Port Angeles Vision

As a young college student in the early 70’s, I pursued a summer job opportunity in the far north where the lure of a high wage pulled me. The consensus of ivory-towered intellectuals at that time was that the world was over-populated. I remember driving along the endless Alcan Highway thinking that something just didn’t add up.  Have these guys ever ventured out of their offices and classrooms into the real world?

The vast Canadian wilderness engulfed me and for miles I drove without any sign of human habitation other than the winding road carved out of nowhere. Sparse and infrequent pit stops made friends out of humans who were brought together by mere common travel up this lonely road. Air travel today over our vast country and its miles of wilderness still reminds me of this lesson of life.

Living through 7 major market downturns since first joining the old investment firm of E F Hutton as a financial advisor, I learned not to panic when everyone else is running for the market’s exits. The best thing I can do for my clients in times of panic is to focus on the long term and avoid selling out in the folly of a fire sale. Panic fuels the flames of irrational behavior and discounted values.

In the end the market is merely a place where companies are bought and sold, no matter what options or derivatives may be placed on their certificates of ownership. Good value still remains in well-managed companies which were chosen for the right reasons in the first place. Economies wax and wane and markets will go up and down, however companies that adapt will survive and grow only stronger through these cycles because they had the opportunity to pick up the pieces of ruin brought on by everyone elses fear and greed.

God gave us a priceless mind to use. What a terrible thing to waste. Be a skeptic when Chicken Little tells you that the sky is falling. Columbus didn’t fall for the consensus that the world was flat. Today the world isn’t overpopulated nor is it being threatened by manmade global-warming. Markets won’t go to zero. Be a good steward of your God-given talents and whatever He has entrusted you with on this incredible planet and remember one thing; opportunity is alive and well.