Who do you trust with your life?

In the past two years, I have had three friends diagnosed with cancer, each one of them survivors in their own right.

This has made me realise how fragile life really is, and made me wonder about the horrific trauma these women have undergone. In trying to understand this trauma, I wondered—where does trust lie when it comes to your life? Did my three friends trust that their doctors would remove their cancers completely? Did they implicitly trust their anaesthetists to get the job done right? At what cost to their family finances and relationships did this trust come?

The overwhelming amount of information they were faced with before, during, and after treatments must have come with the steepest and scariest learning curve. Being given such information at these vulnerable points in their lives must have been challenging to say the least—especially with the pressure of having to make difficult, life-saving decisions.

Should they have had more time and consideration to make these decisions with the information provided, I know that they may have chosen alternative therapies than chemo. Are you finding yourself pressured to trust someone with your life savings because they know more than you? Do you feel you’re in a vulnerable position due to a lack of knowledge?

Do you feel you’re being harassed to make decisions based on dire consequences? When it comes to taking the necessary steps to your financial wellbeing, being harried is not the way forward, and is never in your best interest when it comes to signing on a dotted line. I propose that when you make financial decisions, you first ask yourself these three sets of questions:

1.Do I understand what I am getting into? Have I asked enough questions? Have I researched alternative ways of approaching this? Have I done enough to educate myself and seek out a second opinion? Has adviser provided education tools and diagrams that you can see, hear or touch

2.Do I feel in control of my decision to move forward, knowing I have the necessary protection in place? Have life insurance, trauma, and income protection been factors in my discussions? Have I thought of other ways to protect my financial decisions, such as choosing the right kind of structure for my property deal?

3.Does my advisor give me a sense of ease in their ability to move me forward? Do they have empathy; ample knowledge; and the proper accreditations, qualifications, and experience? Would I trust them with my life?

At Lyfe Academy, we strive to be your financial partner in life—to hold your hand, educate you with the necessary information, and empower you to make decisions with control, accountability, and confidence. We don’t promise you the big picture of getting rich quick. Instead, we actively guide and assist you in becoming the master of your own destiny.

Be brave, be confidant, and most of all—be in control.