Fear or Happiness. Which is more powerful? Which is more calming? Fear can drive us to movement. It can energize us to protect, to guard, but also close us off to what’s right in front of us. While happiness leads to calm (mostly), it leaves us with a clear head. But also, it can lead us to complacency. Today, we live in a world of very mixed feelings: fear of what the future holds, yet happiness perhaps in how the year has gone. This is true personally, professionally, and perhaps financially. Yet, what is that hangover feeling? What is that […]

This week, I had the pleasure of spending time with my study group. It’s a group of individuals from around the country, in the same business as me but all with very different ways of doing things. We all get to the result we want – but by doing things our own way. However, you get to what you want faster and with greater success by doing things your own way AND always being willing to listen to different ideas and perspectives. Too often (especially now) people don’t want to talk, they don’t want to share. Embarrassed? Perhaps. Shy? Maybe. Unsure […]

Pete Rose once said, “Never change your swing. Your swing is what got you to the big leagues. If a pitcher is getting to you, move up in the box. Or move back in the box. Adjust your feet and how you position yourself. Never change your swing. Simply make adjustments.” You, too, are a success for a reason. You’ve had success (or failure) for a reason, whether that applies to your professional, personal, family, or financial life. That does not mean you don’t have to pivot sometimes or make small necessary changes. Now, if you are truly unhappy with […]

Can you believe we just finished the first week of September? How did that happen? Wasn’t it just Christmas 2024? Time seems to fly by so much faster than when I was younger. This week I spent some time with long-time clients and friends. Their daughter, off to her second year of college, is ready to conquer the world. Last summer, she interned for us; just a fantastic young woman. Together with her parents, we discussed where they were personally and financially. Things are going well. We discussed how all the planning we’ve done over the last two decades is […]

This was a week that I’m sure we will all remember forever. I don’t usually talk politics.  I think everyone is entitled to their own belief system, their own opinion.  I have always believed that freedom comes from proper discourse and mutual respect. We don’t all have to agree, but we must respect each other’s voice. What happened this week to Charlie Kirk is not what America stands for. Both sides need to calm the rhetoric down. Charlie was 31 years old.  He was thoughtful and had this own belief system.  Which we are all entitled too. He debated vociferously. […]

When was the last time you gave someone else praise? ‘Told someone how great they were? Expressed gratitude for their effort? I have always believed in being the “black velvet” behind the stone. Let me explain. When you go to a jewelry store, the focus is always on the diamond or that shiny stone. But without the black velvet behind the stone, that jewel would never show its true potential; the glow, the sparkle. I have been blessed in my career and in my personal life to always have that black velvet around me – people who supported me and […]

How do you get to be so good? It’s all in the recovery ; how we recover from mistakes. I read a very interesting article on parenting recently. The message was how both parents provide different guidance. Mothers, for example, are there to nurture and be there to say, “It’s ok.” Fathers, on the other hand, are there to push the child, make them feel safe, and to help the child build that recovery from mistakes mentality. Both parents are equally responsible for how a child grows and becomes an adult. All this may seem obvious to most, but it’s […]

My grandfather died at 62 of Parkinson’s disease. My father died at 62 of Parkinson’s Disease and Paranoid Schizophrenia. By the time my grandfather was 35, he was having trouble playing catch with his son. His body had already started to fail him. Focused on his business (and a whole lot of gambling), he never spent much time with his son. Instead, he chose to write letters to my father as his method of sharing his thoughts on life, academics, sports, or just the choices he made in general. When I was in my early twenties, before my father lost […]

Steve Jobs once said, “When fishermen cannot go out to sea, they repair their nets. In simple terms, even if you’re not doing your main thing, always do something that relates to your main thing.” Do the main thing. Or always work on something that supports and enhances that main thing. That’s true focus. Look, there are days I don’t feel like I’m very productive. There are even some days when I feel like I don’t want to do much of anything at all! I just am a little burnt out; I need to rest, I’ll tell myself. But all […]

My son and I have had a challenging relationship these last few months. We’re butting heads and just not really getting along, which totally bums me out. He’s now 10, and I know he is trying to figure out his way, gain his power, and be his own man. I never had a father around. I never even had much of a male role model until I was 18. So, this is all new for me. I was sitting with a friend and longtime client the other day at lunch, and decided to share what was going on with me […]