Do well in school. Go to university. Get a high-paying job. Get married. Start a family. Work hard to support your family and save for retirement. Retire early. Spend your retirement with your grandchildren.
This is a traditional life path. A life ladder. And it can be exciting to climb.
The problem is nobody tells you where the next rung is. This can create feelings of fear, frustration and anger, especially if you are looking for this traditional ladder leaning up against a traditional wall.
Climbing the ladder you think you are supposed to climb to get to a place you think you are supposed to go is reactive living.
You live your life according to what others have told you to do, and you react to whatever life throws at you. Living proactively takes some hard work up front but it is worth it.
Climbing the ladder
What does it mean to “climb the ladder”? It means moving ahead with your life.
That said, climbing a ladder that is leaning against the wrong wall means that you are moving ahead in your life but in a way that is not getting you to where you want to go.
Thus, you are climbing the wrong wall if you are using your money in a way that does not align with your unique personal values.
That could mean you are swayed by your neighbours, influenced by social media, feel envious of your friends or otherwise distracted from what is important to you.
The opposite of what I have called “wrong wall” spending is “right wall” spending. This means that you know where you want to climb, you have set your ladder against the appropriate wall and you are taking steps in the right direction.
In money terms, that means that every pound you spend is on something that is important to you. Every transaction supports your needs and values.
It is very difficult to align 100 per cent of your money with your values.
You may have friends or family members that value things that are different from what you value, and it is not worth your time or money to debate them.
But even if it is not probable to get 100 per cent of the way there, your focus can be on getting most of the way there.
If it was easy, everyone would do it
You might be thinking that it sounds awfully simple – maybe, too simple. You would be right.
Many very productive systems are quite simple. For example, if you want to quit smoking, the logical advice is to not smoke any more – simple! However, simple things are not always easy to do.
I want to make the case that just because it is not easy does not mean it is not worth it. Some of your greatest accomplishments were difficult. It is worth it to put in the time.
What do you want?
Now you know that simple things are not always easy, and things that are not easy can be rewarding, but you might be asking what makes it so difficult to align your use of money with what is important to you.
The answer is that you must sit down and figure it out. That is not always easy. You must be aware of what you want and articulate it. Write it down. Say it out loud.
The reward for doing it is being able to live your life intentionally in a way that you will be proud of.
Part of what makes this more difficult is that we are constantly under attack. We are under attack from marketers, retailers, advertisers, social media influencers, social media itself, friends, family, neighbours and so on.
If you mix those sources together, you will get what is known as the societal ideal. This societal ideal has many different definitions but it can be used to manipulate us into parting with our money.
Some claim the ideal is getting a good job, starting a family, buying a house and retiring early. That is the message we get.
That is why it is easy to believe that is what everyone should do. Without examining what kind of life we want, it is natural to think this is what we should want.
Spending time chasing societal ideals or anyone else's dream not only wastes your time, but it also puts you at a disadvantage because it is going to be far more difficult going forward to where you want to go.
Climb the right ladder
It is tempting to hurry up and start climbing the ladder without taking the time to figure out where it leads.
It pays to spend some time to determine what is important to you and how to align your use of money with that.
It takes some time but it is worth it and will provide you with happiness and meaning.
Sam Instone is co-chief executive of wealth management company AES
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
What is a rare disease?
A rare disease is classified as one that affects a small percentage of the population. More than 7,000 diseases are identified as rare and most are genetic in origin. More than 75 per cent of rare genetic diseases affect children.
Collectively rare diseases affect 1 in 17 people, or more than 400 million people worldwide. Very few have any available treatment and most patients struggle with numerous health challenges and life-long ailments that can go undiagnosed for years due to lack of awareness or testing.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
