Wisdom Through Generations

What’s in your family treasure chest?

by Jill Ciccarelli Rapps, CFP®
Financial Advisor

Wisdom has been regarded as one of four cardinal virtues; and as a virtue, it is a habit or disposition to perform the action with the highest degree of adequacy under any given circumstance1. What if we could easily “pay our wisdom forward;” take the responsibility to share our life lessons especially to those in an earlier generation in a way that could make a difference right away?

Keeping this in mind, how do we “break” a habit we have developed through our experiences that may not be serving us well and will most likely not serve the future generations? What would your most important life lessons be? What would you like to break away from?

My father says, “Money is relatively unimportant, but in order to keep it that way you have to have it.” His lesson is that life’s focus should be about family, friends, health, helping others, finding our purpose, and living life to the fullest. By not worrying about money, we have more latitude to focus on what is important in our lives. Thus began my journey to learn more about money; how to grow it, preserve it, and give it away in a meaningful way.

My parents instilled in me that anything is possible if we start with a clear intention. When it comes to managing our money, it is important to have a clear understanding of what we want to accomplish. We should not restrict ourselves by limited thinking or beliefs that don’t serve us. Once we realize that our limited beliefs are just thoughts, that do not really represent who we are, they can be “released”. This can create a whole new awareness helping us to “step” into our “money greatness”.

Once our intentions are clarified, it is a good idea to put a clear roadmap together, so each day we can accomplish a small step towards our goal. This keeps us on track and helps us move forward even when we may have a sense of being overwhelmed.

Although it is important to have an end goal in mind, we should not be attached to the end result. Most likely it is the journey that fulfills our lives. We need to stay flexible during our journey and open for new opportunities. Reason being, it is possible that our end result isn’t really maximizing our best “money self ”; there may be other possibilities that show up when we are ready.

Join me at the Aging Gracefully Women’s Wellness Community Conference on May 9th, 2015. I am looking forward to sharing my seven most important life lessons about creating and preserving financial freedom for you and your family.

We invite you to share with us your most important life lesson on social media using the hashtag #lifelessons2015 and we will share them at the conference.

“Investment advisory services offered through Ciccarelli Advisory Services, Inc., a registered investment advisor independent of FSC Securities Corporation.

Securities and additional investment advisory services offered through FSC Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. 9601 Tamiami Trl N, Naples, FL 34108, 239-262-6577. The views expressed in this article may not reflect the views of FSC Securities Corporation. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax, legal or investment planning advice.”