Blog
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Below are the latest blog posts written by the Wealth Coach. Many of these posts are also available in the "Articles" section which also offers a way to post your own responses. |
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| Getting Control Over Your Money is Critical to Success in Life! The process involves four steps: Know Where You Are. Know Where You Want to Be. Have a Written Plan to connect the two and finally, Take Action. It's pretty simple - but it isn't easy. Working with an ALTUS Wealth Coach will help you stay on track. |
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Recent Comments
- Hi Shannon - Thanks for the note. I am sorry to hear about your step-dad. Unfortunately, your situation is not all that uncommon. There are all too many reasons for this - everything from a natural tendency to avoid thinking about the subject to a general lack of education and understanding about a rather complex process (estate planning). Let me know if you have any questions I can answer or if I can be of service in any way.
- I GREW UP KNOWING GARY SINCE GRADE SCHOOL AND HELEN SINCE THEIR MARRIAGE. WE HAVE REMAINED IN TOUCH THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AND I WAS IN TOUCH WITH GARY BY EMAIL RIGHT UP TO THE TIME HE WAS LAST ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL. MIKE AND I LOVED OUR TIME WITH THE OWENS' AND HAVE SO MANY GOOD MEMORIES. BUT THE LAST EMAILS I REC'D FROM GARY HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART. I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED, BUT TODAY AT WORK, I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING AND FOUND THE BLOG SIGHT YOU SET UP. I REFERRED TO IT FOR A FEW WEEKS AFTER GARY'S PASSING, BUT HADN'T LOOKED AT IT SINCE. SINCE MAY I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH THE DEATH OF MY STEP-DAD (WHO DIDN'T DO ALL THE THINGS YOU MENTION). THE SAD THING IS THAT HE THOUGHT HE HAD. NOW I AM LEFT WITH THE MESS. THANK YOU FOR SHARING! HELLO TO THE FAMILY.
- Lack of negotiation might be an American thing--or dilemma, depending on how you view it. In many foreign cultures, haggling over price is a regular part of the buying experience. Buyers do it, sellers expect it. Somehow in America it isn't "cool" to haggle. I'm guessing it's one of two things: 1) We don't want to offend the person we're buying from--maybe in the hope that no one will offend us when we're in the sellers shoes, or 2) haggling might convey the message that we can't afford something. That being said, I think there IS a measure of financial freedom that comes with negotiating. The better we are at it, the less we pay for just about everything. It seems like a skill worth learning. And it is a skill!
- I follow until the last sentence. What makes you think that a cognitive realization will override your emotions NEXT TIME?
- Thanks Kevin - My point in this article is that advice givers need to shift away from "giving advice" that nobody wants to hear and start taking a page or two from your ad manager's handbook. Right now people don't ask for help (even though they could really benefit from it) because they don't want to be told they've been stupid and this is what they should do instead. They've done that before. It didn't work then and it won't work now. There are (a few) advisors who are starting to embrace this in their process. I'd like to think my firm is at the cutting edge, but I know I am not alone.
- "What is important is who you are BEING (or trying to BE) while you are DOING what you are doing." An advertising manager once told me that the secret to good advertising is to "sell the sizzle and let the sizzle sells the steak". So they work to create a desireable image--as a result of the product they're pitching--then the prospect actually wants/desires/"needs" what they're selling. Mission accomplished. That's why it's often so hard to sell people on advice even if it's useful. A vivid picture of the end result needs to be illustrated, otherwise the advice giver appears as little more than another authority figure. I agree though, that the listener/buyer of the advice has to be committed in his own mind to act on the advice, otherwise it's just another decoration to sit on a shelf and collect dust.
- Great point, Stephen. Spending your money in alignment with your values is the ideal. While we're at it - and since you've covered this at http://RatRaceTrap.com - Spending your TIME in alignment with your values is also critical. In general, when ALL of your choices are made within the values-based framework, you will enjoy the life at the highest level.
- John, this is a fabulous article! I think the whole article can be summed up with this sentence: "Unless someone can show you how a product, service or even process can get you more of what you really want in life, then you are probably exposing your money to needless risk." You might have meant that to apply to financial service products, but as far as I'm concerned it applies to buying a bag of potato chips at Wal-Mart. "If I could have my way, I would have an endless bar-b-que in my back yard." When you fire up that endless barbecue, let me know and I'll move in next door.
- Norm, it is great to see your comment here. Thanks for sharing. Those interested can read the article at http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/1 It is an interesting read.
- Great article John. Reminds me of Clayton Christensen's article How Will You Measure Your Life? in the Harvard Business Review. You have touched on a number of important points and it is great to see an advisor such as yourself taking the time to really understand his clients and what is important to them. I hope you continue to empower those around you.
- Kevin, thanks for the comment and the quote. Studies have shown that shifting from one area of focus to two cuts the probability of getting either result in half. Sad that most people cannot articulate their values. Can you get any more fundamental than knowing exactly what is most important to you?
- John, I think you've just described the key to happiness in life. Most of us never find it because we're too scattered in our focus. At a minimum, if we could concentrate on one thing at a time, achieve it, then move on to another goal, we'd get far more done than we do now with all of this over-rated multitasking. "Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets"--Nido Qubein
- It is amazing how smell can trigger memories isn't it? I agree, the grass does smell different, Why is that? I think the rain also smells different from coast to coast also.
- The advice-from-friends problem is compounded by the fact that most of that advice mimics the mainstream media. It's exactly what's available in the media, so not only do you have social proof there, but also validation. When people hear advice enough times, they don't question it, and they become part of the herd. The problem with that combination is that while many people know the mainstream information as it appears on the front page, few ever know anything deeper. The internet can confuse by the sheer volume of information, which can send you crying back for the simplicity of your friends and the media.
- This is so true. Many years ago, I knew of a situation in which a couple died within three days of each other, leaving two teenage children. There was a will but no trust, and the financial situation for the kids did not end well. They may have ended up with nothing out of a fairly substantial estate. Bad enough to lose your parents, but to lose their provision for you adds to the grief. Maybe for most of us the thought of such a scenario actually happening is too horrific to contemplate, but it's for that very reason that we need to do just that.