What’s in a name, really? Your name certainly means something to you, and to the people or person who named you. For example, my name, Adam, has a few meanings: in Hebrew, it means ‘red,’ which is funny because I could be argued to have red hair (I’ve always stuck by strawberry blonde, which is how mom has always described it). In Genesis of the Bible, Adam was created from the earth, thus it also means ‘earth.’ Well, did you know that my birthday is actually ‘Earth Day?’ True story.
When it was time to name – actually rename – this business back in 2010, I dug in and tried on a whole bunch of different names. Admittedly, it’s a very painful process to name a business. Fortunately, naming daughters was fairly easy because we just looked into our family tree for classic names. This, however, brought on a whole host of questions. Ultimately, I knew anything with my last name in it wouldn’t work any longer (I used to operate as Cufr Wealth Management). First, I thought really smart people might prefer to work with me if the business wasn’t about me, so the last name had to go. Second, I wanted the name to connote the work that we do for the people we serve.
Well, you’re likely familiar with 3D, as in 3D movies. Those three spatial dimensions refer to height, width, and depth. But do you know what the fourth dimension is? It’s time. You see, so much of what we do here is a function of time and timing. After sleeping a few nights on the name Fourth Dimension Financial Group, it really began to sink in that we are in the time business. Allow me to give you a few examples of what I mean:
- Retirees have a unique relationship with time as it relates to money. A retired person needs money immediately to pay the bills that were once paid by a paycheck from work. They also need to (and hopefully want to) live for 20, 30, or 40 years in retirement. This means their money needs to last for a very long time. That duality of money for the retiree means they need to plan differently for their money than a 26 year-old with a job would.
- In order to get to the point where financial independence is possible, a retiree must have used time as leverage, for many years. In order to have accumulated enough money to stop working for it, a person must take advantage of the compounding interest effect of time applied to their savings and investments. In other words, reaching retirement takes time.
- Perhaps most importantly, a ‘successful’ retiree has effectively bought themselves time. When financial independence is reached, the asset of time has become the most valuable asset available. It’s finite, it’s fading, it’s un-forgiving. Manage the asset of time poorly and regret results. Manage it effectively and lives are impacted, legacies are created. Whoa.
Time, it seems, is both why we do the work we do, and it’s the most powerful ingredient in what you and I do. Therefore, we should probably give it the respect it deserves.
Our mission statement is: “Fourth Dimension Financial Group exists to help people seeking financial retirement achieve enough, live fully, and help others do the same.”
When we understand and respect the role of time, we can get to the good stuff: people. While time is a key ingredient, meaningful relationships and positively-impacted lives are the desired result.
What’s in your name? I’ll bet it’s a great story just waiting to be told.
All the best,
Adam Cufr, RICP®
