Follow Tradition Or Become One Of The New Rich

Tradition has its place in society, and there are instances when tradition serves a valuable purpose. For example, tradition reinforces values such as freedom, faith, integrity, a strong work ethic, and selflessness.

While a positive force in many instances, tradition can sometimes work against you. If blindly following traditions means impeding progress, maybe it’s time to question those traditions.

​​For example, while many of us grew up with our fathers’ belts as a common disciplinary tool, many of us who grew up with that tradition has likely turned to other forms of discipline – not involving corporal punishment – with our children.

Is tradition preventing you from living the way you want to live?

There’s a new generation of rich who are bucking tradition to live the lives they want to live. Are you content sticking with tradition, or would you buck tradition to be a part of the new rich – rich in experience and living on your own terms?

Tradition has been the buzzword as the PGA faces a new kid on the block, LIV Golf. LIV Golf is a professional golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia. The name LIV refers to the Roman numeral for 54, the number of holes to be played at LIV events. LIV is making waves for big names in golf it has enticed to defect from the PGA.

Of course, there are significant numbers involved. Two of the biggest names – Phil Mickelsen and Dustin Johnson – are being paid the king’s ransom. Mickelsen is being paid $200 million, and Johnson is being paid $125 million to join the LIV Tour. No doubt money has much to do with big-name American golfers defecting, but it’s not the entire story. While some critics have made this a political topic, the golfers have made it simply a matter of living life on their terms.

While the average PGA player plays between 20-30 tournaments a year, there are only eight tournaments yearly on the LIV Tour. For perspective, in the 14 years since joining the PGA Tour, Dustin Johnson has earned a total of $74,276,710 in winnings. Dustin Johnson will make more money in a straightforward move than in the last 14 years on the PGA without playing a single round of golf.

The PGA has 48 events, and LIV has only 8, which means less travel, less hassle, more time with family, and more time to do whatever golfers want to do. When Johnson was recently asked what he would do with the other 40 weeks of the year he wasn’t on the LIV Tour, he responded, “I can do whatever the hell I want.”

Isn’t that what we all dream of? To do whatever the hell we want? But that’s not the case. Most of us are doing other peoples’ biddings. We serve corporations, clients, etc. – anyone but our families or even ourselves.

• With your investments, are you clinging to tradition?

• ​Are you doing what everyone else has been doing and has taught you to do?

• ​Are you putting your money in underperforming 401(k) ‘s and mutual funds?

​​If you’re like most Americans, that traditional road will only lead you to an underfunded retirement full of worries and stress – not exactly doing “whatever the hell” you want.

Are you investing for tradition, or are you investing for freedom? ​​Who’s in control of your time? Someone else or you?

​​Doing what you want when you want is truly the epitome of my podcast, where I discuss bucking tradition to “invest for freedom.”

In any walk of life, whenever a new kid shows up on the block, the naysayers always bring up the tradition to rail against the new way. That’s exactly what is happening in golf. Critics of Mickelsen and Johnson can make all kinds of arguments for why they should have stuck with the PGA. They can bring up the fact that the Saudis back the LIV Tour. They can gloat about the tradition of the PGA Tour and all the greats that have played on the Tour, and they can even mention that they’ll never wear the green jacket of the Masters again.

​​But these critics are missing one point. It’s not the critics who have to live the lives of these golfers; it’s the golfers who have to deal with the stress and the demands on their families. Golf is their job.

The golfers who buck tradition and join the LIV Tour or anybody else in any other field who goes against tradition have the chance to do whatever they want. They can say things like:

“I can spend 40 weeks out of the year with my spouse and kids, we can spend three months in Greece, work a mission in Nicaragua, build a hospital in Honduras, or spend the last six precious months with a loved one with a terminal illness.”

Investors sticking with tradition can expect more of the same – volatility and underfunded retirements. Those who invest in freedom have the potential to do whatever they want.

Ultimately, do you want to follow tradition or live life on your terms?

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