A recent Seeking Alpha post (see the link below for Dividend Sleuth) talked about the importance of balance. Balance is so very important. You want balance when you walk, and your inner ear helps in that regard. To lose your balance means falling and potentially great injury or even death. We are told to eat a “balanced diet” – and that means more than just equal portions, it means healthy foods that fuel our body’s engines. Even my mechanic thinks that the wheels on my Ford Escape should be balanced.

Even Creation has balance as part of the design. When man tampers with the balance, trouble often results. I’m not talking about population control or recycling. In fact, God’s idea was to “multiply and fill the earth” and to “tend and work the garden.” Genesis 1:28-31 “And God blessed them (man and woman). And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ 29 And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” Genesis 2:15 says “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

For the investor, the Seeking Alpha author suggested three balance opportunities: 1) Patient readiness, 2) Confident humility and 3) Cautious momentum. I would like to focus on the second one: CONFIDENT HUMILITY.

What is “Confident Humility?”

 

Evel Knievel Snake River Canyon jump

The Dividend Sleuth author says “35 years in the market has given me a degree of confidence, but the velocity of change is increasing in both the market and the world. I want to balance confidence with humility, wisdom’s twin children, evidenced by the avoidance of arrogance and over-confidence, a passion for learning, a self-deprecating sense of humor, and a desire to collaborate with others.”

 

You don’t want to be a nervous “Nelly” afraid to decide and you don’t want to be a crazy Evel Knievel taking crazy risks like attempting to jump the Snake River Canyon. Rather, you should set a goal and plot a course to get you there. Trying to get rich quick in the stock market is the Evel Knievel approach. Keeping all your assets in “safe” investments like cash or bonds is also folly.

What are we to do then?

  • Work with confidence. Take what you have learned and about investing and apply it. If God prospers your work, thank Him and give generously to those who have needs. That will multiply your work in many ways you cannot imagine.
  • Learn more. Learn from others who have experience and wisdom. As the Dividend Sleuth says, “have a passion for learning.” Find a source of knowledge and then learn everything you can from that source. That may include paying for some subscriptions like an AAII membership. Consider looking at what you can learn from Seeking Alpha. That is free.
  • Don’t forget that your wealth is not your own. You are only a temporary steward.

https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/589494-dividend-sleuth/5098775-art-balance