We are halfway through 2020, and what a wild ride it has been so far.  The first six months of this year has been one of stark contrast. We have seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We have seen amazing heights of achievement fueled by human ingenuity and collaboration juxtaposed to the dark days of human division and despair. 

The same day that SpaceX, NASA, and the world celebrated the successful start of a new era in space exploration, the crew of the Dragon and the International Space Station (ISS) were orbiting mass outbreaks of the coronavirus, protests, violence, and political unrest. The irony of these extremes is that there is both one answer and one driving motivation that fuels them both – and that is hope.

Significant investments of time, money, fortitude, faith, combined with a long-term perspective driven by dreams for a better life will be the key to conquering both the vast distance of space, and the growing divide among neighbors this planet.  Meaningful growth and change often comes through adversity, and from the willingness of those to persevere, and to pioneer a new path forward from the old to the new.

The days ahead will require pioneers of hope. Positive change will require those willing to invest their resources into planting, growing, and sharing hope with the long-term perspective and goals in mind, perhaps outcomes that will even take multiple lifetimes to achieve. 

The loud and noisy vocal minority that currently dominate with evocative headlines, jarring sound bites, and scrolling tweets are often just the tactics of short-term thinking and not long-term change. These are merely challenges for pioneers of hope to overcome. 

The SpaceX Dragon launch was historic, but not because of the two men aboard the spaceship. The mission is historic because it was a team of over one-hundred thousand people all committed to doing their small part,  not just to launch the two-man crew to the ISS – but to launch millions of future generations towards the hope of a better future in distant worlds.

Like the SpaceX Dragon, overcoming the challenges we face on our planet now will require rising above the chaos, working together, committed in our long-term cause of hope for humankind, and recognizing that even vast distances are only conquered by taking the first step.

Strong Valley was launched with the goal of rethinking how personal and business financial management could be done. We started our firm with a focus on people, relationships, and long-term thinking. From the very start we viewed Strong Valley as an opportunity to build and strengthen our community – the community of clients, the community of like-minded partners, and the physical communities in which we live.

We know that there are many reasons to have concerns during these times, but we also believe that there are many reasons to celebrate and have hope for the future.  We stand firm in our resolve to be pioneers of hope and helping clients and our communities achieve a better life.  We also actively encourage you to share your ideas on what it means to be pioneers of hope.

We hope you enjoy the information in this quarterly newsletter from Strong Valley.