From time to time I’ll copy something from another investor coach somewhere in the country and pass it along. This is one such time.

The following came from the Facebook page of John Borger from Menifee Lakes, California. Thanks, John—this is short, clear, and to point. It’s helpful for all investors.

There are many in the financial industry who try to convince investors that they know what is going to happen. These “gurus” make boat loads of money off of unsuspecting investors wanting to believe there is someone who can tell them what is going to happen.

The simple truth is no one can predict the future. There are too many future variables (good and bad) that drive the market prices up or down short term. Think of all the factors that go into market prices—the weather, natural disasters, man-made disasters, political decisions, technology discoveries, medical discoveries, where you shopped (or didn’t shop) today, people’s feelings, hopes, dreams, instincts, perceptions, facts, data, statistics, new news, and the list goes on and on. There are literally trillions of variables. This is why we must have a prudent diversified investing strategy for our lifetimes, with rebalancing, to get the longer term average returns that are available to us as disciplined investors.

We don’t know which direction the next 20% in the market will be, but the next 100% is always up. This fact is somewhat reassuring if you are a lifetime investor.

My “Live Ready” message for today is this: It is not possible to know which will be the next hot stock, sector, country, or asset class. Be ready in advance by being diversified and rebalanced at all times. If you’re my client, rest well, you are ready for what’s coming next, whatever it is. If you are unsure or if you are relying on that guru to tell you which direction things are going in the short term, turn off the guru and get sure. Call my offices today.