Blindsided – With My Eyes Wide Open.
This happens to us all the time- whether we like to admit it or not.
It all began with a lovely breakfast on the patio of our hotel in Florence, Italy. We headed to the train station, bound for Rome. A quick 90-minute journey for leg 4 of our Italian vacation. We boarded the train to discover a gentleman in one of our seats. There was another family who also had duplicate seats with this person. After comparing tickets, we didn’t have a good answer of the discrepancy so found other seats nearby. As the train left the station, an employee reviewed our seats and notified us we were in the wrong car. We made our way to the correct car (3 back), leaving our luggage behind as there was no safe way to gather our rolling bags while the train was taking corners at a high speed.
It’s a lovely train ride through the rolling hills, dotted with century-old estates filled with olive groves and grape lined hillsides. Having little experience with trains in Europe, it became evident we would have a short-window to collect our bags in Rome-3 train cars away. Knowing chaos would break out once the train stopped and all disembarked, Terry and I discussed options; make our way back to the location of our baggage before arriving or make a quick exit off the train when we arrived and run up a few cars to grab luggage before train headed out. We agreed on plan B.
An announcement let us know we were 5 minutes from Rome. Terry and I gathered our things and made our way to the door- hopping off the train and making our way toward our luggage. I quickly realized something was wrong when a train conductor blew his whistle, hopped back aboard and the train began moving. We then watched the train AND our luggage leave…
It became quickly apparent there were several stops in Rome that we were unaware of. When we purchased the “direct” tickets, we assumed we’d hop on and then hop off at our destination. It was quite weird (and distressing) watching the train pull away with our luggage. After a mental check of my backpack contents, I was reassured I had what we REALLY needed- passports, etc. Everything else was replaceable. Fortunately, our luggage was removed at the next stop and held safely for our collection.
What this unfortunate circumstance did do, however, is remind me that best intentions can go wrong without all the information. I find this in my business as so often clients make decisions with the best intentions, given the facts they can gather. Unfortunately, even with our eyes wide open, we can be blindsided without the facts that pertain to our situation. These situations may not cause irreplaceable damage, but they often set us back and cause unnecessary frustration.
When it comes to your financial future and especially during the current economic headlines, be sure to reach someone who can provide support for the blind spots you don’t know you have. It’s never been more important to seek proper counsel so you can take corrective actions before hopping off the train.
We had an incredible journey in Italy and recommend all take the opportunity to employ a little adventure in your lives.
Live on and live well!
Kelli
Investment advisory services are offered through Golden State Equity Partners, LLC (“GSEP”), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Longevity Wealth is a DBA of GSEP. CA Insurance Lic# OH03261