On a recent sailing trip to the BVI, I saw three treasures for a good life.
Floating with God, my wife, and friends in the BVI/Photo by Marc Abadie
Our friends, Marc and Sandy Abadie, invited us on the trip of a lifetime.
They have sailed with family and friends over thirty years throughout the British Virgin Islands.
So, when they texted us and asked, “Do you want to go sailing in three weeks?” My wife said, “I’m so excited, I can scream!”
The British Virgin Islands are renowned for their aqua-blue waters and diverse array of marine life. We saw hawksbill turtles gliding through coral gardens and pods of dolphins playing in Virgin Gorda Sound and eagle rays soaring past the dramatic rock formations at The Indians.
No one can replicate paradise’s locations and circumstances every day.
However, the BVI offers rich reminders for living a good life.
After 44 years of living through stock market volatility, I know why the smartest investors never panic.
They see chaos as a chance to make their future brighter. They cheat financial market chaos.
Rather than allowing the fear of a moment to dictate direction, they stick to a well-thought-out plan to proceed up the path to success.
Panic is not a plan.
Patience is.
I have owned stocks and lived through ten of the worst one-day stock market declines from 1981 to 2025.
I was there then and am here now, still owning stocks and not panicking or selling.
Stock market panic is not a plan
In fact, from 2000 to 2002, I lectured about wise investing at meetings around the country as the NASDAQ was on its way to losing 80% of its value from the March 2000 top to the October 2002 low. The Dow lost 50% of its value during the same time.
Indeed, since 1980, the S&P 500 has had an average intra-year drop of 14%. This includes all years, whether they end positively or negatively. I started my financial services business in 1981 and have witnessed this phenomenon for 44 years.
We don’t know where, when, or how these phenomena will occur. We have no control over uncertainty, but we can have perfect control over how we respond.
The last thing in the world that long-term, goal-focused savers and builders of wealth do when the whole world is selling is – you know – sell.
A diversified stock portfolio is a plan
Don’t confuse headline risk with portfolio risk.
Remember that your stock portfolio is not an index that goes up or down daily. It is a portfolio of actual companies with real earnings.
So, coach, what if it declines tomorrow? It doesn’t matter what markets do tomorrow; what matters is what they ultimately do. What matters is that you own a highly diversified portfolio of well-managed companies that make and sell products that the world needs, demands, and pays for.
If you doubt this, read Robert Bryce’s book Smaller, Faster, Lighter, Denser, Cheaper.
The best investment advice you can ever follow has three qualities.
I still can’t believe that Trey Carlock, a child sex abuse victim filled with shame, drove his father’s boat at high speed in the middle of the night, crashing into my Lake Athens boat dock.
Shortly before, my oldest daughter, Lizzy, and I lounged right at the point of impact.
I have often reflected on that night, August 11, 2015.
My father always said, “Son, nothing good happens after midnight.”
In my sleep, I heard what I thought was an explosion.
But, the idea was so farfetched that I ignored the sound as a bad dream.
Nothing prepared me for what I saw the following day.
A young college grad, Trey Carlock, and his girlfriend drove his father’s boat into my dock.
The heavy rubber trex decking was blown right off the dock frame. Boat shards everywhere.
The lounging chairs Lizzy and I sat on minutes before were blown to the back of the dock.
Chaise loungers thrown from the point of impact/Steve Blaising
