WEBVTT

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Hi, imagine you have spent years saving for a

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future where you invested every dollar in a single

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company. And if that company succeeds, yes, you

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may do well. But if it fails, you could lose

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almost everything. Now, most of us recognize

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that this is a bad risk. And that is why investors

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diversify. They spread their investments across

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many different companies and industries and countries.

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The goal is not to predict the one investment

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that will perform the best. The goal is to prepare

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for an uncertain future. And probability explains

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why this works. None of us know what tomorrow

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will bring. And because we do not know, it makes

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sense to prepare for more than one possibility.

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And in that sense, diversification admits I do

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not know the future. And I've experienced that

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in my work. I have built two actuarial businesses.

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One depended on a relatively small number of

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consulting clients, and the other serves thousands

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of online students. When I look back, I've come

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to appreciate the stability that comes from serving

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many people, rather than depending on just a

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few. And this principle reaches far beyond business.

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We can build friendships, and we can develop

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new skills. We can invest in family and in work

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and in hobbies and serving others. A resilient

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life is rarely built on one thing. Thousands

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of years ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes offered

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this advice. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in

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eight. You do not know what disaster may come

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upon the land. The words are ancient and the

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wisdom is timeless. Prepare for more than one

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possible future. Maybe wisdom is not predicting

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tomorrow, but just preparing for it. So here's

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our question. Is there an area in your life,

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where you can benefit from building a life that

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is more resilient rather than trying to predict

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the future.