“I Enjoyed Being Shot”

On the outskirts of Bogota, Columbia stands a company whose mission is to keep you alive. They sell golf shirts, handmade suits, bedspreads and even Bibles, seems pretty unremarkable, but what makes this company unique is all these items are “bullet-proof.”

Owner, Miguel Caballero, has more than two hundred employees, and all of them have been shot – on purpose. That’s right; in order to work in his factory you have to be shot. As you can imagine, quality controls are rather high. Caballero’s clients don’t blink at paying $12,000 for a single shirt, a bargain if this shirt saves your life. When David Owen, staff writer for The New Yorker, wrote an expose of the company, he decided to travel to Bogota – he decided to be shot wearing one of its products. In an interview with TheWorld.org, Owens said, “I enjoyed being shot.” Not a statement one hears often.

Thankfully, being shot isn’t in our job description, however, worse case scenario financial planning is critical to our effectiveness. Proper financial planning leans into the most unlikely of circumstances to develop a shield against life’s uncertainties. The typical financial plan unfortunately ignores this reality. Typical financial plans promote a false sense of security. Callebero’s clients enjoy a sense of safety because all of his products have been tested repeatedly in the most extreme circumstances on the very people dedicated to protecting his client’s lives. Wouldn’t it be nice if all financial advisors did the same?