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Some seek happiness through wealth and status, some through deeds and actions. What about a spiritual component of happiness? Can we be happy without having some form of faith?

Managing money for a living has led me lately to think a lot about the nature of happiness. I’ve watched documentaries, and read books that attempt to identify, define, and measure happiness.

Money and happiness are not entirely unrelated. While wealth, and specifically money, does not necessarily create happiness, it can be a tool on the path to happiness.

Meaningful work, material success, and abundance can lead to some level of fulfillment.  Perhaps I’m splitting hairs, but fulfillment and happiness do not necessarily mean the same thing to me. Think of fulfillment as a static or passive form of happiness, a state of mind. Think of happiness as an active emotion, one that needs constant feeding. Fulfillment is more easily sustained; happiness is perhaps more quickly achieved.

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard believes people first attempt to attain fulfillment by acquiring stuff, all of which ultimately becomes meaningless. Seeking deeper fulfillment, people turn to deeds or causes, perhaps by helping others, or by following their conscience. That too will ultimately prove meaningless, Kierkegaard says, without faith, a fixed belief in something beyond the material world. He is talking about, God.

Do you need faith in your life to have true fulfillment and happiness?

To a point, money can buy happiness, but that point is quickly reached. Once basic needs like food and shelter are met, money cannot make us appreciably happier. That is because the power of money is limited. People who are wealthy don’t necessarily have more time, or better relationships. They might have more toys, but those toys need maintenance – what they own can also own them. Riches can isolate even as they provide.

At Highland, our clients generally want to be good stewards of their wealth. They feel blessed for what they have and are conscientious when it comes to directing their wealth. They want to enable their children rather than spoil them, and are committed to doing some good for their communities and causes.

They prescribe to various faiths. Some are Christian; some are Jewish; some are agnostic.

I happen to believe having a spiritual component in your life is necessary for true happiness. But where does that spirituality fit in?

We have written often about living fully, a philosophy we try to both practice and preach in our work. We help people manage their wealth, and in a larger sense, we try to help them manage their happiness too, happiness that leads eventually to the way you define spirituality.

How do you see faith fitting into a life fully lived?

The post Happiness With or Without Faith appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

Talking to staff can lead to sharing information that isn’t appropriate. Sharing within the ranks might also undermine authority.

Friends and family are another option, but while they do care about you – this is an important component – they often do not really know enough about the circumstances and/or possess enough depth in your your field of expertise to provide meaningful guidance.

Your spouse, likewise, cares about you but might not be close enough to your professional problems to help solve them. Furthermore, involving a spouse can create an additional layer of stress in your relationship. You end up spending time out of the office working on office problems with your confidante and best friend when you should probably be working on your relationship.

For those in leadership positions, an obstacle to sharing problems can be fear. What will other people think if I have questions? What will they think if they find out I don’t have it all figured out or have all the answers? Will uncertainty look like weakness?

The tendency for those in leadership positions, who tend to be Type A personalities to begin with, is to say ‘I’m going to figure it out on my own.’ That only makes it harder for us to reach out and get help. That fear, that inability to unload your problems leads to isolation.

The solution for me was to join a local Vistage CEO peer group that meets once a month for an entire day. Vistage International is a 50-year-old organization with 15,000 members in 15 countries, made up of chief executives and leaders from various industries.

Our local group of 14 meets all day and dives deep into our businesses and all our issues. We set aside time to talk about our goals, finances, strategies, personal concerns, anything we want help with.

I could try, on my own, to meet individually with CEOs I know personally, but it’s likely that coffee or lunch we try to schedule will simply never happen, or happen too infrequently to be useful.

Vistage gives structure and commitment to your intentions. It has become so important to me, I can’t imagine missing a month. The meeting has become an amazingly powerful tool to break down that fear, shape my thinking, and give me an entirely different perspective on my problems. Our conversations are confidential. Everyone is committed. Everyone has to contribute. Everyone is held accountable.

The group isn’t afraid to ask you if you did what you said you were going to do. It’s like having a board of advisors that cares about you and wants to see you succeed without any agenda.

I would welcome your thoughts and opinions on the following:

If you are a leader or business owner, who do you talk to about problems and concerns?
What other groups or organizations provide counsel that is effective and conflict free?
Is the fear of disclosure about your issues keeping you stuck?

The post Tom Hanks and Wilson; Curing Loneliness at the Top appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

While the industry predominantly charges fees based on a percentage of assets under management (AUM), this compensation method undervalues the complexity of the issues involved and doesn’t always work in the client’s (your) best interest.

Sometimes, a percentage of assets approach is the most equitable way of paying for services if you are receiving primarily money management services. In other cases, when financial planning and financial counseling services are provided, a flat fee or even hourly fee arrangement could be more appropriate. That is why a firm’s compensation philosophy is just as important as its fee structure.

From the firm’s point of view, diligence, hard work and expertise should be accordingly compensated. From the client’s point of view, the firm should be motivated only by the client’s financial well-being.

Focusing on growing and preserving a client’s entire balance sheet is central to Highland’s philosophy, which means our role can include a broader set of services than traditional money management alone. For example, we will often advise on both traditional liquid assets as well as illiquid assets such as real estate. We also regard mortgages and other liabilities as important elements to consider when planning for a strong and sustainable financial future.

One possible solution for improving the fee system is to think outside the box and create a new approach that better suits the wealth management industry today. Just like transitioning from commission-based billing to AUM-based was a positive step towards eliminating certain conflicts of interest associated with commissioned sales, we believe it could be time to transform again by creating a retainer-type system as an alternative to AUM-based fees.

The AUM model is easy enough to grasp. On a basic level, it makes sense for a firm to earn a percentage of the assets it manages, typically only liquid assets. As those assets grow or decline, so goes the fee charged. But while AUM might be a good way to manage money (it’s not always a good way to provide financial counsel on a complete financial life). That’s because many client decisions can adversely affect the total value of managed assets. These decisions include:

- Buying a bigger home

- Giving a large gift to children or charity

- Paying off a mortgage

- Investing in illiquid assets such as real estate

- Leaving retirement assets in an employer’s 401K plan

Saying yes to any of these could be good for the client, but will influence how much a firm manages, and therefore the fees it can charge. Hence, a conflict of interest exists for the AUM-model advisor.

Furthermore, the AUM system does not always equitably reward workload. For example, if the markets (and therefore value of assets) go up, so do fees, even if advisors are not theoretically working any harder. Conversely, if markets go down, so do fees, and that is arguably when managers have to spend more time counseling and tending to client concerns created by the downturn.  Note: There are other issues such as recurring or large wealth creation events and added firm liability that make this discussion more complicated but I’m not choosing to address those items in this post.

What if the fee system was tweaked and improved to eliminate these natural conflicts of interest, putting the focus on optimizing a client’s overall financial life? What if the fee system was designed to compensate for only the services needed, and that those could be defined?

The factors that might be included in determining the retainer fee would likely include the following:

1. The size and composition of the client’s net worth—the assumption being that the larger the net worth, the greater the complexity.

2. The fees calculated under traditional AUM methods—since the AUM percentage rates are widely known within the industry, it is relatively easy to compute the costs at varying asset levels.

3. Special services required—a client may need additional help with things like philanthropy implementation, alternative investment due diligence, special family meetings, or other concierge-type services that are quantifiable from a time standpoint.

This new approach, we believe, could be a win for both firms and clients. It represents the logical evolution of fee structures in wealth management, according to industry thinker Mark Tibergien, in his book Practice Made Perfect. Being a wealth manager is more complex than just simply investment returns, and can mean different things to different people. Yes, our clients pay us to invest wisely; they also pay us to know them at an intimate level, and understand their priorities. It might just be time for wealth managers to let their fee philosophy evolve into something better.

Sound off and let me know what you think.

The post Time for Wealth Management Fees to Change? appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

Guest blog post by Sarah Hopper of Sound Philanthropy.

You may have heard reference to the recently released study “More is More or More is Less” that shows that kids whose parents give them money to pay for college get worse grades. Personally, I just couldn’t wrap my head around this simple correlation, so I decided to do some thinking about what might really be going on.

The study was conducted by assistant professor Laura Hamilton of The University of California at Merced, and indicates that the students with financial support from their parents and the lowest grades are also the ones (generally) whose parents are “shocked” by the low marks, and failed to set any expectations around grades for their kids. She concludes that these findings support the idea that financial support of college can be a “moral hazard” – meaning that students are unable to take their studies seriously if they haven’t made their own financial investment in the education and experience. Hamilton acknowledges that the key issue is that many parents pay for college without setting expectations, or linking the money to certain goals around grades, graduation, jobs, etc. She encourages parents to consider the “investment” of their funds, and not “assume that all spending during college years has equal value.”

After reading the article Spoiled Children about this study (by Scott Jaschik, posted on InsideHigherEd.com) and the abstract (see link above), and perusing the comments of parents who are celebrating that they no longer need to pay for their kid’s education, I started to develop my own opinion about how we’ve missed the boat on what’s really going on here. Hamilton is on the right track, but I would take it a step further. Perhaps the motivation and drive to get good grades does not come from linking tuition payments to academic success, but rather in the preparation of the student to receive the gift of debt-free education? Consider this:

1. As parents (or grandparents!) how do we convey the “gift” of paying for college to our kids?

Paying for college – or any education – is a gift because the giver has the opportunity to offer the recipient a way to grow, develop as an individual, and enhance their lives – resulting in a more fulfilling existence, and a positive influence on the world. In order to allow it to take the form of a gift, the giver must tell the story of how it happened; how they are able to do this, and what it means to them, including their hopes and fears for the recipient.

Tangible idea to convey this message: Write a letter. Celebrate the milestone of getting into college with special dinner or experience that includes a conversation about the gift, as well as the responsibilities and opportunities that come with this new phase of life. Talk about what it means to be an “adult” member of the family, and express enthusiasm about the perspective and gifts that the young person will bring to the table in this role.

2. What is the “spirit” of this gift?

The spirit of the gift (a term from The Cycle of the Gift referenced below) comes from the giver’s intentions, and communication of those intentions to the beneficiary. These, coupled with the qualities of the gift to inspire and ignite the recipient, have the power to cause a cycle to happen – with the recipient perpetuating the gift to future generations.

Tangible ideas to convey the spirit of the gift: intentions can be communicated as part of the letter suggested above, or in the form of a special, personalized covenant or agreement between the giver and the recipient. The important part of keeping the “spirit” of the gift alive is on-going communications, and discussion about how these intentions are working (or not) for the recipient, and celebrations of significant milestones and achievements that happen along the way.

3. Is the recipient of this gift (the student) prepared to receive it?

The recipient is prepared to receive the gift if the giver, and other adults and mentors in his/her life, have helped him/her to build resilience, and an ability to adapt. This means that through respectful, honest, age-appropriate engagement, the recipient has participated in the growth of the idea of the gift, and discussions about what this means in terms of their own participation and responsibility. In this scenario, it is not necessary to “link” grades to tuition funding, because the motivation to succeed comes from the recipient him/herself, who has been included in the planning – as appropriate – from early on.

Tangible ideas to build resilience: Start money and values conversations early. Celebrate achievements, milestones and personal growth along the way – with real rituals and events that are meaningful for your family.

These questions and ideas were inspired in part by the recently published book, The Cycle of the Gift, by thought-leading authors Jay Hughes, Susan Massenzio, and Keith Whitaker. In it, they describe the necessary process and intentionality that must accompany a gift in order for it to have the desired effect of enhancing the life of the recipient. The buzz around this study was timely, as I was in the process of reading this book. I think it’s a perfect example of what Jay, Susan and Keith are talking about. I encourage you to both read the book, and also to think about the “gifts” in your life – both received and given – and how the spirit of these gifts has affected the outcome.

Some food for thought.

If you have questions or comments for Sarah, you can reach her at sarah@soundphilanthropy.com or www.soundphilanthropy.com  

The post Spoiled Children or Good Intentions Gone Awry? appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

Common logic suggests the more money you make the happier you will be. Research shows this is true, but only to a point.

Someone who makes a modest amount of money is measurably happier than someone who makes no money. And someone who makes a large amount of money is somewhat happier than someone who makes a small amount. But past a certain threshold – and it is not very high – having more money makes very little difference in raising levels of happiness and very quickly loses its effect.

So what’s the magic number?  In the United States, it’s about $75,000 a year.

Using data gathered from about a half million Americans, Princeton researchers found that higher incomes indeed made for better moods on a daily basis, but once household incomes approached the $75,000 mark, more money did not create more happiness. What does that suggest?

That after some basic needs, like shelter, food and health, are taken care of, your capacity for material happiness is more or less maxed out. It also suggests that focusing on making more and more money, and buying your way to a happier life is a plan likely to fail. Money, it seems, can buy you only temporary happiness, not long-term happiness.

It turns out that what does buy lasting happiness is spending money on others. Research by a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, and a Harvard business professor determined that money more effectively leads to happiness if you are careful not to overindulge, if you spend on experiences rather than things, and most importantly if you spend on other people.

That all got me to thinking about two very different ways of handling one’s wealth:

1. As an owner
2. As a steward

An owner is internally focused. A steward is externally focused.

An owner thinks, ‘I earned this money, it’s mine, and I deserve this money.’  A steward thinks, ‘This money is a blessing, and possibly I happened to be in the right place at the right time.’

An owner is preoccupied with acquiring more money. A steward is concerned with identifying a purpose for the money, using it to make the world a better place.

An owner holds on to possessions tightly, afraid of losing what he has acquired, spending energy hoarding money. A steward holds to things loosely and does not fear losing them, preferring to invest money for a greater good.

Whether you earn a little or a lot, acting as a steward is a healthier approach. It requires having a higher level of faith, and admitting that you cannot control the outcomes of your decisions. That kind of thinking can lead to a life of real fulfillment, joy, and peace, and help build a meaningful legacy. Those who are on the journey of living fully understand that.

Are you more of an owner or a steward?

The post How to Buy Long-Term Happiness appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

An idea I have often touched on is the concept of courage, the driving force behind a life of meaning and purpose, of joy, and life fully lived.

There are many ways to define courage, something I’ll no doubt try to do over time on this blog as I try to flesh out our company’s philosophy and our belief that all decisions, be they financial or otherwise, are best made while striving to live fully.

One of the most powerful takes on courage I’ve heard came from a TED talk given by Brene Brown, a social worker and professor at the University of Houston. Her 20-minute presentation, recorded in the summer of 2010, is well worth watching. Although she never talks explicitly about “living fully,” it struck me that she very well could be.

You can watch the entire talk here:  http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html.

The Cliffs Notes version of the talk goes something like this:

The premise of Brown’s presentation is that the most fundamental ingredient of all our lives is connection, in other words the relationships we have with one another and the quality of those relationships. It is “why we’re here,” she said, and is what we are wired to do.

Our greatest obstacle to healthy connections, she discovered, was shame, or a fear of disconnection. That shame can take many forms, but in general is a fear of not measuring up, a feeling of inadequacy. Driving that shame and fear, she determined, was vulnerability.

A trained therapist, Brown initially viewed vulnerability as a problem to be conquered. In her own personal life, she admitted, she hated vulnerability, which she viewed as a flaw, a mess that could be straightened out with enough understanding and effort.

So she spent six years dissecting shame and vulnerability, interviewing hundreds of people, eventually separating them into two basic groups: those with a strong sense of love and belonging, and those who struggled with it. The difference between the two groups was astoundingly simple. Those who had strong connections in their lives believed themselves worthy of them; those who struggled with connection did not.

So what did all the people who felt worthy of love and belonging all have in common?

 Courage.

 Specifically, they had the courage to be themselves, to be imperfect, to be vulnerable.

That vulnerability gave them compassion, not just for others but for themselves. That combination of authenticity and compassion made them much more able to have healthy connections in their lives.

The inability to embrace and harness vulnerability, Brown asserted, leads to all kinds of destructive behavior mainly when we try to numb that vulnerability. We do it all kinds of ways, by overeating, by taking drugs, by repressing feelings of vulnerability instead of accepting them. The problem with numbing vulnerability is that you cannot selectively numb good feelings and bad ones. If you numb pain, you also numb joy.

Brown points out, by the way, that embracing vulnerability does not mean you view those feelings as good or bad. It just means you believe they are necessary, a normal part of life, and, most importantly, they are what makes you unique and worthwhile.

The relationship between vulnerability and courage is essential. Although they seem to be opposite traits, they are really very much the same. To be vulnerable is to allow others to see you as you really are. To be vulnerable is to love without fear, to take leaps of faith without being sure of the outcomes. Courage can be described the same way.

Each time I listen to her talk, I get something more out of it. As I see it, the core of her message is this:

Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection and belonging, of joy, creativity and love. Accept who you are. We might be imperfect and hardwired to struggle, but no less worthy of love. By believing we are good enough, and practicing gratitude on a daily basis we will become better at making those connections that are at the core of being human.

Take the risk to be vulnerable!

The post Finding the Birthplace of Joy appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

Sometimes it seems easier to give away large amounts of money to strangers than to family. Donating money to a well-known charity or foundation is one thing; gifting money to your child or family member can be more complicated.

Of course, one of the greatest blessings of amassing wealth is having the ability to share it, to use that money to spread hope and opportunity to others, especially your family. With that in mind, the end of the year is an appropriate time to put thought into gifts, both those we receive and those we give.

Practically speaking, the gift of money can be both a blessing and a curse for our child or family member.  It can help dreams come true; it can also act as a crutch, adversely affect relationships within a family, and even lead to destructive behavior.

Many clients who come to us for advice on gifting and bequeathing money are unsure of how to begin thinking about the decision. They often have mixed feelings, filled with both hope and fear. To help demystify that process, I have broken it down into three questions:

1. What do I hope the gift will do?
2. What do I expect the gift will do?
3. What do I fear the gift will do?

The first question really sets the stage for the decision. It represents the ideal outcome for making the gift. What do you hope the gift will accomplish? How does the gift help the family achieve its legacy? How will it feel to see your money put to use by your children in your lifetime?

Answering the second question might help you see the gap between your hopes and your fears. Do your expectations line up with your hopes? Or do they more closely resemble your fears? The answer will give you an idea of where you stand.

What you fear about giving the gift represents the uncertainty you feel. It is likely tied to your desire to instill a work ethic and sense of responsibility in your children. How much money is too much? How much will take away my child’s incentive? Will the inheritance give them an unhealthy sense of entitlement? Will giving money to my heirs create resentment or tension within the family?

Making a large gift will likely test the quality of the relationships within your family. If you are hoping the gift will improve a troubled relationship, you are probably going down the wrong path.

Ultimately, giving a gift to your heirs is about transferring hope from you to them. The money should give them hope to accomplish something they could not otherwise do, or something that might take a very long time without help. 

Hopefully these questions will serve as a framework for uncovering the issues that are hindering your decision-making process.  The better you understand you and your family’s values and aspirations, the more confidence you will have making the decision.

The post Turning Year-End Gifts Into Hope appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

When I started Highland 13 years ago, I took a leap into the unknown. I had never run my own company before. I was not sure the clients I had been working with would follow me.  The downside paralyzed me in some ways but I wanted to experience the upside of courage.

I had bet my career on a brand new company, whose success or survival was not guaranteed. It was only by letting go of all the possible outcomes that I could move forward, that I could act, in other words, with courage.

As I looked back and thought about why Highland exists, and why we do what we do, I kept coming back to the same answer: courage. It is at the core of our mission here at Highland, to live fully and help our clients do the same.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act despite fear. Applied to what we do, courage is the ability to trust your experience and training, to make choices when faced with uncertainty, and having faith in your beliefs.  Sometimes that means turning down something. Sometimes it means saying no, or confronting the truth, asking difficult questions, or making uncomfortable changes.

Without the courage to change, you can stay stuck where you are. If the enemy of living fully is fear, the antidote is courage.

The cost of courage is letting go of the outcome of your decisions. The future is an unknown and mostly beyond your control. Rather than focusing on an unknown outcome, you have to replace it with a faith in something bigger than yourself.

Sure, when I started the company, I thought I was smart and that I could do it, but I wasn’t really thinking about whether the company would succeed or not. Instead, I focused on how the decision was part of a bigger plan for my life.

To act with courage is easier said than done, of course. It takes practice and commitment and, in some cases, the time to heal from what wounds we might have. Growth, strength and healing are critical components to courage.

Healing can mean something big or something small, repairing a painful relationship perhaps, or letting go of a counter-productive habit. The important thing is to identify where you need to heal.

In the end, I know my company can be only as healthy as I am, and can only grow as fast as I do.

Do you want more from life?  If yes, then start by being courageous! 

The post The Upside to Courage appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

One of the toughest things to admit when it comes to managing money is that ultimately you have no control. That does not mean you can’t plan, and make smart decisions, but after that all you can really do is trust the decisions you have made.

That fear of losing control over your money can rule you if you let it. You can live in fear of the market dropping, or a fear of losing what you perceive as your safety net. Releasing fear means understanding you truly are more than your money, and that while important, it does not define who you are.

Being able to let go of fear is a crucial step, maybe the first step, to living fully. 

The quest to live fully is the reason Highland exists as discussed in previous posts.  By doing that ourselves we believe we can help our clients do the same. Understanding the obstacles to living fully is part of staying on that path. Successful people often have just as many if not more obstacles.

Beyond fear, sometimes a lack of clarity keeps us stuck. You cannot live your life to its fullest if you do not have a clear picture of what that means. Success does not equate to clarity. I’ve met highly successful people who still wonder what they’re going to do when they “grow up.” Many of us simply don’t spend time thinking about what our true gifts are.

Another barrier to living a full life is the complexity of a highly managed life. A busy, successful person has many layers of obligations in the form of investments, advisors, and professional responsibilities. They might know where they want to go but are too overwhelmed to start moving there.

A lack of follow through also blocks a full life. Without accountability the best intentions remain just that, intentions rather than actions. You can plan for the best but without following up on your plans, they never flower. That’s where good advisors can make a difference.

Our job is to make decisions that better your whole life not just your financial life, and to provide guidance without being emotionally involved with the outcome. If we do that right, if we ask the right questions, clients come to conclusions on their own. Sometimes we know what we want but just need a little bit of help unpacking our desires.

The role we play with clients is special and intimate, and what I value the most about my job. We get the privilege of hearing about the stuff that really matters to them, not just about their bottom lines but their hopes and dreams.

Are you stuck and not on the journey of living life fully? 

The post Obstacles to Living Fully appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.

“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”   Mahatma Gandhi

The topic of today’s blog post is daunting, one that I’ve been mulling over for months as I’ve worked to craft a mission statement for our company. While some ideas for the blog come to me quickly, this one has taken a long time to form. You could say it has taken me a lifetime.

In this and other posts to follow I will attempt to answer the question of why we do what we do. Ostensibly, I am talking about the work we do at Highland, but in a larger sense I am talking about all the choices we make in our lives.

As I think about why Highland exists, why I chose to start it, and what drives me each day, I keep coming back to the idea: what it means to live fully.

It’s the phrase I used in a recent post, about the loss of my friend and colleague Steve. It applied then and, it occurred to me, should apply to all the events in our lives and the decision we make, even the professional ones.

Obviously the topic is too large for one post, so what I hope to do is to begin unpacking the suitcase of this idea of what it means to live fully.

What I hope to do is lay some kind of foundation to build upon. In future posts, you will recognize some of the concepts I talk about in this one. Living fully is more of a process than a goal, and so is writing about it.

I am convinced one of the most important components of a life fully lived is courage, the trait I was reminded of when Steve passed.

To start Highland, I had to summon the courage to make that choice. The company and all that it has become is the result of that decision.

Before I started the company 13 years ago, I was not living fully. I was stressed out, stuck in a dysfunctional job, feeling the financial pressure of having three children in private school and a new house and mortgage.

I knew I wanted a more balanced life. I wanted to coach my son’s baseball team. I wanted to get to know my wife better.  I could achieve neither without making a change, and that choice took courage. It took the willingness to step into something I didn’t fully understand.

It set me off on a process of self-discovery, healing and personal growth. It deepened my faith and sensitized me to the idea of life as a journey, one that I am still on. That, more or less, is the story of Highland. It is not just the company I run. It has become my canvas.

One of the most important relationships in people’s lives is the one they have with their money. As a wealth manager, I can play a role in that relationship. It can be a constructive one or a destructive one, depending on the choices you make. The paradox of money is that the more of it you have, the more prevalent feelings of fear, worry and perceived control can become. Prosperity sometimes encourages hoarding behavior and false feelings of self-sufficiency. People often say money is freedom. Sadly, money can sometimes lead to less freedom not more.

My hope is to be a lens through which people can view their relationship with money, and to help people make healthy, constructive choices. What does that mean?

It means understanding that money is a means not an end, that it is a tool, and we are not so much its owners as we are its stewards. It means seeing a client as a whole person, not just someone who earns money, but as someone with unique talents and passions, someone with an emotional and spiritual life, someone who is part of a larger family and community.

The more we all keep this in mind, the more likely we will have a healthy relationship with money, and the more likely we will live fully.

In the 13 years I’ve run Highland, I’ve yet to compose a mission statement, partly because there are always more immediate tasks to complete, but also because it has taken me all this time to understand why we do what we do.  I’m exicited about the energy this process has created and I’d love to share more of my story so please send me a note and let’s grab coffee. 

The post Why We Exist? To Live Fully appeared first on The Wealth Clarity Blog.