Hi, imagine you have spent years saving for a
future where you invested every dollar in a single
company. And if that company succeeds, yes, you
may do well. But if it fails, you could lose
almost everything. Now, most of us recognize
that this is a bad risk. And that is why investors
diversify. They spread their investments across
many different companies and industries and countries.
The goal is not to predict the one investment
that will perform the best. The goal is to prepare
for an uncertain future. And probability explains
why this works. None of us know what tomorrow
will bring. And because we do not know, it makes
sense to prepare for more than one possibility.
And in that sense, diversification admits I do
not know the future. And I've experienced that
in my work. I have built two actuarial businesses.
One depended on a relatively small number of
consulting clients, and the other serves thousands
of online students. When I look back, I've come
to appreciate the stability that comes from serving
many people, rather than depending on just a
few. And this principle reaches far beyond business.
We can build friendships, and we can develop
new skills. We can invest in family and in work
and in hobbies and serving others. A resilient
life is rarely built on one thing. Thousands
of years ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes offered
this advice. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in
eight. You do not know what disaster may come
upon the land. The words are ancient and the
wisdom is timeless. Prepare for more than one
possible future. Maybe wisdom is not predicting
tomorrow, but just preparing for it. So here's
our question. Is there an area in your life,
where you can benefit from building a life that
is more resilient rather than trying to predict
the future.