Things To
Think About
Things to Think About
Turning the Page
Every year, I press pause for the last few weeks in December to create space for reflection and to connect with the people who are important to me, always encouraging you as my readers to do so, too. In any other year, I would ask you these two questions to open a space for that reflection: “On a scale of 1 to 10,...
Reflective Questions to Contemplate as You Turn the Page
REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS TO CONTEMPLATE AS YOU TURN THE PAGE *** CLOSING THE BOOK ON 2020 What did I embrace in 2020? What did I let go of in 2020? What changed for me in 2020? What did I discover about myself in 2020? What was I most grateful for in 2020? When did fear hold me back in 2020? Where did I demonstrate...
Why Gratitude Is Good for You
Do you need some motivation for practicing gratitude this Thanksgiving? It turns out that gratitude is good for our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. Advisors and business owners who feel honored to work with each other close deals at substantially higher rates and are happier with the outcomes, which leads...
SCARY THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
There are lots of things that cause business owners to bolt upright in their beds at 3am scared out of their minds when they’re selling their business. Whether the tale of your next deal is a horror story filled with regrets or has your client telling all their business owner friends about the fairy tale ending...
Is Dying at Your Desk Noble or Tragic?
Earlier this year, I facilitated a retreat for a group of business owners to talk about how to know when it’s time to sell their business and retire and how to navigate that transition without regrets. One of them I’ll call “Brian” announced he had no plans to retire – “Not me,” he said. “I’m planning to...
It’s a Transition, Not a Transaction: Selling Your Business Without Regret (Podcast)
Listen: Your Life, Simplified, Podcast with Mariner Wealth Advisors: Transcript: George Fernandez: Thank you for downloading this episode of "Your Life Simplified". My name is George Fernandez, and I'll be your host for this episode. Here at "Your Life Simplified", we strive to bring you relevant and timely topics...
Slaying the Emotional Dragons Lurking Inside Every Family Business
Once Upon A Time … there was a handsome young prince who married a lovely brunette actress … *** It sounds like the beginning to a beautiful story. Yet, when Prince Harry announced that he was stepping down from royal life, the world seemed shocked. So did the Royal family and their advisors. But, should...
Grief, Loss, and Owners on the Brink
“I can’t take it anymore!” Ed shouted into the phone when I answered. He was understandably exasperated. This was the third time his client, Walter, had threatened to blow up the deal he’d been working on for months. “He told me he’s not sure he wants to sell the business anymore. Can...
Where in the World Have You Been Lately?
“Where in the world have you been?!” Gerry asked me. “I’ve missed hearing from you and was worried somehow I got dropped off your newsletter list.” Where have I been? The same place we’ve all been – at home! But, I’ve been in another place, too. A more introspective space, trying to make sense of all that is...
Let Your Empathy Be Contagious
I spend my days keeping people and deals from falling apart. Right now, as I watch the coronavirus pandemic march across communities with all of its uncertainty, I’m struck by how similar this dynamic is to what I see playing out in deals every day. It reminds me that one of the best tools to ease that panic is...
The Thread & The Throughline
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get...
Will You Know When It’s Time?
“Now just feels like the right time,” said Steve Croft (age 73) on Sunday as he announced his retirement after 30 years at the CBS News show 60 Minutes. He said he’d been considering when to retire at the end of each of the past four seasons and knew it was finally time. Hearing him say that he wanted to leave...
Permission To Care
He told me, “Sometimes I just feel so lonely. Lost, in fact. Where did my friends go? I guess I just let work and family take up so much space that I’ve ended up feeling like a stranger in a strange land. I miss that I don’t have a universe of close men in my life. The worst part is feeling myself stuck in solitude...
Building Your Courage Muscles
I was talking to my massage therapist the other night about a workshop called Courageous Choices that I led recently for a group of senior executives. I was preparing them to exit their companies and discover a legacy beyond just money. Helping people make courageous choices is at the heart of what I do as a...
Taking Back Your Life
Have you ever been to a restaurant with a sushi train? It’s a revolving conveyor belt that snakes through the restaurant loaded with little plates of sushi. Diners choose directly from the sushi-go-round the nibbles that appeal to them. Like at a dim sum restaurant, the plates are color-coded by price. At...
The Unexpected Danger of Putting a Call on Hold
“Denise, there’s a call on line 1 for you. He wouldn’t give me his name and said ‘you’d know what he was calling about’.” “Can’t you see I have my Do Not Disturb light on?” I replied. “Tell whoever it is I’m busy and I’ll call him back later.” My assistant responded that the caller said he would hold until I was...
Integrity at Work
INTEGRITY AT WORK … Do Your People Care? No, REALLY, Care? For two days, I’ve been trying to catch a little stray dog in my neighborhood without success. I’ve enlisted neighbors and tried to engage passing motorists to help as this scraggly little brown dog would dart away from me toward the traffic on a busy main...
Can This Deal Be Saved? The Art of Asking “What Matters?”
Last week I was talking with a banker about how to save a deal of his that was spiraling out of control. It seemed the Seller had become less and less responsive over the past several weeks and then, suddenly, threw up a wacky deal term out of nowhere that threatened to kill the deal. The entire deal team was left...
The Power of Revealing Who You Are and What You Want
“Finally. At least now I don’t have to go on pretending anymore that it’s really what I wanted to be doing. Now I can finally do what I WANT to do.” That’s what my client Lon said after his business collapsed. I wasn’t surprised that, after the initial shock wore off, what he felt was relief. Pretending...
The Legacy Dinner
The Legacy Dinner is a small curated dinner & discussion experience exploring the topic of What Constitutes a Lasting Legacy? It is an informal gathering, along the lines of a Jeffersonian-style dinner. For each event, I’ve chosen a variety of people I know who I think are open to discussion and would each bring...
Is Money Your Security Blanket?
In many of Charles M. Schulz' Peanuts comic strips, Linus' security blanket is prominently featured. Linus loves his blanket, carries it everywhere, often while sucking his thumb, and is not embarrassed by it. He cannot survive without it and really suffers when it is being washed. However, in...
A Life in Focus
"To be honest, it's a blur," Jeff told me. We were trying to discern the vision he might have had for his life before it ran amok. I had asked him to tell me what he could remember as the highlights of his life from the past year off the top of his head (without looking at his calendar). It took the better part of an...
The Antidote to Burnout – It Isn’t What You Think It Is
"I'm burned out," Mitch told me. "Work shouldn't suck this much." "How much SHOULD it suck?" I asked him. I suggested he check out this humorous video about careers and burnout . It would be funnier if you didn't see yourself in it, right now. Children dream about their futures, they imagine things they can do to...
X Marks the Spot
"I want to leave my mark on this world - something that really shows I was here!" Gary tells me. That's not uncommon. The desire to leave our mark, to show we were here - that we mattered - is nearly universal. So, I ask him, "What would be a meaningful marker to you?" For some people, it's having their name on a...
Something Worth Standing For
This week, conversations with clients have often veered into their views on the controversy surrounding NFL players "taking a knee" while the national anthem is being played. I'm less concerned whether they think the players should or shouldn't be doing it, or whether they think the President should or shouldn't be...