Well-Positioned for Success

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

It may still be August. But for some of us, it’s already time to go back to school and the old routines of drop-offs, pick-ups, and after school activities. 

We have a particularly special drop off to look forward to this year as we join countless other parents in sending off a child to college for the first time.

There is a ton of excitement and plenty of uncertainty. But we’re still managing to check off those to-do lists for the big day. Maybe I'm just a proud dad, but between her honors program admittance, AP credits, and an on-campus job lined up, I feel like our soon-to-be college freshman is well-positioned for success.

But no outcome is guaranteed. The unexpected can always happen! I know this from first-hand experience. Being well-positioned for success heading into college is just part of the process. The outcome depends on what we do with risks and opportunities along the way. In my case, I'm thankful for the last-minute decision that landed me at a lower-cost public university, a patient family, and second (and third) chances to succeed.

Again, finding yourself in a successful position isn’t only about awareness of the external situation. You also need to understand how to adjust and adapt to the inevitable challenges and opportunities that are part of the journey.

As investors, we can adjust by having a good sense of our tolerance for risk (and how it is often dependent on the market environment) and time horizons when putting money to work. If we don't have a solid grasp on those factors, what we make of the market environment matters a lot less.

Maybe we need to spend a little less time asking ourselves what the market is going to do and spend more time asking ourselves what, if anything, we are going to do about it.

Whether as investors or college students, it is not enough to be positioned for success. We need to be ready and willing to pursue it when the opportunities arise.