Four years ago I sat on my couch and cried. I was flanked by my two children, then 9 and 7, who were hugging me as they were not accustomed to dad crying. Along with my wife, we were all watching as Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. An outcome that I had worked so hard to help achieve. An outcome that didn’t come without a little family sacrifice as I was out of the house for many hours phone banking and trying hard to get out the vote in swing states across the country. Through the tears of joy, I told my family that they were living through one of the largest moments in American history: the election of our country’s first African-American president.
As a financial advisor, it is my job to help steer my client’s investments (most of it IRAs and other retirement funds) safely through the turbulent markets. Of course, 2008 was the most turbulent year in our lifetimes. So the promise of change and hope that our young president was offering was a welcomed elixir. Here was a transformative man, one capable of bringing the country together. I knew it. My kids knew it. It simply felt…special.