A Hospital Wing, a Library, and a Garden – A Living Legacy

My role at Fourth Dimension allows me to be a fortunate bystander to some high-level financial planning. I say, ‘fortunate’, because I’m afforded the opportunity to see and interact with many successful families. I observe the habits and disciplines that allow clients to build impressive amounts of wealth, but more importantly, I bear witness to the deep seeded mindset of each of you, our Successful Stewards.

One topic that often comes up, and that many clients ponder, is the idea of leaving a legacy. It certainly is a loaded subject matter, with many different interpretations. We do our best to equip clients with different legacy planning tools and ask the tough questions that ultimately result in decisions that will impact the next generation. The example Adam usually references is that of funding (and getting your name on) a hospital wing – which is an admirable goal – and a sure-fire-legacy-leaving action plan!

I am extremely blessed that I have three grandparents living (my maternal grandfather passed away before I was born) within a 30 minute drive, and that I get to interact with them on a regular basis. All three of them are in their 90s, and they have impacted my life in more ways than I can express in words.

Being around the challenging legacy conversations at Fourth Dimension, led me to ask myself, ‘what legacy have I already received from my grandparents?’ If my grandparents are anything like our Fourth Dimension Financial Group clients, then they have considered, and struggled with, the same legacy questions I alluded to earlier. I wanted to be able to show them, in a tangible way, that they have already left a legacy.

My paternal grandparents are retired farmers with a German heritage. They are incredible people that have high expectations of themselves and of others, which has made me a better person. They have been, and continue to be, great teachers of many lessons on life, love, and family. Being farmers, they come from a sowing and reaping mindset – the actions and work you put in today will impact the results that you receive tomorrow. I could think of no better representation of their legacy than by starting my own garden this year, and naming it after both of them.

My maternal grandmother has an imagination like no other. The stories she tells are always full of laughter and creativity. She is not afraid of striking up a conversation with any random stranger, and she believes the best in everyone. When I go and visit her, it is common to see a stack of books right next to her chair. She loves to learn or get lost in a good story, and she reminds me to not take life too seriously. In 2015, I’m going to build an official library at my home, donning a plaque describing my grandmother’s impact.

I’m excited about my legacy projects for 2015, and I want to invite you to consider starting your own. I encourage you to reflect on the following 2 questions:

Who has already left a legacy in your life?
In what ways can you show them the importance of what they have done?

PS – I realize that most of my past Steward articles have been book reviews, and I didn’t want to disappoint you, so here are a couple of book titles I wanted to share:

What Dave is reading now: “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande (Highly recommend, especially for those wrestling with or experiencing assisted living/nursing home decisions).
A favorite from my library: “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek