It was 2001. I was 24 years old, made half-a-million dollars the year before and business was getting better and better. Most people would say that I was a success by some standard. Although I’d tried to stay in school, it wasn’t for me. I just wasn’t a student even though I’d tried mightily, spending 1995 through 2000 in school. I was working while I was a student, of course, and working hard at both. I remember getting a call from my Grandmother, “Hey honey, how are things?” “Pretty good,” I replied. “Super busy with everything and trying to keep up.” “Your […]

“Jenny called me and said she loved you,” my client wrote to me. He’d emailed just to give me feedback after referring me a potential new client. “She said you were great and exactly what she was looking for.” There’s no better way to end the day than with an email with that news. I typed my reply, “Well, I hope she decides to become a client.” I sent my email. Within moments, I received one back from my client that simply said, “She will.” This very dear client connected me with a celebrity in New York. She’s a household name […]

The definition of ‘success’ is so different for different people. For one person, a banner year in sales would be a reason to quit the industry for others. The owner of a budding $ 10 million company may feel far more successful than the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar firm who just saw their stock falter. A personal best at the gym or on a cycle ride may look way different for you than it does for someone else. And personal fulfillment Since the entire notion of success is so subjective and personal, how can we even measure it? How do […]

Of course, you’ve heard the old fitness adage, “You are what you eat.” Those words certainly ring true if you’re over forty and try to keep up with a subpar diet by hitting the gym extra hard! Well, I believe that you are what you THINK, too. Quite simply, our thoughts become our reality. Of course, this isn’t an original or even new proposition. People have understood this concept intuitively and then in the nascent fields of positive thinking and psychology for a century or more, leading poet Ralph Waldo Emerson to once say, “You are what you think all […]

When you look in the mirror, do you see the person you always wanted to be? For most people, the answer is a resounding “no.” They don’t see a version of themselves that’s even close to reaching their potential. You fall short. You’re imperfect. You have so many flaws. And the more you focus on those perceived negative qualities, the more unhappy and unfulfilled you seem to be. The first thing we see when we inspect the human being in front of us is flaws, imperfections, and shortcomings. But you’re not alone because that’s just human nature. In fact, studies […]

This morning a client fired me. This morning, a client fired me. It wasn’t for anything I did, or anything I didn’t do for that matter. Instead, he told me that he simply wanted to go in a different direction, which is totally fine. At the end of our face-to-face meeting today, he thanked me for my years of commitment and work. He told me that he really values our friendship and wants to keep it that way in the future even. As we discussed the reason for his decision, he said that even though we did not always agree on […]

Two phone calls. Two different people. Two totally different needs. “Hey man, how are things?”  I asked. “Not great right now,” he said. “Why? What’s going on with you? Is everything ok?” My friend paused and sighed before replying, “My dad went in for his normal check-up. But when they did his blood work, they noticed his white blood cells were extremely low. So, they tested him, and he has an aggressive form of leukemia.” I offered what few words of consolation I could. “My mom is a mess. I don’t know what to think.” We talked a while longer. I listened, mostly saying nothing. […]

Ten years ago this year, I launched my firm, One Wealth Management. Ten years ago today, I made decisions that dramatically changed the course of my life, both business and personal. It was ten years ago that I was sitting at Nobu in Malibu with my mother, sister, and pregnant girlfriend (now wife). In the middle of our dinner, I received a call from the doctor at the hospital saying that my father had passed away. We were never close. He was ill for the last five-plus years of his life. We had him in a home that cared for […]

James has been a client for 15 years now. We got together earlier this week (via Zoom) to discuss his investments and his financial plan. After five minutes, I asked him how things were going. To which James replied, “I’m dying. But other than that, things are going pretty well.” I was, of course, completely shocked. I thought I’d heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, but did you just say you were dying?” I asked. “Yes, you heard right. I have lymphoma. I’ve been diagnosed and start treatment next week,” James said. “But the doctors say I have 5 to 10 […]