“Waves are the voices of tides. Tides are life.”

Tamora Pierc

Good morning, I’m sure you all are excited to be heading into May….almost time to get the covers off pools, the boats in the water and wax on the surfboards.

As weather begins to change and our days become longer, we find ourselves dealing with the unpredictability of mother nature. No matter how much we plan, our lives always seem to be beleaguered by our inability to control the elements around us, as well as all the elements of our lives, even though we are constantly striving for the extraordinary.

The invisible hands

For those of you not familiar with the term, the invisible hand is a metaphor used by the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith. The term is a beautiful metaphor used to describe that when we attempt to control the environment around us, it could eventually lead to unintended consequences.

Unintended consequences of purposeful action

We are certainly feeling this across markets at the moment. Despite the fact that we are seeing some strong earnings estimates this quarter, the market is dealing with a lot of moving pieces and conflicting signals. As of this morning, the Federal Reserve is seemingly the biggest area of debate, with hawkish Fedspeak pointing to another 25 bp rate hike in May and reiterating the higher-for-longer mantra, while market expecting a quick pivot in the second half of this year. The labor market continues to be strong, and we are seeing consumer resilience and a housing rebound. That said, issues in Regional Bank Land and other areas are showing cracks in the strategy, unintended consequences of tools being used to tackle our inflamed world as we know it today.

As entrepreneur, corporations, consumers, financial and investors, the actions of central banks to control inflation are having broad consequences, intended and otherwise. Smith originally mentioned the term in his work Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759, where he describes the economic scenario where an entrepreneur, in this cash a merchant, has to keep his assets, his “capital” at home domestically….and, as a result, increased the domestic capital stock and, as a result of this, enhancing military power……both of which are in the public interest and neither of which he intended.

In the social sciences, unintended consequences can be grouped into three types:

• Unexpected benefit: A positive unexpected benefit
• Unexpected drawback: An unexpected detriment occurring in addition to the desired effect of the policy
• Perverse result: A perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended, when an intended solution makes a problem worse).

I could go on to share example of each of these groups, and we all know a few examples of unexpected discoveries….but the true meaning of Smith’s invisible hands is worth exploring at its core….life does not always go as planned. We must be aware that every action does have a consequence……but we must not be paralyzed by our inability to control all outcomes. We have to make room for imperfection in our lives because it’s though those imperfect moments that we come to realize, those are the opportunities for our most substantial personal growth.

“Life is a wave, which in no two consecutive moments of its existence is composed of the same particles.”

John Tyndall

At Henderson Wealth, we firmly believe that there is always opportunity amid the uncertainty around us, we just need to be able to recognize it, and understand the resources we possess to take advantage of it.

We have developed a multidisciplinary approach wealth management, designed to bring clarity to wealth and its unique meaning to us all. Our purpose driven model allows us to understand our uniquely distinct elements and resources and enables us to focus our time, energy and capital on the weather patterns that are within our control.

Our wealth with purpose model is our compass, as we partner with clients on their journey to understanding, bringing meaning and purpose to their wealth in present day, developing a road map for tomorrow, and forging the path for the generations to follow.

Our Purpose Driven Model

Waves of Life

Many of you might know, I have a love for surfing and surfing history and culture. I like to use surfers as a prime example of a group that derives an unexpected benefit from mother nature’s wrath. Some of the nastiest weather can bring the best surfing conditions. Surfers not only have a passion for the sport, but a deep respect for the power and uncertainty of mother nature. Despite the fact they have no control over the waves they seek, they accept this, and they continue to chase the waves, embrace the storm and celebrate the challenge.

As uncertain as outcomes of action can be, if we formulate a thoughtful approach to each element, we can turn challenging conditions into an extraordinary ability to weather any storm and view big swell as a beautiful, rideable part of our journey.

“Waves are inspiring not because they rise and fail, but because each time they fall, they never fail to rise again.”

Josh Billings

Perfectly Imperfect

Much like my passion for surfing, I also have a passion for music and I’m deep into exploring a music genre right now that is an amazing result of the unintended. Labelled Lo-fi (low fidelity)….Lofi is a music or production quality in which the fundamentals are usually regarded as imperfections. We are used to seeking out perfectly produced music, with those perfectly sculpted rhythms complemented by flawless voices and immaculate harmonies. An example of Lo-fi music would be the theme song for HBO’s Succession (the finally season is just heating up, last night’s episode was great). I’m finding myself enjoying this music because it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard, it’s raw, it’s eclectic and full of interesting rhythms that have seemingly embraced the idea that imperfection can be beautiful.

Noted author and lecturer Brené Brown, Ph.D., writes eloquently of this in her book Daring Greatly:

“When we spend our lives waiting until we’re perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make.”

As we head into the week, a few thoughts for reflection

• Focus on the elements that are within your control,
• Embrace the fact that you are perfectly imperfect
• Approach each moment with purpose and authenticity
• Allow yourself to go beyond the ordinary

You are not able to control the waves of life and the changing tides, but we must embrace the fact that we are all a part of the ocean and within it, be extraordinary and find its beauty.

Be well and enjoy the moments

Derek