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You Can Only Get the Right Answer if You Ask the Right Question: A Lesson from the Links

Currently, there is a commercial out there where a little boy asks his dad some questions about a meeting with his “wealth advisor.” The tagline reads: “Are you asking enough questions?” – what a great question – no pun intended. However, it should read: “Are you asking the right questions?”

I think there is a question above all others: how do you ask the right question? We all know that you cannot get the right answer if you don’t ask the right question; so how do you know which is the right question to ask? You figure this out by learning how to ask for help in finding the correct question to ask. Financially speaking, we at Gainplan believe we are uniquely qualified to help you ask the right questions. However, this not only applies to your financial well-being but every aspect of your daily life.

Last week on the golf course, I experienced this very issue. I was playing with a gentleman in his 80’s who had competed in a number of Michigan Amateurs and was even inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. Every shot he hit was pure and in the center of the clubface with little to no effort. On the 17th hole he asked if he could offer me a suggestion – my initial thought was that I’ve wanted one since the first hole! He asked me what I thought I was doing wrong and I told him, “I’ve been standing up and coming out of the shot.” He agreed. Then he went one question further, he asked, “Do you think you are standing up down-to-up or right-to-left?” Without much hesitation, I confidently replied, “Down to up.” He said, “No, you are standing up on your back leg and never getting to your front foot.” The next two holes I hit it as purely as I ever have by simply implementing his one small tip – let me know if you want his little secret – but, I could have never solved my swing issue if the expert had never forced me to ask the right question to get to the true root of the issue.

The bottom line is: I wasn’t getting the right answer because I didn’t know the right question to ask, not because I simply wasn’t asking it. When it comes to your finances, make sure you have an advisor that knows the right questions to ask, so you, just like me, can once again put your worries aside.

 

 

This commentary on this website reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of the Gainplan LLC employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by Gainplan LLC or performance returns of any Gainplan LLC Investments client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing on this website constitutes investment advice, performance data or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Gainplan LLC manages its clients’ accounts using a variety of investment techniques and strategies, which are not necessarily discussed in the commentary. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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