A prospective client called me the day before we were set to meet. “Looking forward to seeing you Wednesday,” he said. “But I am not signing anything now – just looking to learn more.” No problem, I respect the honesty and there’s no rush at all for me. He and I sat down at a nice local restaurant and talked about his planning, his situation, and what was most important to him. We got to know each other well and had a great conversation about his financial future but also about life, family, kids, and the lot. Soon, he asked […]

What’s the difference between loyalty and blind loyalty? I’ve given this topic a lot of thought lately. We all value loyalty: in friends, teammates, coworkers, and certainly in relationships. But at what point do we hold loyalty above all else? Is there a point where our allegiances become unhealthy, the price we have to pay just not worth it? First off, what is loyalty? (Because the word may mean different things to different people.) According to Dictionary.com, the definition of ‘loyalty’ is: “The state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.” Or “An example or instance of […]

In the year 2000, the New York Yankees did something remarkable: they won the World Series. Out of 30 teams in baseball, through the grind of a 162-game regular season and another 16 games over three rounds in the playoffs, they came out as champions. What made it even more amazing when they recorded the final out of the World Series (against their crosstown Subway Series rivals, the Mets, no less) is that it was their third World Series win in three years: a Three-Peat! Now, it isn’t easy to win. In fact, the Yankees only won 87 regular season […]

“Honestly, I would have given it only a 20% chance that Andy would have any interest at all,” my prospective client, Todd, said. “But you sure did pique his interest.” Todd was the Chairman, CEO, and President of a publicly traded newsgroup. He was 65 years young, successful, wealthy, and generous. He also understood that one person couldn’t possibly know everything these days, nor could his advisors. “He and I have worked together for 40 years,” Todd went on, speaking of his financial gatekeeper, Andy. “Andy is our family’s CPA, attorney, our consigliere. He knows where every dollar of our family’s […]

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 […]