Here's what fifty-six fortunes couldn't buy: certainty. The men who pledged their wealth in 1776 had no idea it would work. The odds were against them — a ragged army against the most powerful empire on earth. They spent their fortunes on a coin flip. They signed without knowing. I tell clients this because so many of them are waiting for certainty before they'll act. They want the perfect plan, the guaranteed return, the assurance that nothing will go wrong before they'll co

"The most generous thing a father ever does is become unnecessary on purpose." — Steve Martin: Vision-Keeper, Dream Coach, Father, Grandfather Lighthouses are built to outlast the people who build them. The keeper tends the light for a season: trims the wick, polishes the lens, climbs the stairs in storms. Then the keeper dies, and another comes, and the light goes on. The structure was designed from the first stone to serve generations of sailors the original builders would

The Iroquois Nation had a governing principle that I have spent the second half of my life trying to practice: that every significant decision should be made with seven generations in mind. Not the next quarter. Not the next election cycle. Seven generations — roughly 200 years. I call it 200-year thinking, and it changes everything about the question of what you truly want. Here's why. When we ask ourselves "What do I want?" in the present tense, we almost always get a short

In the grand adventure of life, each family weaves a unique story, a narrative that echoes through generations. Preserving this story is...