Rule 8: The Power of Responsibility

The river will always be wet. So, stop complaining and learn to pack a towel.

We've all seen people floating down the river on their soapboxes. Modern technology has allowed us to crowd more and more soapboxes onto the river. The Internet is filled with soapboxes. Television and the Internet are filled with political distortions and outright lies.

Even our president has been caught in so many lies that most people no longer listen to him. The biggest lie of all is the idea that we have a war on terror; that we have to fight them in Iraq in order to keep them from coming to the United States. Consider that 9/11 was carried out by less than two dozen people, and you'll understand that the only thing they can protect us from terrorists is excellent intelligence and very coordinated police work. Even then, a small determined group can strike whenever and wherever they choose.

There is very little we can do to influence world events. The only thing we really can do is to go with the flow of events we cannot control and make sure we take responsibility for our own lives.

The fiscal meltdown is carrying us over the falls. Some of us will landed in the plunge pool, comes the surface and fight our way through the rapids to calmer water. Some of us are going to land on the rocks and be wiped out.

For over a year, I've been sure that we were floating closer and closer to the waterfall. I've been telling my friends they needed to be invested in gold and treasury bonds. They needed to be sure that their assets were protected. Successful investors ride the waves and pull out before the waves break on the shore.

I went to a political meeting the other night. One of the candidates was railing against the Republicans who he said had led us into this mess. He complained he had lost enough money in the past two days that he could have bought a luxury BMW. At least he would have had the car. He wouldn't be able to buy gas for it, but he would have it.

I certainly sympathize with all those people who are about to lose their homes and whose 401(k) has lost three quarters of its value. I am taking a tax class. I heard my instructors discussing whether or not they should pull their retirement funds out of their company. Of course, it's always good to be diversified, but they are already too late. They needed to take action a year ago, when any close observer of the stock market could see that we're in trouble.

So, the bottom line is, how can we control our life in these turbulent times. The river gives us 3 choices:

One. The current is beyond our control. Don’t worry about what you cannot control.

Two. We can influence the river; we can damn it, we can dredge it or we can build dikes. But what can we do that in real life? Choose your captain carefully.

Three. Our choice is to keep complaining, or paddle like mad to get through as best we can. We choose the boat and handle paddles. We can control where, on the river, we choose to paddle.

In this current financial mess, you can choose a captain to manage your money, or you can be your own captain and control how your funds are invested.

Just understand that if you choose a captain to manage your funds, choose a captain who has your interests in mind rather than his own. A financial planner, whose income is based on the commissions he gets for the productsh the financial planner, whose income is based on the commission she gets for the products sells you, is motivated to sell you products that gives him the best income rather than products that give you the best return.

Personally, I need a navigator, not a captain. I take responsibility for my own life. My navigator will provide guidance and teach me what to look for, but I'll make my own financial decisions.

For an investor, stops are vital. They are the anchor that keeps you from going over the falls. No one should have ridden over this waterfall. If you set your stops, you would have gotten out at the top of the falls and not at the bottom.

I take responsibility for my own life. If I chose a captain who took your the falls, I was responsible for that choice. The best thing I can do is to do can do is to become your own captain.