I’ll be the first to admit the new addition to my new office (and Zoom background) dances on the line of cheesy.
But it’s got multiple levels of meaning, could spark some fun conversations, and most importantly symbolizes our philosophy at Financial Zen.
So cheesy be damned, I’m flying it high and proud.
I’ll explain… but first the context…
So what are you looking at?
Well on one level it’s a bookend to hold up my CFP books.
On a deeper level, it’s a cheesy decoration for an investment professional…
In investing vernacular, a bull represents an investor who invests with expectations of a rising market, while a bear invests with expectations of a falling market.
(Wall St. folklore says that it arose in the 19th century because of the way the two animals attack. A bull thrusts up with his horns, while a bear swipes down with his claws.)
Put another way, a bull is an optimist and a bear is a pessimist.
A bull sees and expects the good. A bear sees and expects the bad.
Most importantly, a bull always wins in the long-term (but may lose in the short-term), while a bear never wins the long-term (but may win in the short-term).
If you’ve known me a minute, you know I am trying to build a culture of positivity and optimism – not just within our small, but growing firm – but more importantly within our Financial Zen community.
So an investment professional’s bookend representing the positive trampling the negative… well, it’s just too perfect to forgo because it might be a little cheesy.
