Dizzying Possibilities Arise From The Ashes

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity

Change, and, more specifically, today’s rate of change is staggering and if the global pandemic of 2020 taught us anything, it is that technological change has altered our landscape in ways that seemed farfetched or unimaginable just a few short years ago. From virtual work and workouts to telemedicine, AI and beyond, our lives have been digitized and pulled forward at an astonishing rate. 2020, while a dark and destructive time, also saw the human race re-connect, achieve and innovate like no other time I have witnessed in my 50 plus years.

A peaceful place, or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race

With the world changing around us at an unprecedented pace, I believe that it is more important than ever to have a life plan. A living, breathing plan that is measured and calculated in its goals and objectives yet nimble and fluid enough to keep up with the times. E*Money is an online aggregation tool that allows just that. It allows for the various buckets of assets in one’s life to be filtered into a central hub where they can be grown, taxed and allocated under a wide variety of assumptions and used or distributed in the most efficient way possible. Whether your assets are held with one advisor or scattered all over the landscape in a piecemeal fashion, this tool pulls everything together in one efficient and secure place.  

Imagine the possibilities of working with your trusted advisor in a truly collaborative fashion. Making adjustments in real time at the speed of life. Good years, tough years, rising inflation, job changes, market changes, unexpected expenses or windfalls all factored in with a couple of key strokes. No more flatfooted, deer-in-the-headlights moments, but rather a well thought out life plan capable of assisting in making life’s biggest decisions a little bit easier. When to retire, how much will I need to retire, how much market risk do I really need to take in order to achieve my objectives? These are just a few of the 3AM, sleep depriving moments that so many of us struggle with.

Commissars and pinstripe bosses roll the dice
Anyway they fall, guess who gets to pay the price?

Yet, despite all of the change around us, some things remain stubbornly static. The status quo, who is it good for? Who does it benefit? I would argue, it is those of dogged determination not to change. Politicians come to mind. While written nearly 35 years ago, the underlying message of “Throwing Stones” is as relevant as ever. Not much has changed since its release in 1987, the politicians are still throwing stones and it has never been more clear that we are on our own. We are rugged individuals that need to take matters into our own hands and make smart decisions that will enable us to be prepared to care for ourselves, those we love and those causes that are most near and dear to us. 

History’s page will be neatly carved in stone
The future’s here, we are it, we are on our own

Charles Darwin on the subject of change stated simply that “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” E*Money is not a panacea, but it is dynamic and will enable those who embrace our new world to be responsive in it. The future is as bright as our collective human spirit will allow. The possibilities are dizzying. Innovation has the ability to lift all of us to new heights in terms of the quality of life we choose to live. For those of us that need to balance our budgets and plan ahead I hope to hear from you soon, as the politicians continue to throw stones…

Written by: Rob Armstrong
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Barlow / Robert Hall Weir 
Throwing Stones lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

My personal favorite version:
Wake Up To Find Out
Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
3/29/1990