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The Value of Gratitude

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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.

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.

Sustaining Financial Wealth Over More Than 3 Generations

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Much of our work focuses on the opportunities and challenges of first generation wealth creators and their immediate descendants. One of the sayings that’s inspired our work is the warning “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations”; that is, wealth does not survive beyond 3 generations.

The article below offers a glimpse into how the Rockefeller family has sustained its wealth beyond three generations.

The Rockefellers vs. the Company That Made Them The Rockefellers

The article is instructive because it points out some of the long-term strategies and obstacles for families who aspire to sustain their financial wealth over more than 3 generations. These include:

The growing number of the extended family members over multiple generations.

The basic math suggests that at some point, unless there’s another large influx of money from investments or new ventures, the demands for withdrawals will exceed the growth of the underlying financial assets. In anticipation of this eventuality, we take the position that a family culture that emphasizes:

  1. The long-term greater good of the family
  2. Gratitude (and avoiding greed, over-consumption, and entitlement)
  3. Elevates prudent risk-taking and entrepreneurism is something to strive for.

The ability to continue to engage in dialogue and to develop strategies as an extended family, especially the ability to foster inter-generational collaboration.

As a family grows in numbers, so too does the diversity of ideologies and opinions of family members. In the article, the banter between the Federal Judge and the Exxon attorney about whether the Rockefeller initiative against Exxon is “disturbing” (as the Exxon attorney states) or “ironic” (as the judge viewed it), highlights the generational differences that the Rockefeller family has dealt with. Yet the Rockefeller family has apparently managed to maintain a civil discourse and family harmony, despite the activism of younger generations

The long shadow, the legacy – both positive and negative – of the wealth creators.

Like the Rockefellers, many families continue to hold their wealth in the stock of the original company that created the wealth. Whether or not this is or will be prudent in an increasingly volatile, unpredictable future is unknown. However, a wealth creator has the opportunity to prepare younger family members for the opportunities and responsibilities of great wealth. This may or may not include the freedom from retaining the stock of the original company and perhaps instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in the culture of the family.

Finally, the article hints at the power of a higher purpose, a noble cause, and the ability to wield influence through philanthropy, as well as business. I was struck by the quote attributed to John D. Rockfeller:

As a nation looking proudly to our past where it has been noble, and recognizing with humility our mistakes of extravagance, selfishness, and indifference, let us with faith in God, in ourselves, and in humanity, go forward courageously resolved to play our part in worthily building a better world.

Avi Kantor

It’s About True Wealth, not Just Money…and Why “Collaboration” is More Than a Buzzword

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I’ve been thinking a lot about how we as professionals can provide more timely and relevant services to more people. Personally, I know that I don’t have all of the answers and solutions to everyone’s problems or opportunities. But I do know that in our area of True Wealth stewardship services and Wyoming’s unique advantages, we have much to offer.

Then I came across the following article from Forbes. The article describes a typical approach that I’ve seen for years: advisors focus on minimizing taxes, maximizing returns, and mitigating risk through legal and insurance strategies. As the article suggests, most advisors believe they should communicate with other advisors. But here’s the challenge that I see: they’re communicating in order to save the maximum amount in taxes, seize investment opportunities, and address financial risks ONLY. To me, this perspective, while common, is short-sighted, self-serving, and misses the mark when it comes to what people really want and need.

Forbes Article “Why Your Financial Planner, Lawyer, and Accountant Should Talk”

I am far from a legal or tax expert. But I can say one thing: advisors would be well-served to ask their clients what they value more than money. In so doing, they may discover that their clients have values, concerns, aspirations, and unfulfilled dreams that saving taxes, maximizing returns, or mitigating financial risks don’t address.

Recently, I attended the The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Conference here in Jackson. STEP is a large international organization focused on the trust and estate planning issues of families from all over the world who have significant financial wealth. Here again, my sense is that most of the advisors in attendance concentrate on minimizing taxes, maximizing returns, and mitigating risk through legal and insurance strategies. They generally are not thinking about what really matters most to their clients.

I also noticed while attending the STEP conference that collaboration is the new industry buzz word. Just as in the Forbes article above, most advisors seem to view collaboration as talking to each other, cooperating amiably with each other, or being agreeable and tolerant with each other.

I would juxtapose this “business as usual” approach with Avi Kantor’s panel presentation at the recent Empowered Wealth Summit.

Avi knows that if we truly collaborate with our professional colleagues and hold each other accountable for serving our client families well, we can provide more timely and relevant services than what the world has experienced historically.

Wyoming Private Single Family Trust Companies Allow Families to Self Govern over Multiple Generations

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The so-called paradox of freedom is the argument that freedom in the sense of absence of any constraining control must lead to very great restraint, since it makes the bully free to enslave the meek.

– Karl R. Popper

For a family that can self-govern effectively over multiple generations, a Wyoming private single family trust company is a unique, perhaps even optimal, legal and administrative structure. While the legal and regulatory environment in Wyoming is very favorable for families who create private single family trust companies, the key factor is the ability of the family to self-govern over an extended period of time.

Private Single Family Trust Company Information

We, like all other organizations that serve trust clients, want to make sure that appropriate governance, standard operating procedures, and rules of ethics are created and implemented by client families. What’s often overlooked, however, are the cultural influences that bind a family together. That’s why we pay special attention to the ideas, concepts, and tools of Empowered Wealth. Beginning with Gratitude as a fundamental part of a family’s mindset, Empowered Wealth pays close attention to capturing and capitalizing the stories, rituals, ceremonies, and traditions that are foundational to a family’s culture and its True Wealth. Add to this the Certior Group’s perspective that True Wealth Stewardship is the goal of family leadership, I think you can see that our mission isn’t to promote private single family trust companies; it’s to support thriving families and family members who are living happy, fulfilled and meaningful lives.

Avi Kantor

The Impactful and Contagious Role of a Leader

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“I will study and prepare myself and someday my chance will come.”

– Abraham Lincoln

The short article below describes Warren Buffet’s idea that the qualities that make up good character can be learned and, in fact, are the results of choices that people make.

Warren Buffet Article

I’m reminded daily of the choices I make as a leader of my family and of The Certior Group. Whether I’m aware of them or not, the choices I make send messages to others about who I am and what matters to me.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from working with Empowered Wealth is that I have to show up every day with my “Leader Hat” on. I have to both lead by example and give others the opportunity to grow into their future roles as leaders themselves. I’m sure the same is true for each of you, especially as stewards of your family’s True Wealth. You too must simultaneously make decisions today, lead by example, and cultivate leadership in those who will one day take on responsibilities. These future leaders – especially the future stewards of your family’s True Wealth – must learn to lead in a world that we likely can’t imagine. Nevertheless, our role is to teach, guide, and help them become the leaders they are capable of becoming.

When we started The Certior Group, we saw an opportunity to support families as they steward their True Wealth. Collaborating with families and their advisors to cultivate family leadership is a challenge we’re prepared to take on. For further information, see our page on Family Stewardship.

Avi Kantor

The CERTIOR Group, LLC

The Certior Group, LLC.

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