As a pilot studying to earn an instrument rating, there was nothing more terrifying than the first few times flying into cloud with zero visibility. My chest tightened. My decision making slowed. Air traffic messages sounded like gibberish. And I was genuinely unsure whether the airplane was turning, climbing, or descending.
That last part is called spatial disorientation, and every pilot I know has felt it. Robbed of sight, the inner ear plays tricks on the mind. Pilots learn to deal with it, of course — otherwise trains would still be the preferred method of cross-country travel.
We learn to trust our instruments. Especially the attitude indicator, which tells you at a glance where the airplane sits relative to the horizon. We also learn to listen to the calm, professional voices of air traffic control. But the controllers are not in the airplane. When we fly, we are PIC — pilot in command. If my instruments tell me so, I will override an ATC instruction. That is extreme, and it usually involves declaring a MAYDAY. But when the instruments, the radar, a traffic alert, a red caution light, and any number of other exigencies are telling you something, the PIC is the ultimate decider.
Now consider your portfolio. Who is in the tower guiding you? Hopefully you are getting sound advice. But what if your advisor is the one suffering spatial disorientation — preoccupied with the limited visibility and noise of the day? I include myself in that question, which is exactly why I don’t fly by feel either. And what if you are the one blinded by tokens, data centers, and a market that has not yet been given clearance to descend? The anchors and the news media are suffering the worst kind of spatial disorientation. Their job is to get clicks, not to guide you safely to your destination.
The answer is to trust your instruments. Your financial attitude indicator is your statements and performance reports. It is your tax returns, your expenses, the turbulence in your portfolio. It is the concerned look from your spouse telling you to land the plane now and regroup — ask me how I know.
Trust what you are seeing, not what you are hearing.
So I am asking for something simple. Put me in the right seat as SIC — second in command. You remain PIC. Let me see what you are seeing: performance reports and anything else bearing on your financial life. I will give you a clear-eyed read on what your instruments should be telling you. Is there blue sky ahead? Or is your radar set too short a range — extend it and you may find weather at your twelve o’clock.
Let’s talk. Wealth management is changing — we are going from propellers to jets. And jets fly higher, above most of the weather, almost entirely on instruments.
To my current Keel Wealth clients: I’ve got you. No MAYDAY, no spatial disorientation. There will be days I flash the fasten seat belt sign — you’ll hear the familiar chime — but we know the destination, and we are flying it on instruments.
And I’d ask one thing of you in return. If someone you care about is flying by feel right now, introduce us. Growing Keel Wealth lets me keep improving this experience for you, and the best clients come to me from clients I already have.
Spatial Disorientation
As a pilot studying to earn an instrument rating, there was nothing more terrifying than the first few times flying into cloud with zero visibility. My chest tightened. My decision making slowed. Air traffic messages sounded like gibberish. And I was genuinely unsure whether the airplane was turning, climbing, or descending.
That last part is called spatial disorientation, and every pilot I know has felt it. Robbed of sight, the inner ear plays tricks on the mind. Pilots learn to deal with it, of course — otherwise trains would still be the preferred method of cross-country travel.
We learn to trust our instruments. Especially the attitude indicator, which tells you at a glance where the airplane sits relative to the horizon. We also learn to listen to the calm, professional voices of air traffic control. But the controllers are not in the airplane. When we fly, we are PIC — pilot in command. If my instruments tell me so, I will override an ATC instruction. That is extreme, and it usually involves declaring a MAYDAY. But when the instruments, the radar, a traffic alert, a red caution light, and any number of other exigencies are telling you something, the PIC is the ultimate decider.
Now consider your portfolio. Who is in the tower guiding you? Hopefully you are getting sound advice. But what if your advisor is the one suffering spatial disorientation — preoccupied with the limited visibility and noise of the day? I include myself in that question, which is exactly why I don’t fly by feel either. And what if you are the one blinded by tokens, data centers, and a market that has not yet been given clearance to descend? The anchors and the news media are suffering the worst kind of spatial disorientation. Their job is to get clicks, not to guide you safely to your destination.
The answer is to trust your instruments. Your financial attitude indicator is your statements and performance reports. It is your tax returns, your expenses, the turbulence in your portfolio. It is the concerned look from your spouse telling you to land the plane now and regroup — ask me how I know.
Trust what you are seeing, not what you are hearing.
So I am asking for something simple. Put me in the right seat as SIC — second in command. You remain PIC. Let me see what you are seeing: performance reports and anything else bearing on your financial life. I will give you a clear-eyed read on what your instruments should be telling you. Is there blue sky ahead? Or is your radar set too short a range — extend it and you may find weather at your twelve o’clock.
Let’s talk. Wealth management is changing — we are going from propellers to jets. And jets fly higher, above most of the weather, almost entirely on instruments.
To my current Keel Wealth clients: I’ve got you. No MAYDAY, no spatial disorientation. There will be days I flash the fasten seat belt sign — you’ll hear the familiar chime — but we know the destination, and we are flying it on instruments.
And I’d ask one thing of you in return. If someone you care about is flying by feel right now, introduce us. Growing Keel Wealth lets me keep improving this experience for you, and the best clients come to me from clients I already have.
What do you think?
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