Make Maximum Use of Your Most Scarce Resource
I am at the age where I am really beginning to realize how fragile life can be at times. Recently, we learned that former University of North Carolina basketball great, Eric Montross had lost his battle with cancer and died at the young age of 52. While I did not know Eric personally, I am aware of some of the things he did with his life after basketball. I especially admire the emphasis he placed on his family and supporting others who could use a hand in life. Like many of you, I’ve had friends struggle with a serious illness, and others who have passed away unexpectedly.
When these tragedies happen, it’s only natural to think about your own mortality and ask yourself some serious questions. Things like, “Have I visited all the places on my bucket list?” or “Have I made the most of my time with children or grandchildren?” or even “Have I done enough to support others in my community, or the special charity I really care about?” As I was asking these questions to myself this week, I came to the unexpected realization that a big component of what we at Beacon do for our clients is to support them in their quest to achieve these admirable life goals.
Yes, it’s true that we “nerd out” on spreadsheets, tax strategies, the financial markets and all the other important aspects of being a financial advisory firm. Those are all critical elements and significant components of the decision-making process when it comes to financial matters. While we take care of all the financial details, we also serve the important role of “enabler.” We provide our clients with the peace of mind required to enable them to use their time and money in a manner that allows them to take actions that are really important to them. We are simply a member of our client’s team.
In thinking about this most important duty to clients, I realized how incredibly satisfying it is for our entire team to serve clients in this capacity. In speaking about this with Erin, Stephanie, John and Patrick it turns out that helping clients in their quest for happiness is, in fact, very rewarding and incredibly satisfying for us too! It genuinely makes us happy to hear stories of the places you visit, the people you spend time with, the causes that you support and all of the interesting things you do with your most scarce resource...time. We feel very privileged to have played a small part in your journey. So our hope for you in 2024 is to keeping doing those things that you value the most and don’t hesitate to tell us about them! Life is short. Happy New Year!