Don’t Let Anything Stand in Your Way

The Heartache

Her sobs revealed the obvious; her heart was breaking. She was dealing with the unimaginable.  Her son died unexpectedly. No explanation. No advance warning. Because he had no spouse, no children, and no will, his widowed mother stood in line to inherit his large farm operation. She never anticipated this happening at her age.  Her decision could have been easy--sell everything--but it wasn’t.  Other farming children were involved. 

 

The Unknown

We’ll never know with certainty her son’s reasons for not having the discussions with his family or creating an estate plan.  We can only make assumptions.  He may have thought he was young, healthy, and possibly invincible.  He may have felt he had plenty of time to make his intentions known.  Or perhaps he found the decisions were too difficult and needed more time to make the “right ones”.

Let his story compel us to take action.  Let our story have a different ending.  Estate planning for a farming family will not always be “a walk in the park”. Tough decisions require meaningful conversations with family and farm advisors. Realistically, some decisions may be met with opposition from family but the opportunity must be taken to iron out the crinkles. Valid reasons may stop the process but shouldn’t stop us from crossing the finish line.   Here’s what we need to know.

Pushback from family about our decisions shouldn’t stand in the way of making our intentions known in writing. We may need to negotiate or compromise but ultimately, the final decisions will always be ours. 

Our sincere wishes are to protect and care for our loved ones and make known our charitable bequests. When we don’t honor our wishes, we cheat ourselves of our desires; and will only invite heartache, hurt feelings, and bickering into our families. Satisfying everyone may be impossible. Perseverance and courage will help fight our fears of not pleasing everyone. But when we are honest, our loved ones will know the reasons for our decisions and never be left to wonder “why”.   

The Reality

Assets alone do not determine wealth. Assets, such as investments, inventory, land, machinery and equipment may be offset against mountains of outstanding debt. Without a Net Worth Statement we clearly don’t know whether we have any wealth to distribute.    An encompassing estate plan looks at everything from insurance needs to tax planning strategies.   Only when we do our homework will we see what we own and owe.  Any potential dangers of eroding the value of our estate can be fixed with appropriate strategies to create the ideal plan.   

The Promise

Someone pointed out that anyone who doesn’t have an estate plan and a will is selfish.  Their focus happens to be only on their needs without any consideration for their loved ones.  The reasonable question is, “What would stop anyone from designing an estate plan so their family could remain united?” 

Peace and harmony, although not always achievable, should be the main objective.  When we build an empire, we have a say in how the empire is divided and shared among our beneficiaries.  An estate plan is designed to survey the accumulated wealth and decide the appropriate way to divide it.   

Although the task is daunting, we must fulfill our promises to ourselves and our loved ones. We keep our promises by revealing our intentions in writing.  When we don’t follow through with our promises, we miss the reward. 

The Reward

 Difficult tasks, like estate planning, are often shoved to the end of our to-do lists.  William James, one of the founders of modern psychology said, “Procrastination is attitude’s natural assassin. There’s nothing so fatiguing as an uncompleted task.” 

Every time we hear about someone’s unexpected injury, illness, or death, we think about our unfinished tasks. We feel a weight on our minds. Our Estate Plan which includes a Power of Attorney, Health Care Directive, and Will, all hang in limbo because we haven’t made the time to complete it.   Once we commit and see this task to the end, our minds will be free of this burden. 

William James also said, “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” 

When our attitude is aligned with our motivation, we will achieve our goal.  Our intentions must be driven by our love for our families.  We will do everything in our power to have them avoid any hardships or discord…and for us, to have the comfort and satisfaction knowing our wishes will be carried out when we die.   Simply knowing this makes all the effort we put into getting it done worth it.   

If you haven’t completed your estate plan, what reason is holding you hostage?  You are welcome to share your comment below.    

Does This Sound Like You?

Juggling Life

Life is Hectic

Do you get the feeling we can spend forever discussing obstacles that stand in the way of our goals, dreams, and aspirations?  Here’s another one to consider. 

A few years ago, I asked my fellow colleagues to help me understand why the majority of people do not request a financial plan.  I expected their complete honesty to the following survey question.

I am not interested in a financial plan because:

q  My life is hectic, and I don’t have the time to complete the questionnaires or set-up an appointment to discuss my financial affairs.

q  I feel I have a good grasp on my finances and future goals.

q  I am working with an investment advisor and I feel their advice is sufficient.

q  I don’t want to face the unknown and am not prepared to make any changes.

q  I feel uncomfortable sharing my personal financial information with a staff member in our office.

The Number #1 answer was “My life is hectic.”  Conflicting work schedules with your spouse, running around with your children’s activities, and not even knowing what you want in life deters you from even scheduling a meeting with a financial planner.

Here’s the frightening part.  Mark Twain’s message stands out in this entire calamity:

 Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

 

Mark Twain didn’t exactly say or perhaps even think, “Develop a sound financial plan”; but if you read between the lines, he wanted you to experience everything you possibly could.  You have to love these action verbs: Explore. Dream Discover. Everything you do takes money.  To sail away from a safe harbor you may need money to purchase the boat!

We Say We Have No Time

Time is the one thing which is distributed equally to everyone.  You have the “same” twenty-four hours as the next person. How you spend your valuable time is worth noting.  You always think your time belongs to others but in essence you are the gatekeeper of your time. 

One major enemy to achieving goals is wasting time.  John Maxwell passed along this message in his monthly mentoring lesson, “We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.”    Examine which time killers appear in your day to see if this is true. We often say, “We don’t have time” but do we really know how we spend our time?  How much time is spent on mediocre activities such as surfing the Internet, visiting on social media, and watching television?

In 1992, Alabama, an American band, released this popular country song, I’m in a Hurry.  The chorus reflects the lifestyle we live today. 

Oh, I’m in a hurry to get things done.

Oh, I rush and rush until life’s no fun.

All I really gotta do is live and die,

But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.

Although most people can relate to being in a hurry, many probably don’t make changes to their lifestyles to incorporate the things they should do.  Is this true for you?

Another enemy of achieving our goals is procrastination.  Joyce Meyers, in her book, Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits, shared this insight.

“Procrastination is a thief. It steals our time, our potential, our self-esteem, our peace of mind.  It is like a lullaby that whispers, “Go to sleep; everything will be fine.”  But everything will not be fine if we put off doing what we need to do.  And the task isn’t going to get done by itself!  It’s not going anywhere.  Procrastination is very deceptive, and we can only conquer it by becoming what I call a “now” person.  Be aggressive when you know you need to something.  Don’t put it off and keep putting it off…. just do it!”

Listen and Learn

Robert J. McKain says it best, “The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.”

I, too, examined how I was doing in this category.  Was I spending too much time doing things of less importance?  Blogging regularly is a priority on my list so I was looking for ways to better manage my time. I knew I needed to develop new habits to get projects completed. 

Whatever your BIG projects are, you may try “time blocking” to ensure you make time in your busy schedule to get things done.  “Time Blocking” is not a new concept but rather an effective method to stay on course.  Cal Newport shares a Deep Habit for planning every minute of your work day so every task is allotted specific and appropriate time periods.  I am certain Cal’s technique could also apply to your personal pursuits.   

We learn from one another.  People like Joyce Meyers, Cal Newport, and even the band, Alabama, experienced life lessons which inspired them to share their wisdom with us. Taking concepts and ideas from others’ experiences enrich our lives.  Naturally, you can’t implement “everything” but you can certainly take what you need and pass on the things you don’t.

Final Instructions

Information packed into this blog allows you to identify whether time is the obstacle standing in the way of your goals. Finding helpful resources allows you to conquer this obstacle.     

Here’s your challenge:

Dare to explore what’s working and what’s not working.       

Dare to exchange bad habits for good ones.

Dare to expect positive results from your valiant efforts.

The next time I ask the same survey question, your response may be different.  Your response may be, “When can I schedule an appointment?”

 

Don't Wait - Just Start!

What things are you putting off that need your attention?  I am talking about the things you may procrastinate about that shouldn't wait.  You may be telling yourself, “I’ll get it done when I have more time, more money, or when I get that new job”.  But are we being honest with ourselves? What’s stopping us from attending to the things we should?

Napoleon Hill, renowned author of the book, Think and Grow Rich, said, “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand and work with whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.” Now this may seem a little strange.  Last week, I told you to “wait for it”; and now this week, I’m telling you the exact opposite. 

Don’t wait – don’t procrastinate. Just start.  I’m talking about things that cause anxiety, fear, and insecurity to build. When it comes to money matters, everyone’s priority is different. You may have good intentions to start saving for your children’s education, your retirement, or to pay down debt yet you never do.

I feel part of my role as a financial planner is to motivate you to take action.  I will do what it takes to inspire, educate, and provide resources to help you.  The only thing I can’t do is MAKE you do something you don’t want to do.  But I will do what I can to help you understand “why” action is important. Are you ready? 

Start by listening to what Brian Tracy, author of the book, Eat That Frog, has to say about “Procrastination.”  When this video was shared with clients, they immediately recognized the important things they had put off.  Their wills haven’t been updated; their insurance coverage was inadequate; and they didn’t have any savings for emergencies.   

 

Take control. Simply take the next “right” step for you. What are all the things you haven’t done that need your attention?  Click here for a list of ten financial items every Canadian should have. Review the list, prioritize the items which need your attention and set deadlines when you expect to complete each task.  One day you will be glad you did.