Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA

Financial Planner. Navy vet. MBA @ UF. Small business owner.

Political lean: Forward.

Core values: Teamwork, ethical conduct, transparency.

[Vitaliy Katsenelson @vitaliyk]

In ancient Greece and Rome, parents took their kids to study oratory skills from teachers called Sophists (the word sophisticated has sophist as its root).

Sophists focused on the art of persuasion through both emotion and reason, and kids were taught to argue both sides of an argument.

Stoics, on the other hand, put the emphasis mainly on reason (not emotions) in their communications.

The Sophist’s oratory skill was like a spear; it was a powerful weapon that could be used for good or for evil, thus students needed the morality taught by philosophy to know where to point it.

Stoics were extremely cautious about the Sophists – they thought the words you use to persuade others matter, since in persuading others you may impact your own thinking.

In the attempt to persuade others through an appeal to their emotions, we use colorful metaphors; we dramatize the words we use.

If we had two brains, one to talk to others and one to talk to ourselves, we’d be fine.

But that is not the case; thus our words may turn on us and impact our own emotional state.

It is almost as though Stoics would not want to use the colors available in the rainbow to express their opinions but resort to only black and white.

However, I see the value of their thinking.

We need to examine the words we use when we communicate with ourselves.

When something stirs up negative emotions inside us, we need to be careful when we describe the problem to ourselves.

We want to make sure we are not being Sophists against ourselves.

The best way to do this is to write it out.

When you lay each word on the paper, examine it.

Instead of “My husband drives me insane,” you write, “My husband says the following … that upsets me.” (I am not quoting from my wife’s journal; I am reading her mind.)

Instead of “The stock market collapsed,” write “The stock market declined X%.”

Epictetus said something along the same lines.

Instead of saying “Our ship is lost far at sea; we’ll never get home,” he suggested we go with “We are at sea, and we don’t know where we are.”

We take fancy words, string them together, and add dramatic, superfluous colors.

Instead of calling a dish Basel Honey Glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon, Marcus Aurelius might suggest we describe it as “the dead body of a fish, with herbs and honey.”

He writes, “Just in the same way we should act all through life, and where there are things which appear worthiest of our approval, we should lay them bare and look at their worthlessness and strip them of all the words by which they are exalted.”

We need to pull the fancy outer layer off our problems and strip them to their bones. Instead of “my life is horrible,” you create a list of things in your life that bother you, spelling them out as plainly as possible (don’t use big, colorful words; leave those for the Sophists).

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@SMB_Attorney Whoever rented it for $11k likely overpaid and your friend is now anchored on an unrealistic price.

Also, real estate has been in a state of denial since the first interest rate hikes.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

Real estate has been riding the same declining interest rates as the bond market for the last 43 years.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@FortWayneCPA @GeneralOakwood Fee-only planner here.

Agreed. The difficulty is determining when to use one, what type, and how much. In most cases, a SPIA around age 70-75 does the job well.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@FortWayneCPA @SokolGeoff Hallelujah

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

Just waiting for the Bitcoin crowd to learn about the Tulip bubble.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@BarehamBeverly @FortWayneCPA Well crafted response. I hope he goes with this one.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

Why don't real estate agents just say the quiet part out loud?

Your home is worth 10-20% less now because interest rates went up.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Legacy media lies
https://t.co/FhESudf28w

[Hanno Lustig @HannoLustig]

How does one mark-to-market in PE? Two ways. Gradually, and then suddenly.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@Jason And if Bitcoin goes down?..

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@someRandomDev5 @JohnnyW32464272 @deedydas My MBA was focused on ML/AI with direct applications in running those teams. I graduated with a 3.96 at the top of my class from a top 5 MBA program (University of Florida). Try again.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@thomashawk @GavinNewsom @PGE4Me Did you have access to the electricy rates before, or did they change the rates recently?

Seems like something you could have done the math on beforehand.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@someRandomDev5 @deedydas Sorry, I don't argue with people on the internet who hide behind faceless pseudonyms. It's impossible to measure your credibility or merit. And for measuring your argument on it's merits... there are none. Just baseless character attacks.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

Don't take life too seriously

[Rock @TheCensoredRock]

This is so dumb I love it 😂

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@someRandomDev5 @deedydas Ah, the Reductio ad Hitlerum or the "Hitler card" fallacy - to discredit an idea or thing by associating it with Adolf Hitler or the Nazis, suggesting that because Hitler engaged in a particular behavior, it must be inherently negative.

Not seeing it here.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@HTownEnergyFrog @203_pepper @vrexec @MisterE43921727 A new startup after quitting a W-2 is a red flag for lenders. Find a good independent mortgage broker. They can find you a HELOC, HELO, whatever you want with a solid 2 years of tax returns of an existing business. BofA isn't competitive and it sounds like he wanted you out.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@JohnJBlatchford @1_badkarma Looks cheap and old.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@vrexec @MisterE43921727 My broker says last 2 years is viable.

Sounds like your most recent 2 years aren't great and you're giving them less than stellar numbers to justify a large loan on an already levered balance sheet.

Also, if you have $1m just pay cash and do a HELO to cash back out.

[Marcus P. Miller, CFP®, MBA, EA @MarcusPMiller1]

@CaulfieldTim And the antivax world showed up in your comments...

Agreed that if he's successful in any anti-vax capacity our children will suffer. This is literally the only issue/appointment that has made me consider moving. Moving to a state that will support vaccines that is.