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How to Raise More Grateful Children

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The Wall Street Journal recently published an article “How to Raise More Grateful Children”. The subtitle states: “A sense of entitlement is a big problem among young people today, but it’s possible to teach gratitude”. This last idea is what we are doing with our Certior Group community.

Wall St. Journal Article: “How to Raise More Grateful Children”

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.

Joie de Vivre and True Wealth

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I was on a conference call recently when one of the other participants commented that “joie de vivre” is one of the qualities that he enjoys most about the people in Jackson. That comment sent several other participants to their smartphones looking for a definition.

(from Google: joie de vivre = exuberant enjoyment of life).

I had a similar experience when I first came to Jackson. Having spent two decades as a wealth manager, I – like most of my peers – had become accustomed to helping clients maximize investment returns, accumulate assets for retirement, minimize taxes, and mitigate risks. That was my world; that was what I thought was the greatest value I could provide for my clients. I would talk about what matters most to people about money but didn’t really do anything outside of the usual and customary tasks of wealth managers managing investment portfolios. But when my family and I permanently relocated to Jackson, I realized that I had shifted my perspective.

Through a series of events, I came across the work of Lee Brower and Empowered Wealth. Empowered Wealth help me and my family see things through the lens of “True Wealth” – our core values, our contributions to others, our learning and wisdom, and what attracted us to Jackson in the first place, the ”joie de vivre” that characterizes the community.

More on True Wealth

Money and financial success are important in order to sustain our families’ lifestyles and to provide a sense of security. But when I think about the work that we at The Certior Group now do, I think in terms of helping families optimize their True Wealth. We help people connect and integrate their financial success with their abilities to make a positive difference in their families and the world. And, yes, I’d like to think that we help them in small ways to express their joie de vivre.

Avi Kantor

Sustaining True Wealth Over Multiple Generations

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According to the Family Business Institute…only 30% of family businesses survive into the second generation and 12% into the third. A mere 3% make it into the fourth and beyond

Many sources cite similar statistics, pointing to an extraordinarily high worldwide failure rate in wealth transitions (generally defined as wealth remaining under the control of the beneficiaries). This begs the question, “Why does this happen?” One of the pioneering thinkers on this issue, attorney, James E. Hughes, Jr., focused on the lack of structure and governance in families. The article below suggests that lack of inter-generational communication and collaboration have been the primary causes of wealth dissipating over three generations.

CNN Money Article: Squandering the Family Fortune…Why Rich Families Are Losing Their Money

Consider the many advisors that families employ. There are attorneys, accountants, consultants, psychologists, life coaches, and various financial advisors from wealth managers, to insurance agents, to financial and estate planners all of whom, presumably in good faith, attempt to help their client families protect, preserve, grow, and sustain their wealth for multiple generations. Despite the collective best efforts of all of these professionals, their net effectiveness has been no more than 10% over three generations. What if Apple sold you a product that failed 90% of the time? Would you buy it? Yet, that’s in effect what families are doing when they continue to use traditional methods to plan for their families’ futures..

We cannot solve problems with same level of thinking that created them

– Albert Einstein

Thinking at a new, different level about the challenges of transitioning wealth, does not mean that the best work of attorneys, accountants, and other professionals isn’t necessary. Families need governance guided by the work of skilled attorneys. They need excellent tax and estate planning, wealth management, business consulting, work on family dynamics, and life coaching. Families need teams of professional service providers. Yet, how might these teams of professionals do things differently, more effectively?

By now, many of you know that we’ve adopted a mindset of Gratitude, “True Wealth”, and Leadership as core beliefs to address the “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations” issue. It has been our experience that families must accept an attitude and a disciplined practice of Stewardship if we’re to sustain True Wealth over multiple generations. Our roles as advisors are to support our client families in this Stewardship undertaking. In other words, it’s to collaborate with our clients and each other in an endeavor that has historically challenged even the most intentional families. I will elaborate further on this topic of “collaboration” in future newsletters.

Avi Kantor

Empowered Wealth + You

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Empowered Wealth + You (Ron Nakamoto)

On April 29th, we conducted our first Empowered Wealth + You workshop at our home in Jackson. Ron Nakamoto, CEO of Empowered Wealth, introduced the basic concepts that comprise the Empowered Wealth Mindset: Gratitude, True Wealth, and Leadership. Ron led the group in a series of exercises designed to explore these concepts in some depth. Avi Kantor, Founder of The Certior Group, gave an overview of how The Certior Group incorporates Empowered Wealth in their work.

Empowered Wealth + You (Avi Kantor)

The Certior Group will continue to conduct social events as well as Introductions to Empowered Wealth and The Certior Group in addition to Empowered Wealth + You half day events.

The CERTIOR Group, LLC

The Certior Group, LLC.

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