family | Live a Life By Design

How to Accumulate Your Most Precious Asset

Posted on June 2, 2023June 2, 2023 by Jimmy J. Williams, CPA/PFS, CFP®

What is it in life that is most valuable to each of us, yet we cannot touch it or save it? Time. To provide a value for time ask anyone who has suffered an illness and expired before reaching age 70. Time is the most important commodity in life and many of us utilize it in a very inefficient manner.

How can a person accumulate time? By planning each day to focus on your most important people, projects and places. Let us start with people. One of my favorite hobbies is to travel with my family. We have shared vacations in Europe, Hawaii and other exotic locations that are reflected in my memory as the photos are shared during Christmas in a review of our year.

The excitement your children exhibit when you inform them that you are taking them to Atlantis on vacation is evident on their faces – smiles so big all their teeth are shining through, and eyes squinted so tight they cannot see the camera in front of them! During our stay in the luxurious Atlantis resort, we had an opportunity to snorkel with and feed the cow-nose rays in the hotel’s aquarium. Our daughters thought this sounded fantastic! So, being the dad that I am, concierge was contacted, and the activity planned.

When we arrived at the aquarium, everything was peaceful. Our younger daughter decided to express her displeasure in the cuisine to be fed to the rays but otherwise we were in good spirits. It was not until the feeding process started that I witnessed a reaction that stopped time and empower our daughter with the ability to walk on water. There are only two people in my memory that walked on water – Jesus and Peter in the New Testament. Now, add Gabrielle to the list! To stimulate the person feeding them to drop their food in their water, the rays will bump your leg or thigh with their sandpaper-like nose. It is a gentle nudge and nothing to alarm you (this is what the guide told us).

Gabrielle was doing well until she was the subject of a gang of rays coming at her and bumping all at the same time. This was more than she could contemplate, and she dropped her food bucket in the water. To understand the next few events that took place, imagine if you were dropping steaks into a crocodile pit. The water began to thrash, and great commotion commenced with much noise. When I finally gained my eyesight from the water splashing, I watched our daughter walk across the top of the water as she headed to dry land while screaming at the top of her lungs!

How does this story relate to time? It is a memory that continues to prove that time well spent is time invested in family. The rest of the trip was less chaotic for our daughter, but the family had one of the most wonderful times spent focusing on each other.

One of the best projects one can utilize their time is the act of giving to their community. Find a civic group and offer to assist in a project to gain perspective about life. What you will find is that your life is secure compared to those you may be assisting for the project. One inhospitable summer a heatwave stifled the air in our community to a point of 115 degrees heat index. Some of our fellow citizens were suffering from heat strokes and required hospitalization. Our local Lions Club jumped into action! We raised money and installed cooling fans in the homes that did not have air conditioning. The hugs and words of gratitude from these individuals remain in my memory as one of the humblest moments in my life.

In a commencement address to the graduates of Stanford University, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, gave sage advice to those in attendance, “Your time is limited, so do not waste it living someone else’s life. Do not be trapped by dogma – which is living with the result of other people’s thinking. Do not let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. A most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you genuinely want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Time is an irreplaceable asset. Use it wisely and spend it with those that truly bring you happiness. If you want to live a life maximizing your opportunities and memories, consider meeting with a Certified Financial Planner™ professional to create your plan for the future. Whether you are ready or not, the future will arrive.

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The Most Valuable Investment — Family

Posted on May 7, 2022May 11, 2022 by Jimmy J. Williams, CPA/PFS, CFP®

Tomorrow, we celebrate mothers. If there is one person on the planet that plays the most critical role in our life it is our mother. The congratulatory comments I share with my mother when an honor has been awarded me, or I am recognized in any manner, is that I owe Mom an indeterminable amount of love and admiration for helping me receive this honor. Without her, I would not be here – literally! I know, this is a lame joke but so true.

The purpose of this column is to help our readers invest in themselves to enjoy a better life. One of the best returns on investments you can claim in life is building lasting and productive relationships with family. There is no definition of the perfect family. Life has a way of causing disagreements and dysfunction in our families.

In an analogous manner, as fellow citizens in this great country, the United States of America, we should do away with all manner of political and other differences to focus on our wonderful mothers. Particularly, I wish to share a few stories of my mother’s influence in my life.

Some of my fondest memories of childhood center around my mother. Her support in all my sporting events, cheering me up when the game did not end as I had hoped and buying ice cream for the team no matter the score all impacted me in a profound manner. To this day, I attribute my love for education and my cheerful outlook toward life to my loving parents. From my earliest days of life, I can recall my mother always telling me “You can do this” or “just a little more effort and success will be yours.”

My mother has never met two of my mentors, Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar, but she unknowingly mirrors their approach to challenges in life. Mom has a “never say quit” attitude about challenges. Her life began in 1936 as the middle child in a very rural, poor family. She regales me with stories of picking cotton in Arizona and owning only one pair of shoes that grandmother allowed her to wear in winter months. She did not finish her high school education in the traditional sense but earned her GED later in life. In true warrior fashion, she enrolled in a community college and completed her Associates Degree!

The value I strive to bring to those I meet is one of positivity. Our world requires that each of us bring our best self to help each other achieve greatness on our terms. Although I earned a few corrective actions from my parents in life (there were many more actions they did not know about!) their love and dedication to us, their children, has never waned.

It is with great humility that I share one last fact with you – I am the luckiest man on the planet to be born in the United States of America to a dedicated, supportive and positive mother as a role model to life. Of course, my father is a great man, and I will share his contributions to my life with you next month in this column.

Wealth is not all about money and assets. True wealth is defined as those things in life that money cannot buy, and death cannot take away. If you wish to create a plan for your future, to include instilling your familial beliefs as well as financial wealth, in the process of legacy building for your children, please contact a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM professional. Leave your family the values that never fade with time.

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Things Money Can’t Buy

Posted on November 19, 2021November 19, 2021 by Jimmy J. Williams, CPA/PFS, CFP®

Typically, this column focuses on the wealth creation, tax savings strategies and estate transition planning. At this time of year, it is critical that we take a different perspective in providing you guidance as to the definition of “true wealth”. We work hard all year focusing our efforts generating income and support for our families, communities and charitable organizations. What actually is your net worth based on “true wealth”?

To define “true wealth” one must understand what is most valuable to her and focus on increasing the value of the item through commitment of mental and physical energy. For example, relationships that are important in your life (i.e., children, parents, grandparents, friends, etc.) require investment of time to truly yield the greatest return. I am not implying that you should expect any return from your input of respect, consideration and friendship but it is a typical response by someone who receives these “investments” to return the contribution in similar form.

Another asset of “true wealth” is charitable giving. How does this process help grow your wealth? By giving of yourself, you will receive an internal increase in your self-esteem. This process of giving was instilled in me by my parents. When I was a very young boy, my dad asked me to go with him to a pie supper. I did not know what a pie supper was but the word “pie” had my interest! My father, responding to my rapid-fire questions such as “Will they have a chocolate pie? How about a pumpkin pie? Coconut cream? Finally, as if I were badgering a witness on the stand in a courtroom, my dad relented and simply told me to get in the truck to see for myself.

Upon arrival at the high school gymnasium in a small Oklahoma town, I was shocked as to the number of people who liked to eat pie. I observed the gymnasium floor covered with tables that were filled with pies and a small stack of paper in front of each one. My dad walked over to a pie and wrote on a piece of paper. He then walked to another, and another until he had written on several pieces of paper. Now, I am really confused. He wrote on pages for pies that I don’t even like to eat!

After what seemed like four hours (but was really about one hour), a man started picking up the pages in front of each pie. This man, with a boisterous, deep voice, started yelling out names and amounts. Intrigued, I asked my dad why did he call your name and say $50.00? My dad explained that he bought the pie for $50.00 and our family would be taking it home to enjoy. I was only 7 years of age but I knew the value of a dollar in 1972 and told him mom would be upset that we spent so much money on a stinking, apple pie. He just smiled and told me to listen as other names and amounts were called.

After all the names had been called, I quickly added up the total of the amounts called after my dad’s name and it was $200. Oh my goodness! This was time in our country when $100 of groceries would fill a pickup bed and new Converse Chuck basketball shoes cost $16. We just spent $200 on pies?!?!

Once we loaded all the pies in the truck, my dad explained to me the purpose for the pie supper. A family friend in our little town had lost their home, furnishings, clothing, everything in a house fire. The proceeds of the pie supper will help the family with needed items to continue to survive. My dad told me that he had not “spent” any money today but rather “invested” it in his friend and community to help others.

My eyes were opened that day to charitable service. This Thanksgiving Season many families will not be as fortunate as you. Consider giving in a manner that aids those in need to experience the passion and compassion of our community.

To me, “true wealth” is all about family, friends and charitable investments. Trust you will enjoy the best of the Thanksgiving Season and help others to do the same.

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Thanksgiving – Wealth Is More Than Money!

Posted on November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 by Jimmy J. Williams, CPA/PFS, CFP®

It is that time of year when each of us should pause and reflect on the life we lead in the United States of America. While our nation is far from perfect, the freedoms, opportunities and rights we claim are superior to any other nation on the planet! I am often asked how I define “wealth”. Many people think it is about tangible goods (i.e., cars, houses, land, etc.) and intangible assets (i.e., investments, cash in the bank, etc.).

To me, to be wealthy simply means that I have the freedom to live my life in the manner I choose. An old friend, I will call “Bill”, was diagnosed with cancer and given a short time to live. He and I were talking and I thought I had known him pretty well. Boy, was I surprised with the words that came out of Bill’s mouth over the next thirty minutes!

By all outward appearances, Bill had a great life – money, land, houses, cars, boats, etc. When he started telling me about his life he quickly dismissed the value of his property, cars and investment accounts and began a story of loss in his life. His daughters had been estranged from him due to a misunderstanding when the girls were in the 20s. Now, with his daughters in their 40s and Bill dying of cancer, he realized the most valuable “asset” in his portfolio of wealth had been squandered many years ago. With tears in his eyes, I could see he was living a life of regret.

As I sat there intently listening, Bill continued his saga to define the difference between riches and true wealth. Although he had not worried or wanted for any material need during his life, his emotional void with his children had left him feeling that his life had been lived without meaning. I asked him a simple question, “Would you give it all away to spend some quality days with your daughters before your passing?” The biggest smile came upon his face and he nearly shouted, “You bet!”

After a discussion with Bill’s daughters, a meeting was established to reacquaint themselves. Bill and his daughters’ eyes were swollen with tears of joy as their family was reunited. Bill only lived a few more months but his daughters conveyed to me that those few months were the most happy he had been his entire life.

Remember, a thankful and kind heart is an asset that can’t be bought with material goods. I often define wealth to people as “those things in life that money can’t buy and death can’t take away.” Seek out the true “assets” in your life and enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving Day with family and friends!