What most enlightened advisors consider to be “wealth” has nothing to do with money. Seeking true
wealth may mean seeking deeper relationships, more personal growth or ways to create more meaning
in life. Achieving true wealth means possessing the ability to enjoy the small, ordinary pleasures of
life.interactive brokers
Real-World Example
One of my business owner clients recently retired. Now in his mid-70s, he has a well-known enterprise
and a significant net worth. He recently entered into an agreement with his former key employees to
buy out his business interests.
While my client still has a very active lifestyle, he frequently feels lost and lacks a sense of purpose. His
entire adult life has been about business and family. But now the kids are grown and his business has
been sold, so much of his identity is gone. This is a common issue with many highly driven wealth
builders, especially entrepreneurs.
What’s Next?
We often talk about “what’s next?” Out of these conversations, we’ve identified my client’s passion for
childhood literacy. It turns out he had trouble learning to read as a kid, and he’s eternally grateful for an
early teacher who recognized his disability and gave him the help he needed. She changed everything
for him, and now he wants to pay it forward.
My client’s wealth will sustain him and his family for generations to come. We’ve been using that
abundance to fund a literacy program at which he also volunteers several days per week. That’s a lot
more involvement than just writing big checks. Over time and with careful planning, my client has
transformed his wealth into a sense of prosperity and abundance.
But for too many well-off individuals, the confusion continues. In fact, many who strive to accumulate
more and more financial wealth don’t feel prosperous or have a sense of abundance. Their desire to
keep amassing more and more assets comes from a sense of lack, not from a sense of plenty.
As advisors, most of us aren’t trained psychologists. It’s not in our comfort zone to explore a client’s very
personal intimate relationship to her wealth. Nonetheless, being uncomfortable isn’t bad if we can help
the families we work with better understand their wealth and its purpose.
Help Clients Gain Clarity
As planners, we can help clients gain clarity by properly illustrating, projecting and demonstrating the
sustainability that their wealth will provide them. The desire to accumulate more may come from not