Can Maverick Teach You to be Better with Money (Transcript):
Michael Baker 00:00
Warning. If you have not seen the new Top Gun, Maverick movie, don’t watch this video. There are spoilers ahead.
For those of you who have no intention of watching Maverick, or you’ve already seen it, in yhis video, I’m going to talk about three specific ideas that are in the movie Maverick that I think also translate into your financial life. Let’s go!
First of all, I want to just start out by saying how amazing was Maverick?! I went to see it, and I was completely blown away. Of course, the trailer gave me some level of expectation, but I was not ready for how much I think they just absolutely nailed it.
So, I will probably go see it again. And if you feel so inclined, help yourself. Sometimes things are worth seeing twice on the big screen.
Alright, so let’s get started. Let’s talk about 3 ideas that I saw or in reflecting in the movie that I think may translate into your financial life and help you maybe think about money a little bit differently. So, let’s get going.
Number one, in the movie, Maverick is recruited to be the new instructor of top gun. They pulled back the graduates of Top Gun, and they’ve created this best of the best type of scenario. But the reason that they’ve created this new training regime is they have a very specific, a very specific mission, that they need Maverick to train these pilots to complete.
And so, when you think about mission, you’re thinking about we have a strategic goal with one specific outcome. Many of us think about our finances in the same way. We have kids that we want to help pay for college. We have retirement that we want to fund with our savings and investing.
So, we have a very specific mission or outcome. That’s nothing new. Goal setting is nothing new.
What I want to talk about though, is what they did specifically. If you watched in the training montage, one of the very first lessons that Maverick teaches is he wanted them to know that there is still more that they can learn.
I am such a believer in that. I believe that things change all the time and that we have to constantly, constantly be willing to be open minded. We don’t know all that there is to know.
The second thing in the training– He created “what if” scenarios. Maverick talked with them specifically about if they went into a certain scenario, they would face this type of obstacle. If they were late to their target, they would face a different type of obstacle. Maverick stressed these scenarios while they were training.
Just like in the last several weeks, many investors have really been concerned about the downside volatility that we’ve seen in the stock market. And I’ll admit that stinks. It’s not fun.
Many people just get where it has happened for so long, repeatedly, it just becomes a scenario that we just, we cannot stand it. We don’t like it and it begins to stress us out.
Well, these are the types of scenarios that we want to constantly be thinking about. When we’re preparing for a long-term financial plan, when we’re when we’re thinking about investing for the long term, we have to consider—what happens if the market does lose 20% 25%? Or over 30%?
How will we respond? You know, would we be prepared for that type of loss or that type of volatility in our investments? So, it wasn’t just preparing for the mission, right?
It was not just preparing for the mission. But number 2 was, Maverick wanted them to be thinking about the what ifs like what if this happened? What if something went wrong? How would we respond?
So that’s the first thing I wanted to point out. It’s not just about the mission. It’s about the what if factor.
The second thing I’m going to point out is communication. If you watch that movie, those pilots are constantly communicating. Not just with each other, but they’re also communicating back with the people that are watching things on the radar that are in like the control towers, if you will, right.
If you are a fan of the first movie, Top Gun, one of the big things that Maverick would always do is he would buzz the tower. And you know they hated him for that. But, he would do that.
That control tower is like your, you know, your central command. Think of that like your financial planning team or your group of advisors. Constantly communicate with them about what’s going on in your life.
So, if you’re having life changes, if something’s happening, if you’re seeing something, if you’re nervous about something that may be happening, communicate it.
I tell our people all the time, please do not suffer in silence. We want to know. If you’re worried that you might be getting downsized with your job, if you think you might be qualifying for a bonus or a raise, if you think he may be changing jobs or moving or any type of life change or transition that may be on the forefront.
Even if it may be a couple of years away, keep those lines of communication open. Because we want to constantly be thinking about well, how does this affect the mission? How do we need to change things or look at things through a different lens?
Communication is a key component of long-term financial success.
The last thing I want to talk about is at the end of the movie. We’re starting to come towards the part where the emotions are really building, and Maverick is putting together this team. The key thing I want you to think about was, (I think) Maverick picked the pilots that were the best fit, not necessarily the best pilots.
There’s a specific character, Hang Man. He’s everything you would hope for that type of character to be. I won’t spoil it too much, but he was the perfect foil for the people that were really cheering for.
But he was a phenomenal pilot. Maybe he was the best pilot skill wise, but he was not the best fit for the team. I’ve done videos in the past about hiring a financial advisor, and I’m going to do more of those.
But one of the things I want you to think about is, don’t just think about who is the “best.” Think about who is the best fit. Who do you see yourself working with long term?
Who do you feel like is going to play that advisory role for you and really be a good partner, teammate, wingman, or whatever label you want to put on it? How are they going to help you towards accomplishing that mission?
So, think about that–who is going to be not necessarily the “best” because there are ton of phenomenally skilled advisors out there. But maybe they don’t have a skill set in an area that you need. Or. maybe that their business is so big, you’re not going to get individualized attention.
Perhaps they work with a very well known, well branded firm, and they have a very large team. And the person or advisor that you resonate best with isn’t going to be the person that’s helping you on a day-by-day basis. All these things matter.
It’s up for you for you to decide. So, think about that. Think about who is the best fit, not always who is the most skilled.
These are my three things that I took away from the film Maverick. This is a new segment I’m going to try to play with and just because I love movies, and I love personal finance, but I want to help those of those of you who watch these videos, kind of think about things from a different lens.
As you go and watch Maverick, if you’ve seen it already, alright, think about these three areas:
What’s the mission? What are the “What Ifs?” What are the scenarios that if this happens, then how would you respond? We want to respond and not react if we can help it.
Number two is communication. When you’re when you’re going through life and you’re doing life, constantly be in communication with your team. The people that you’ve selected to be in your team are in your corner. Talk to them about what’s going on and about how you’re feeling.
If you’re feeling nervous or if you’re feeling excited about the markets, share those thoughts constantly to keep that flow of communication going.
Communication is the lubrication of success, right? We want that engine to be well greased and just churning for your favor and for your good.
Lastly, think about the best fit. There are tons of skilled professionals out there but think about who is going to be the best fit for you and your long-term success. And think about forming a team where it’s centered around you and your needs. First and foremost.
Thank you for watching, hope you enjoy the video. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel, and we’ll see you next time.