I don't do Mornings!

I don’t do mornings!

It is rare for me to see the sun come up.  It’s also rare for me not to watch the 10pm news on WFXL and even see the opening monologue of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallen. I guess you could say I am somewhat of a night owl.   I simply don’t love mornings! Now that is not to say that I can’t get up and get going when needed…I just don’t want to!!

Now, I do believe it was Benjamin Franklin who penned “Early to bed and early to rise… helps make a man healthy, wealthy and wise”.

So the question is “do we make better decisions in the morning, in particular “financial” decisions”?  For most Americans only two other things, family and health, are more important than financial decisions.

I have been told that “decision fatigue” referring to the results from being inundated with decisions all day long contributes to making poor decisions later in the day.

Well…what if you simply can’t perform some task until at least 10am?  What if your mind doesn't even start clicking until mid-morning?  Does that make you less likely to make sound decisions?

I don’t think so, and I have figured out that I have been blessed with what will soon be 18,250 mornings.  Now granted I have made some really stupid decisions, and a few have been financial ones; however, I have also experienced some very sound decisions.

Therefore, the only thing I am sure of is that every decision has consequences and everything just makes more since after a good cup of coffee!  Let me know what you think! 

Life Happens

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Most jobs do not have just one specific trait. For example: a chef must possess creativity and good organizational skills….not just be a great cook!   A banker is no exception.  When dealing with ones finances, the banker must be a great communicator as well as possess strong mathematical skills and even provide the time and date on some occasions.  LOL

However, among many other traits, one of the most crucial traits for a banker is empathy.  To put it simply, we need to have the capacity to feel what our customer feels.

This became more evident to me recently, when several individuals dear to my heart visited me.  All of these young people come from similar backgrounds but through choices and circumstances each took a very different path.

Two young men came to visit my office with financial questions. While one chose college (not an easy path), the other decided he would wait and work for a while in the family business, putting off continuing his education.  The third was a young lady who had been through a pivotal and emotional week celebrating the life of a special young man known to us all.  The impact that he had on her life gave her a determination to succeed no matter what.

As my family and I begin to celebrate what is traditionally known as Holy Week, I started to ponder how events in our lives impact our financial decisions now and in the future.  I realized a good banker must look at each “transaction” with the capacity to feel what the other person feels and not just from an analytical perspective or from a debt to income ratio.  I knew each young person personally, their families, and “oh the possibilities” in each one. Seeing more than the numbers gave me a heartfelt answer for each of them.  And that is “Community Banking At Its Best”!