Life. It’s risky.
Dwell on that a moment.
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| March 2019, Schuyler, Nebraska |
I live in eastern Nebraska which is experiencing record
setting floods. My family and I are safe
and dry – and I’m immensely thankful.
Twenty minutes in nearly any direction from where we live is flood
country. Many aren’t safe or dry. Their lives are being irrevocably changed as
I write.
Cynics might say those folks built on a flood plain, river
bottom, or low-lying plot of ground. It
may be claimed they “knew the risk”; now they pay the price. The cynic would move on.
The problem is that a similar argument could be made for all of us. If you live on the gulf
coast, you know the hurricane risk. You
may pay the price. If you live on the
west coast you’re subject to wild fires and earthquakes. You know the risk. You may pay the price. If you live in Kansas or Oklahoma you’re
subject to tornados. You know the risk. You may pay the price. The list continues.
Anywhere we live has risks we accept. We know we may pay a price for accepting
those risks. Cynicism has no merit. What’s valuable is doing the right thing, the
gracious thing, the human thing. It’s
helping those needful souls when disaster engulfs them.
When people are dealt the worst of hands we are called to
give of our talents, time, and treasure to help. I’ve no talent – I’m not a plumber,
carpenter, electrician, or physician – neither butcher, baker, nor candlestick
maker, all of whom are needed when the black swan of disaster settles on a
region.
I can contribute my time to help clean up or sit listening to
someone as they struggle to make sense of their total loss. I can give of my treasure which is the
point of this post.
One purpose of my dividend
farming effort is to improve the life of my family by establishing and growing
an additional stream of income. Doing so
reduces our risk if we lose the primary stream and it can add income for things
we may otherwise need or find enjoyable.
A second, but important, purpose in Dividend Farming is
building the capacity to help those in need when the unexpected overwhelms
them. This morning, we did that.
We gathered a list of needed items and
dropped them at a local church mobilizing relief. Then we drove I-80 to see the Platte River
out of its banks, inundating countless homes, explaining to our boys in the
back seat that our small drop of help would be collected with countless other
small drops to deliver a huge wave of assistance for people whose houses we saw
submerged.
Building a dividend farm with
recurring revenue allows us to help others to a greater degree than we could
otherwise. No questions. No cynicism.
Lend a hand. That’s the purpose.
This post isn’t crafted as a plea for help in Nebraska. Rather, it’s a call to action for investors –
Dividend Farmers, Value Investors, Momentum Players, Day Traders,
whomever. If you’re investing, do so
with a purpose aside from stuffing your bank account. Contribute a portion of your investment treasure
to those who may have lost everything.
It doesn’t matter if those in need are on the coast, in the heartland,
or on another continent. You may never
know the difference your help makes in the life of another human being, but make
the effort. It’s worth it. Invest with a
higher purpose. That’s all I ask.
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