Finding Our Purpose and Following Our Passions

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.

Plato

I recently spent a week up in the hills of southwest New Hampshire, making music and making new friends at the Walden School’s Creative Musicians Retreat.  A group of composers, performers, and musicians of all ages come together for a week-long festival celebrating creativity and community.

My experiences ranged from playing a Gabreli canzon with a trumpet quartet, performing Terry Riley’s amazing piece “In C” with 30 other musicians, singing newly composed pieces with a chamber choir, working up jazz standards with a random mix of instrumentalists, collaborating with a professional viola player on a new electronic piece, and spending a great many hours talking about and thinking about music.

For a musician who rarely finds time to explore one of his true passions, it was a truly magical week.

I did manage to sneak a little time each day to find an unused practice room and record a brief episode of my market recap show, but I tried to immerse myself as much as possible in the musical activities of the week.

As much as I loved that time singing and playing trumpet, I was thrilled to come back home that next weekend.  First of all, it was awesome to see my family again!  But it also felt great to get back home to the markets.

I have so much fun analyzing charts and sharing what I see, interviewing market experts and teasing out nuggets of investment wisdom, and simply answering questions from viewers of my content.  I enjoy being a student of the markets, I love introducing people to technical analysis and behavioral finance, and I so appreciate the opportunity to educate and empower investors.

I’ve so enjoyed talking markets with former colleagues and clients over the years, but some of my most memorable conversations have been about other things.  Music, flying, hiking, vacations, travel, family… these are the things that shape who we are as investors and as human beings.

Because the best investment process in the world isn’t super meaningful if we forget the “why”.

Mindless investors trudge through their investment routines, treating every day as yet another struggle, chasing returns and ignoring purpose.

Mindful investors thoughtfully reflect on their purpose and passions to ensure their investment goals are in line with their life goals.

RR#6,
Dave