 2022, all you are doing is owning pieces of businesses. And that this ownership mindset has historically proven to work over time, but not all the time!
Your goals may not be purely financial. They may be to start a family, open a business, travel to a new country, cook the perfect brisket or finally write that book you’ve been putting off. I’m not here to tell you what your goals should be (though I’m willing to bet that healthy finances will certainly help), but rather to help you achieve them. And that is by working towards it consistently with integrity, knowledge and passion.
No matter what setbacks you’ve faced, what matters most is that you keep climbing. Failure is not fatal. Giving up, or taking yourself off the path can be, however. In most cases, the difference between the successful and unsuccessful is the consistency of effort.
So, this is my invitation to you to start. If you’ve done so already, then I implore you to start again. The path to wealth is a long one, but you’ll never reach the end if you never get on the path to begin with. If you’re ready to make a change and take ownership of your financial future and your life, we are here for you. A journey starts with a single step. The question is: Are you ready to take it?
Jason Blumstein, CFA® is the CEO and founder of Julius Wealth Advisors, LLC (www.juliuswealthadvisors.com) a registered investment adviser. He is also the host of “The Big Bo $how” podcast available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Jason has been investing and educating himself on personal finance since the age of 10. His company’s mission is to empower people to live their best financial lives, while fostering an ecosystem of integrity, knowledge, and passion! Jason resides in Englewood with his wife and two kids. He can be reached at 201-289-9181 and/or [email protected].
This piece contains general information that is not suitable for everyone and was prepared for informational purposes only. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any security or as an offer to provide investment advice. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but the accuracy of the information cannot be guaranteed. Past performance does not guarantee any future results. For additional information about Julius Wealth Advisors, including its services and fees, contact us or visit adviserinfo.sec.gov.
1. Core US Inflation Rises to 40-Year High, Securing Big Fed Hike, Bloomberg.com, Oct. 13, 2022. http://bit.ly/3ZUEHDm
2. Inflation and the Labor Market, Chair Jerome H. Powell—FederalReserve.gov, Nov. 30, 2022. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm
