She looked at the water that was breaking into foam at the edge of the sand. It was a pale grey colour, unlike the blue water of the day before when the sun had been out. The night fell gradually upon the beach plunging her in a temporary darkness before some street lights flickered and illuminated the edge of the water. The deep side of the sea remained pitch black and undistinguishable from the edge of where the sky had ended at sunset.
The disappearance of the sun changed nothing in the stickiness of the atmosphere around her. Crows cawed as usual high above, their restlessness never curbed, not even by the night. Just before sunset a batallion of dragonflies had fought the crows for some space in the skies and though they outnumbered the latter, they still looked remarkably fragile in comparison and she had wondered what the outcome would be. For some reason her thoughts had drifted back to the boy in her childhood who used to pin down dragonflies with needles or a side of a safety pin. The memory of that cruelty had made her shudder.
She looked back at the skies but all the dragonflies had left now. Only the cawing crows were hastening back to the shelter of the surrounding trees. She felt the waters call to her again and she turned back to gaze at the black outline of the waves that she could hear breaking on the shore. She would have loved to plunge into the waters had they not been so polluted at this spot. She longed for the beautiful beaches she had once been at and where she could first soak her toes before plunging in delight right into the sea.
Her gaze went up beyond the waves and she saw a flickering star. She wondered how it was that something that looked so alive was but the last message of a dying entity. Something within her stirred. She could almost remember a journey through the void and in between a myriad of planets. Her eyes glazed over with tears. She wanted to be back up there, on that roller coaster ride far away from Earth. She could almost hear that other deep calling out to her. She sighed and looked back again at the shadow of the sea. One day she would be back there. One day she would return to the stars.
« When you come to the edge of all of the light you’ve known and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen. You’ll have something solid to stand on or you’ll be taught to fly » Patrick Overton
We all have watched movies and some of us may have envied the stars for being in a job that joined passion and profitability but probably few of us ever thought about how these stars managed their finances. I was just reading an article today and was surprised to see certain names of stars who purportedly are « broke ».
For those of us « mortals » with defined income streams at modest to slightly higher than modest levels, it can appear difficult that someone earning millions to tens of millions could ever be « broke » in a lifetime let alone in a decade but the truth is just staring us in the face. While the emphasis is on the stars in this article which I attach a link to below, it is clear how the same can be applied to the uber rich or the Very High Net Worth Individuals (VHNWI) including high earners in the sports arena.
In this context, it is clearly visible that not only the financial advisor to a star (or a VHNWI) has to have a proper “backbone” and try to talk them out of the impulsive spending but also a star (or a VHNWI) has to seriously consider – at the onset of the relationship – entering into a contract where the financial advisor is sufficiently empowered to curb such spending. Where required, a projected budget taking into account spending requirements of the star (VHNWI) should be made on an annual basis. Reaching a balance between a good lifestyle as desired and leaving a proper cushion for future availability of cash should be one of the top priorities for such contracts. Sadly, as with most advisors dealing with VHNWI, advisors do not approach the subject allowing their clients to deplete their wealth inconsiderately.
For those of you advisors who are able to mitigate your clients’ request and convince them of appropriate spending habits in line not only with their current earnings but also keeping in mind their projected earnings and lifestyle over their lifetime, I salute your temerity and hard work as I know it is a difficult task. Till then, you can read and be bemused like I was at some of the names in the article.