Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.

– Steve Jobs

From Steve Jobs, Former CEO of Apple Inc. © Steve Jobs

Market timing, active trading, acting on bad information, making behavioral mistakes, or hiring the wrong advisor can all lead to the permanent damage of your financial well-being. Being aware of these critical pitfalls is the best way to recognize and avoid them. You can do better than that, though!

By following the guidelines on how best to manage your wealth, you can not only avoid the mistakes but optimize your wealth. If an advisor is the best fit for you, demand one who follows these principles, and you can enjoy life knowing you are following a path to success.

Reading this is one thing; acting on it is another. Financial advisors and financial media are actively working to suck you back into methods that sound good but don't work. Resist the urge to fall prey to their temptations. You know how to do this. Don't let anyone tell you that the system isn't complicated enough or sexy enough. That's a bunch of hooey. With investing, the less clutter, the better.

With discipline, you and your advisor can follow this system through all kinds of markets, and most importantly, stick with it through down markets. You will be financially and emotionally better off for it!

Keep in mind that it is not enough to follow the system some of the time. Nothing will happen if you eat a donut for breakfast, cake for lunch, and ice cream for dinner. But if you do it every day for a few years, you will be dead. If you text and drive once, it might turn out just fine. If you do it all the time, eventually, you are likely to crash. The key to successful investing is to focus on repeatable behavior using a disciplined, ongoing system. Take what you have learned, develop a plan of action, and stick to the plan. You can do this. Let's roll!¹

The best time to plant a tree was yesterday. The second-best time is today.

– Chinese Proverb²