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Strengthening Families by Putting People First

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Happy Holidays! In the spirit of the season, I thought it would be appropriate to reprise a post from 2018 that speaks to the value of Gratitude. May this be a time of Peace and Goodwill for you and your family.

Much of what I’ve learned about Gratitude has come from personal experience. When I look back, every personal crisis I’ve had has ultimately led to me to Gratitude. Whether it’s a serious illness, or a major setback in business or an unexpected accident, I now see the positives in those events and feel grateful for what I’ve learned from them. I’ve learned that adversity can be a great teacher, if you pay attention to the lessons. It wasn’t always that way.

I’ve learned a lot about Gratitude from my colleagues and friends at Empowered Wealth. Many have had personal or family health issues. We have all learned to appreciate and not take good health for granted. We’ve all learned the value of having family members who get along and care about each other. I think we share the value of friendship and being part of a community where we feel like we belong. It’s one of the reasons why I love living here in Jackson.

Most of all, my experiences have taught me the value of Gratitude is a lifestyle, a practice that starts with self-respect and respect for others, grows into appreciation for the many blessings we all have, and inspires the spirit of generosity that gives fulfillment and meaning to the way we live our lives.

Is Life About the Ascent or the Summit?

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I like to hike. Because Jackson Hole is surrounded by mountains, I have many opportunities to hike with my family, friends, colleagues, and out-of-town visitors. For quite a while, I was single-minded about hiking; it was all about getting to the top of the mountain. Yes, there’s scenery, conversation, and opportunities for contemplation but what really mattered was getting to the top.

Recently, I was introduced to some articles, videos, and a book titled “The Second Mountain” by New York Times columnist David Brooks. In each instance, hiking and climbing mountains became a metaphor for living and life. “The Second Mountain” and its two-mountain metaphor in particular, caused me to view hiking and the work that we do from a different perspective.

A few years ago, Brooks suffered some personally devastating setbacks. He had metaphorically climbed his “first mountain”. He was an acclaimed, best-selling author and political commentator; he was financially secure; he had raised a family. He had achieved. He was famous. He was wealthy. He was, what most people would consider to be “successful”. But when his marriage ended and he was forced to confront his life at that time, he experienced depression, emptiness, and a lack of purpose and meaning that caused him to explore what was missing in his life and ultimately to write “The Second Mountain”.

Like the work that we do, Brooks’ Second Mountain is a metaphorical journey, an exploration of what matters most. Very much akin to one of our defining principles “True Wealth”, Brooks focuses on deep relationships, meaningful work, building and contributing to communities, and core values, especially faith, in order to live a good and moral life. The climb up the metaphorical second mountain, then, is an aspirational pursuit of fulfillment, meaning, and joy; it’s an ongoing process of optimizing True Wealth.

Brooks’ relentless, single-minded climb up his first mountain was much like the way I hiked; get to the top, that’s what matters. I realized that it’s good to know first of all what our destination is; that in each phase of our lives the destination might be different. It’s also good to realize that there are two mountains, to be aware of which mountain we’re climbing, and especially why. Regardless, it’s really about the journey; about enjoying it and finding meaning and fulfillment in the process. It’s about optimizing True Wealth and, in our case, about helping others to optimize their True Wealth in every phase of their lives.

How to Navigate in a VUCA World?

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In the late 1980’s the United States Army War College developed the acronym VUCA to describe the conditions that would exist at the end of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. VUCA stands for “volatile”, “uncertain”, “complex”, and “ambiguous”. In hindsight, that did accurately describe what the world was like when the Soviet Union fell in 1991. Since then, the business world has adopted the VUCA acronym to suggest the many challenges that business owners, executives, and managers face. For The Certior Group, because of rapidly changing conditions in the world – for example, in politics, economics, law, technology, social norms, etc. – we’ve adopted the notion that we all live in a VUCA world.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frank1

Some people don’t fully appreciate the profundity of Frankl’s statement. Much of what’s VUCA in our world is beyond our individual control. We don’t control large technology companies or how they gather data about all of us. We don’t control the way government operates. We can’t control the way politics unfolds, or how the natural environment might be changing, or how social media may be changing how we experience our lives. Yet, as Viktor Frankl suggested, we have a choice; we can at least choose our attitude.

Our firm has taken this idea of choosing one’s attitude and artificially divided the VUCA world into two attitudes: personal reactions that are “not Gratitude” or responses that are “Gratitude”. This is clearly an artificial, abstract “map”2  of the VUCA world that we live in, not the actual world of politics, Google, the internet, Facebook, Instagram, mobile devices, climate change, pollution, fake news, etc. But, as Viktor Frankl said, by choosing our way, we’re finding that following this “map”, leads to practicing Gratitude.

What does it mean to practice Gratitude? From our perspective, it means to respect, appreciate, and be generous in spirit with others and oneself. It is the ongoing practice of Gratitude that we’ve found to be one of the keys to thriving in a VUCA world. A growing body of research supports the idea that we can become more resilient, despite VUCA in our lives, when we become more grateful. How to practice Gratitude is the focus of our public events, workshops, and client work. Please join us in making Gratitude part of the antidote to a VUCA world.

(1) Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl, 2006.

(2) In 1932, Polish-American scientist and philosopher Alfred Korzybski published an article in which he stated that “the map is not the territory”, meaning that abstract concepts help us understand reality but should not be confused with reality.

Happy New Year!

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As we usher in 2019, does it seem as if last year went by quickly? Does time seem to move faster and faster as each year goes by? Psychologists and neuroscientists who study this phenomenon theorize that when we’re very young, we are continuously experiencing and learning new things. Thus, time seems to move more slowly when we’re younger because we’re often fully engaged. As we get older, we take on more responsibilities and intentionally establish routines in order to make our daily lives more efficient and to keep life from becoming too stressful and overwhelming. The feeling that time moves more quickly is a byproduct of this gradual shift to a more routine, less novel way of being.

The research suggests that as adults we can subjectively slow time down by keeping our minds active and by experiencing and learning new things.1 This observation reminds us of several of our core Certior Group ideas. One is that experiences are really assets that add to our sense of wealth and wellbeing. Much of what we and other members of our Jackson community value – for example, travel, adventure, lifelong learning, outdoor activities – is about experiencing the joy of life (“joie de vivre” in French). Additionally, experiences, even negative ones, can add to our understanding and appreciation for the goodness in life. In other words, experiences can be the source of learning and Gratitude. And, as many of you know, Gratitude is a fundamental virtue that we emphasize in our work and personal lives.

So as the new year unfolds, let’s recognize that our sense of time can quickly begin accelerating again if we allow it to. We can be intentional about slowing down the pace of our lives by being present and practicing what psychologist Rick Hanson calls “savoring the good”. 2   We can be creative in imagining and planning new experiences. And, of course, we can practice Gratitude as we go about living.

(1) “Why does time seem to speed up with age?”, Scientific American Mind, July, 2016.

(2) “Hardwiring Happiness”, Rick Hanson, PhD, Harmony Books, 2013.

Jackson Institute for Wealth and Wellbeing Wilderness Adventure

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Continuing our efforts to develop “The Jackson Institute for Wealth and Wellbeing”, a small group of us experienced a unique wilderness adventure in August. Led once again by Jackson resident, botanist, educator, and outdoor adventure guide Trevor Bloom, we hiked, camped, and fished in a remote, private, permit-only area outside of Jackson.

What was so special about this particular hiking, camping, and fishing experience (after all, aren’t such experiences commonplace in Jackson)? Inspired by our vision for the institute, we were exploring how we might capture and capitalize on the abundance surrounding us in Jackson to facilitate and create experiences for families and family leaders; experiences that might elevate joy, connections, and gratitude; experiences that might foster curiosity, wonder, and imagination.

The next Jackson Institute for Wealth and Wellbeing community learning events will be held later in September. Together we will build a platform to gain clarity and be intentional achieving a life well-lived and creating the impact we desire. You will:

  • Be introduced to breakthrough learning techniques;
  • Experience how Gratitude can transform negative experiences into positive outlooks; and
  • Learn how to turn life experiences into learning opportunities and positive outcomes.

Please contact us info@certiorgroup.com to RSVP.

The CERTIOR Group, LLC

The Certior Group, LLC.

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