Archive for March, 2010
Planting Seeds…
Posted by Aparicio Giddins in Financial on March 24, 2010
March 10, 10:38 PM Newark Financial Planning and Strategy Examiner
By William Jiggetts
Money is not wealth. High income is not wealth. Of course, you need those to grow wealth but they are just tools for empire building. You also need credit, leverage and know-how. With those and other tools, you create comfort and peace of mind for your family and your legacy.
By definition, wealth is multi-generational so no matter how much money you have, it’s not wealth until it’s secured for your legacy. Therefore, in order to create wealth you have to prepare future generations to be wealthy.
For example…
Bill Gates is wealthy. He famously dropped out of college to start his company. What’s often missed is that Mr Gates dropped out of Harvard and borrowed money from his father to start his business. The senior Gates had prepared the way by seeing to his son’s education, supporting his ambition and by having the assets to support his son’s dream financially. Now, the Gates’ are very wealthy.
Donald Trump is another example. He did his first deal with money borrowed from his father. Dad got the cash by mortgaging his real estate holdings. The senior Trump was a developer. He had assets, credit, experience, connections and a belief that his son would make good on the opportunity with what he had learned about the business of real estate development.
The Graves Family wealth no doubt has a similar track. The Graves family runs a Media Empire of which Black Enterprise Magazine is the crown jewel. Earl Graves Senior and his wife have not only worked really hard and made a lot of money; they have prepared their family and their estate so that the earnings from his efforts will result in generations of wealth.
Again, money is not wealth…
Money goes away but wealth stays and grows. After you have planted the seed of wealth there needs to be a protected environment where wealth can grow. This is where estate planning comes in. Wills, trusts, income, asset and cash-flow protection, liability protection all have to be in place in order for money to grow to wealth.
There is no end of stories of lost fortunes and people who had money but are now broke. On the other hand, there are the estates that just don’t break no matter what. The Hilton Estate for example: Those girls couldn’t break that estate if they tried. Some say they have been trying.
This is an important example. The Hilton family does not live parsimoniously. They live like Hiltons. Having millions in the bank or under the mattress and being afraid to touch it for fear of running through it is not wealth. I don’t know what to call that, but it’s not cool. Wealth affords your life-style and continues to grow and leaves a legacy.
So, what do you need to do?
Develop a mind-set of planting a tree for someone else’s shade. If you are not wealthy already, you won’t be. You can get rich though. Do that. Use your assets and whatever else you can to plant wealth seeds for your legacy. Confucius said, “The best time to plant a tree is forty years ago. The second best time is now.” Remember, “Now” is going to be forty years ago in forty years. It shouldn’t still look like now.
Make and save a lot of money. See to your children’s education. Teach them what you know and support them in learning what they want to know. Send them to great colleges so they can learn what you can’t teach and so that they can meet the people who will be their important contacts later when it’s time for them to make a lot of money. Plan your estate now. Wealth grows within a protected environment. Even if you’re not wealthy now, set up the estate anyway. Investments, life insurance, etceteras should be held in trust. Outside of that, it’s just stacks of cash waiting for a wealth-eroding wind to blow it away. Get professional help with the details and minutiae. It’s important.
Simple. Not easy.
This is a repost from the Examiner.com
NBA Players Financial Regrets
Posted by Aparicio Giddins in Professional Athletes on March 23, 2010
On a consistent basis I deal with athletes that need financial counseling, but I thought this video from ESPN with former NBA players, Kenny Anderson and Antoine Walker was very interesting. I don’t think I need to justify it with commentary. The video speaks to the importance of having a firm like AG Life Coaching Solutions that can help players avoid these regrets at the end of their career. This was very telling.
Who Does Your Daddy Know?
Posted by Aparicio Giddins in Life Coaching on March 18, 2010
When you think of networking, what is the first thought that comes to mind? I’ve done some subjective research on the topic of networking and I am considered to be a master networker (MN) myself. Most people consider networking as a way to meet new people and build a network of individuals that work at the same company in the same industry or at a different company in a different or in the same industry. Business professionals attend networking events hoping to land their next opportunity. While I think that networking is extremely important, especially with social media playing a major role in how we network today, (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter) I think it’s on a lower scale compared to traditional networking.
During my time as a Wealth Manager at a major financial services firm, I had an opportunity to see how true networking works and it begins with the legacy that your family has left behind. Traditionally, networking was based on who your father knew or who he could connect you to and his reputation was on the line for referring an individual, but this is how people make it to the next level and beyond middle management. Let me give you a couple of examples: Jamie Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, but it was due to his father’s (Theodore Dimon) influence and his reputation that propelled Jamie to the next level. Jamie has been very successful at JP Morgan and managed the risk of the one the nation’s premier financial services firms. Jamie graduated from Harvard Business School, and because of his father’s reputation and his relationship with Sandy Weill, he had some success and created a series of mergers that helped Citi become one of the premier financial services organizations in the world. Eventually he moved onto Bank One, where he was CEO and after a series of mergers and acquisitions he became the CEO of JP Morgan. He was well positioned to succeed, not because he went to hundreds of networking events and collected hundreds of business cards, he was positioned like a company marketing a product. His father helped elevate him, by helping him get over the hurdles and around the red tape.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “what’s in a name?” Your name means everything. People associate everything that you do by name and if your name goes back generations and has a good reputation, you are generally in a position to reap a good harvest. This makes so much sense to me in the natural and spiritually. Let me give you another example: Do you recognize the name Trump? You and everyone else, but people in New York City have recognized the name for years. His father (Fred Trump) was heavily involved real estate for years and his reputation was great among his peers and the banks the he had business relationships with. It was an easy transition to bring Donald into the mix. Donald Trump took the real estate business to the next level.
Are both of these individuals extremely successful without the help of their fathers? Yes they are without a doubt, but what if they didn’t have fathers that created the legacy for them? Would they have been at this level? It’s possible, but the power of traditional networking allowed them to leverage the use of their name to position them higher.
How does this affect your blueprint or your definition of “networking?” It’s more than collecting business cards, sending emails, and sending networking profiles to people at the company you desire to work at. Networking is so much more; it’s about creating a legacy and opportunities that will have a positive impact on you and your family for generations.
The examples that I used are on a large scale, but situations like this happen every day. One more example, I am sure that Chelsea Clinton was an exceptional student, but the with the influence of her parents and the name that she carries, she continued her graduate studies at Oxford and received a six figure job with a major consultant firm after graduating. How many people do you know that make the transition from college to a six figure role?
Learn how make your name stand out and experience how true networking impacts you for generations.
Allen Iverson in Deep Trouble
Posted by Aparicio Giddins in Professional Athletes, Uncategorized on March 9, 2010
Allen Iverson is one of the greatest small guards to play in the NBA, but it is not his play that is gaining national attention. As reported by Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Iverson has personal issues that have him reeling. He is falling hard too! Last week it was reported that he would no longer be allowed to continue with the Philadelphia 76ers because of the illness of his daughter and the organization wanted to go in another direction. In addition, his wife filed for divorce in Atlanta, citing that their 8 1/2 year marriage is “irretrievably broken.” She also filed for full custody of their 5 children and is seeking child support and alimony.
The story that has come out today is about Iverson’s alcohol and gambling issues. It has been reported by Stephen A. Smith that Iverson has been banned from Atlantic City, NJ casinos and some in Detroit. His life has been categorized by some people that know him as, “out of control.” Stephen A. has covered A.I. for years and knows him personally as he says, that Allen Iverson is in need of guidance.
As a life coach for professional athletes, this is the path that many athletes take. It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances for Allen Iverson, but the reality is that his core values are not intact and that he is reaching out for help. Financially, Allen Iverson has four homes in three cities that have not sold. He has homes in Philadelphia, Detroit, and two in Denver. Allen Iverson has made approximately $156 million in salary alone. There are reports that he has had some of his cars repossessed, but this is speculation and I have no way of confirming whether or not these rumors are true. What I can say is that this path that A.I. took was very predictable. He thought he was invincible and could overcome life’s pitfalls. He lived a hardcore life and his personal life and his physical body are now paying for it. He has pushed everyone away that could help him including his wife. It’s a sad day for basketball fans and for the NBA as well. These leagues need to do a better job of helping their stars. An athlete’s life should not spiral out of control like Iverson’s without intervention.
