Growth

GROWTH. It’s what we all strive for as investors and people. At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to grow and become a little bit better. Better spouses. Better workers. Better parents. Better friends.

The Kobe Bryant death hit me harder than I would have expected. Honestly, I didn’t like Kobe early in his career. He seemed self centered and the sexual assault case only worsened the way I felt about him. But I’ll never forget seeing his apology and how sincerely sorry he seemed. It really felt like he knew he had made a colossal mistake and wanted to learn from it and become a better man (he was never convicted of anything, for what it’s worth). What more could you ask for? And over the next 17 years he redeemed himself as he grew and became a role model and incredible father. He was obviously a complex and controversial figure, but also someone with a strong will to become better. And I truly believe he died as the best version of himself.

The thing that’s sad about losing people like Kobe is that he was still growing. He was only 41 years old and he was the type of person who had an insatiable drive to grow and become better. His next 41 years probably would have been more impactful than his first 41 years. But we’ll never get to experience that growth. His family will never get to experience that growth. And that’s what makes this such a tragic event.

I spend most of my days talking to people about growth. The most common goal for the people I work with is “growth and preservation”. We want to grow and preserve what we’ve grown. What else can we hope for in the world?  Of course, the money we grow is just an extension and a tool for the things that we’re really trying to grow – our families, our relationships, our skills, ourselves. And while that growth inevitably comes to an end for all of us it’s important not to take it for granted while we’re here. After all, it’s the best any of us can aspire to.