"I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind -- and to work some of those contradictions out for myself." ~ Michel de Montaigne
My name is Kent Thune and I am a father, a husband, a friend, a thinker, a dreamer, a musician, an investment advisor, a Certified Financial Planner (R), and a perpetual student (my most recent accomplishment being an MBA).
I am also thankful and proud to call myself "a writer," which is a perfect lead-in to the creation and evolution of this blog...
"As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
This blog was not planned -- it was enabled. Just a few years ago, I had no plans of starting my own business and certainly no plans of starting a blog site. I barely even knew what a "blog" was then!
When my first-born son was four years old, I was extremely busy “climbing the corporate ladder.” He asked me why I was away from home so much and missing special events, such as Christmas plays and “trick-or-treating” on Halloween. Just as any normal, dutiful Father would do, I explained that I was “working hard for our family to earn money for all the things we have…”
Without a moment’s hesitation, my young son said, “I’d rather have my Daddy than money.”
I was speechless as my heart hit the floor…
How ironic is that? I managed hundreds of millions of dollars for tens of thousands of people at a pension firm and here is a four-year old child delivering the kind of paradigm shift about money that I needed to find the best path for me and my family… From that day, I, and my beautiful and supportive wife, began to plot a plan to start my own investment advisory firm.
I now operate a successful business out of my home; I drop my son off at school; greet him when he gets off the bus; put him and his younger brother to bed at night; and I’ve never missed a significant event in my two boys’ lives since then…
Oh, yes! The inception of my business also enabled the "accidental" creation of The Financial Philosopher...
"Philosophy begins in wonder." ~ Plato
Being an intensely analytical, logical and curious thinker, philosophy had always intrigued me but I had never significantly studied it on an academic or personal level.
When a close friend suggested I create a blog to drive traffic to my firm’s website, however, having been a fan of reading simple yet profound philosophical quotes, the idea of The Financial Philosopher came quite easily and it essentially created itself. I never considered any other name for the blog…
What happened next was truly an awakening for me: As I began to look around for new philosophical quotes for my newly created blog, I was drawn to these amazing words of wisdom, some of which had existed for centuries. It seemed as if many of the words expressed thoughts I had already thought -- only they were delivered in a more eloquent way than I could express.
I soon became an eager and full-time “student” of philosophy and, most amazingly, learned more about myself along the way. One of the most valuable and rewarding things I learned is that I am a writer...
"I hope that posterity will judge me kindly, not only as to the things which I have explained, but also to those which I have intentionally omitted so as to leave to others the pleasure of discovery." ~ Rene Descartes
I continue to discover that this wisdom that has existed for so long still applies today and, in fact, provides more useful guidance in my investment advisory and financial planning work than all of my combined certifications and graduate studies have given me. Furthermore, this wisdom extends beyond personal finance but across all aspects of life...
It is now my personal task to continue learning about myself as I attempt to encourage and enable others to discover their own path to a meaningful existence...
Thank-you for reading The Financial Philosopher...
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