Issue 10.17
Acapulco Mexico is home to one of the most interesting and dangerous sports in the world – cliff diving. The sport originated in 1934 when two local fishermen challenged each other’s courage by throwing themselves into the sea from the top of the cliffs. Soon after, the La Quebrada Cliff Divers were formed and have been wowing tourists ever since. The group has become world renowned performing daily shows for the public and became so popular that an Elvis Presley movie was made about them.
The professional divers stand perched on top of jagged rock cliffs waiting for the right moment to jump off of a 115 foot tall cliff into the ocean. The water below varies in depths from 6 feet to 16 feet deep and the divers hit the water at 55 mph. To jump when the water is highest is a mistake because due to the ebb and flow of the water, the water will have disappeared by the time they jump, leaving them to land in water that is too shallow. So the divers rely heavily on their teammates to signal from the water below when the time is right to launch.
Ironically, the word Quebrada in Spanish means broken and many members of La Quebrada have reported broken forearms, neck and back trouble, detached retinas, and ruptured eardrums. But amazingly enough, in the 80 years that these professional divers have been taking the plunge off la Quebrada, no diver has ever been killed. The divers attribute their success to a tremendous amount of practice, teamwork and trust.
Finances, investments, social security and retirement can often be complicated and even scary. Like cliff divers, a good financial advisor is a veteran who knows exactly when and where to jump. A good financial advisor should take the time to get to know you, your goals and needs and when the time comes will look to you and say: “take my hand it’s time to jump”.
Mitch is an investment advisor for Heaton Financial, PC. Contact Mitch to schedule a FREE financial risk analysis 435-272-4362.