34. Family, Finance, and the Future w/ Mark Halpern

Money touches every part of our lives—but we rarely stop to ask what it actually means to us. In this episode, we sit down with Mark Halpern, CFP, TEP, MFA-P, CEO of WEALTHinsurance.com, to explore the emotional side of financial planning, the lessons that shape our relationship with money, and how early experiences can define the way we think about security, responsibility, and legacy. From navigating fear and uncertainty to reimagining what it means to leave something behind, this conversation invites a deeper look at how we prepare, not just financially, but intentionally, for the future. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:33

The butterfly of the body.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of the Butterfly of Why. I'm your host, Jamie Weidel, and we are here to explore the why behind every first step that leads to growth, resilience, and perspective. In life, we spend a lot of time learning how to earn money, a little time learning how to manage it, and almost no time understanding what it actually means to us. Because beneath every financial decision, there's a story, a belief, and sometimes a moment that changes everything. For today's guest, that moment arrived far too soon in life. Joining us now is Mark Halpern, CEO and founder of wealthinsurance.com, whose work centers on helping families transform financial decisions into meaningful legacies guided by a mission shaped through a personal and complicated loss. And it shaped not just how he sees money, but why he's dedicated his life to helping others prepare for what they can't predict. Mark, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Thank you so much, Jamie. I'm so happy to be here and looking forward to our conversation.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

As as I was saying before we jumped onto this, uh the financial world is something that is not really in my purview, but I think because of that, that's why I was so intrigued to have this conversation. So because I do understand that what money is is an important necessity, but at the same time, money is very emotional. Uh it is very different within every culture that you go through, but nonetheless, money is relevant throughout all the world. So I'm I'm looking forward to seeing where this conversation can go today.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Great, me too. And given our uh relative backgrounds, both having fathers who are engineers and traveling and trying to keep all the balls in the air support families, I think we both come from it with uh real life experience. So uh hopefully we'll both share some of those insights.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Yes, sir. All right, let's do it. So, Mark, to start us off, I would love to explore what your role looks like today as a financial planner. And and please, if you can, break that down for me in in layman's terms. And beyond that, what keeps you energized and positive about the work that you're doing in financial planning?

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Yeah, so first of all, this is a subject, Jamie, that has a lot of company like yours that I just don't want to talk about this. It's it's not sexy, it's not, you know, binge watching Netflix, it's not looking at the mountains and the ocean in California. So it's not something we really love to do. And and if we don't understand something, we also don't want to lean into things. Why? Because nobody wants to look dumb, you know, and you know, you can have people who are very, very successful, but they don't want to admit that they don't necessarily know everything about that they should. Or, and you know, I think that the key to life is to be I have a lot of humility to be able to say, I don't know everything, and I need to find people who are experts and who can help me and give it over in a way that you know I can understand and I can ask dumb questions and they're not going to make me look bad. So it doesn't matter if you're worth$100 million or you're somebody worth$100,000. We're both sort of, you know, starting from the same place. And for me, I I've been 35 years in professional practice, have done a lot of pivots and ratchets and pivots and ratchets to low them away. But today, I I work primarily with very successful business owners and entrepreneurs and affluent families and regular families who probably you know spend a lot of time doing other things other than financial planning or looking at their stuff. So my job is to get them to stop and ask questions about what they have and what they'd like to see happen. It's not my agenda, it's their agenda. And we work in three different areas. One is in estate planning, so just making sure that people's financial architecture and their financial furniture, like having wills, powers of attorneys, a list of where everything is, where's the digital passwords, the key to the just basic planning 101. So we want to align that. The second area that we're involved with is tax mitigation strategies. We have to pay taxes, it's a it's a reality, but there's no law that says you have to leave a tip. And there are a number of very smart, simple strategies that the average person doesn't know to help people keep more of their hard-earned money and preserve family wealth. And then the third area, which I think, Jamie, we're going to get into the most, is really around legacy. I love the idea of helping people create enduring legacies, often just by converting tax into charity. And for the average person, they'll give money when somebody says, Hey, I'm riding my bike to conquer cancer. Will you sponsor me? And you'll be glad to give them your credit card number. But have they really incorporated philanthropy into their legacy or into their estate plan? And I venture to guess probably only 10% of the population has. So we're trying to change that.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

As you were saying that, the thought, the the quote came into my mind: what looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. So if if anyone is not understanding, they're going to resist moving forward with different financial plans, other than just working the nine to five and possibly a 401k or whatever. But having that level of understanding provides clarity, and then the clarity allows for someone to move forward. So it's the big part is really being open to seek out the understanding. But I love what you said about the humility. I think it's it's difficult for people. I'm I'm one of those people that I grew up with a family that was under a heavy financial burden throughout most of my upbringing. So for me to talk about money, it's extremely uncomfortable. So I am one of those people that I have to sort of like peel me off the wall to talk about money, but after I do it, I feel so much better about it. But also in the same regard, feeling that I can't ask certain questions, but knowing in my mind, it's okay to ask the questions because if you're talking to an expert, they know it. I'm not the expert. So it's okay at this stage of life to ask some uncomfortable questions and realizing that they're actually not that uncomfortable. They're just actually really great questions to ask.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

That's a good point, Jamie. And I think that it comes down to really having, like we need teachers in life. You're a you're a counselor, we need teachers, we need mentors, we need uh advisors who also, for a lot of people, they have advisors who are usually very reactive as opposed to proactive. If you go to them with a problem, they'll be fantastic at solving it. But it's not their job to lean in, you know, in in a deep meaningful way to find out what kind of legacy do you want to leave. And, you know, and it's more they're taking care of compliance and numbers and and governance and things like that. So it's important to really realize that in today's day and age where we're living in such incredibly busy times, like everybody's got ADD. Let's face it, you know, it's we're in the TikTok generation. You need to find people who can be part of your team and that they should talk to each other with you, as opposed to being sort of a one-trick pony and and and them selling something or getting you into a some sort of strategy that doesn't fit the big picture. So let's look at the big picture first.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

I love that. So before we go forward, I kind of want to go backwards a little bit. So when it comes to financial planning for you, there is a bigger narrative that led you to where you're at today. Now you shared that you lost your father at 11 years old, am I correct?

SPEAKER_02 8:41

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

And he really didn't have a plan in place, and that was essentially the defining moment for your life. Can you take us back to that time and really how that began to shape your understanding of the importance of security, responsibility, and financial awareness?

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Absolutely. So I was the youngest of four boys, and my father passed away at the age of 50 of a heart attack just suddenly. And um, my mother, who was 48 at the time, had to go back to work to support our family, like your mom. She was a stay-at-home mom, and uh, and she had to go back to support us. Why? My father was a busy engineer. He loved us so much. I mean, I have such great memories of my dad, even you know, as an 11-year-old. Um, but you know, he was a busy engineer, and therefore he didn't have a will. He didn't have very much in terms of savings, and he didn't have any life insurance, you know, basic, you know, planning 101s. And as a result, it was very hard for us. Uh, you know, we had to develop a struggle muscle, which by the way, I'm I love my struggle muscle. I'm so glad. I'm grateful I always given that that gift. At the time it may have seemed like a bum deal, but you know, when you get no place else to go, you get, you know, you you get going. So it was it was great. And today we want all of us to spoil our kids, but we also don't want them to be entitled, which seems to be the case a lot of the time. So, you know, I felt that if if I didn't have all those things in place in my own family and how different it would have been, you know, likely I'm not the only family who's like that, right? And that, you know, they they they probably, if I looked into the future, I thought, okay, you know, I believe in in if I can take that wisdom and knowledge and help other people, how great that would be. So I sort of entered into the business back in 1991 saying, okay, my my friends are gonna be going into businesses and their parents are gonna be retiring. And you know, I didn't see anybody sort of in this role. And I thought, hmm, I I could I could have that role. And it was deep and meaningful because it wasn't about selling uh, you know, a transactional relationship. It was about a leaning in and getting to know people relationship and and helping them by being somebody who shares wisdom and knowledge with them to help them make decisions that really will give them a lot of peace of mind. And that to me meant a lot because as a kid growing up, even before my father passed away, we had a lot of financial challenges as well. You know, I remember I saw letters that I wrote to my father saying, you know, about a camp or something. And here I am, I must have been about 10 years old. I said, can we really afford it? You know, like who who whoever reads the glass for dead, can we afford it? Obviously, there was stuff going on back then, you know, besides having my paper roots and all the rest of it, there was definitely some financial pain. Um, but it doesn't have to be that way because I I really feel that just with very, very little heavy lifting, people can get a lot of peace of mind and not have to be in a situation where they have a bad event happen that suddenly triggers not only an emotional event, but a big financial event that could impact their lives for generations to come.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Talk to me about the the struggle muscle. I want to know more about that.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Yeah, the struggle muscle. You know, I I I ask when when when I I I coach and I mentor a lot of people, uh young students, young professionals, families, and people in my business as well. I have a very robust mentoring and coaching program, and and people ask me, Mark, how can I be successful like you? And I say, it's really very easy. Get married, buy a big house with a huge mortgage, have a lot of kids, put them all in private school, you'll do very well. I didn't tell them what they're gonna do for a living. But Jamie, what did I explain to them? When you have responsibility and you have obligations and you have commitments, and there's no place else to go, you become pretty good at whatever it is you're taking on. I mean, that's that's the positive side of it. The negative side is you run away and you bury yourself in, you know, things to distract you from that pain. But uh the struggle muscle is just knowing that, you know, if it's gonna be, it's gonna be me. And uh I happen to come from a pretty religious family, or at least a very traditional family growing up. And, you know, I I I always believed in God. I always felt that, you know, that, you know, sort of when my father passed away, there was always like this father in heaven who was kind of looking after me. And I also knew that there was a very famous adage, which was that that God has a very special compassion for widows and orphans. And I happened to be one of those. I was the orphan guy, and it was uh it was a real gift for me. So moving forward, I just think that if if you don't have any challenges in life, like in your life, that's not a good sign. Challenges are a good thing, it means that somebody loves you and somebody believes in you and somebody thinks you're very capable, and that you should embrace those challenges because those are the only things that make us grow.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

And it's that struggle muscle and understanding that and the calluses built up from that experience that really lends itself to your belief and legacy, and and not just in aspects of money, but in terms of family culture and generations that are passing along, again, not just passing along finances, but passing along support and financial wisdom is a really critical thing that I think that grew from that struggle muscle of yours.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Absolutely, absolutely. And and again, it comes back down to having knowledge in this these subjects. Most of the time, people are dealing with these things when the sun is not shining, meaning they have an incident happen. Could be a death, a disability, uh, you know, suddenly it's retirement. Oh, I'm retiring next year. What should I do? It's not, you know, the time to deal with these things is while the sun is shining. And and and as I said, it's about getting a good team together that can help you. And and I know that I've been very fortunate. I've had, I I can't, I would not be where I am today if I didn't have teachers and mentors in my life. Mentors that, by the way, the met the best mentors were the ones who are not easy. You don't want a pat on the back. You want someone to put the mirror up to you and say, hey, you know, you could do better. This is what, you know, what do you want to do? And and make sure that you make things measurable and time-bound and put commitments to things and be inspected and and have consequences. I know it might sound very rough for for some people who don't like that that that uh those those words, but really, you know, if you want to win the Super Bowl, you want to win the Stanley Cup, you want to win anything, you need a good coach. You need someone who's gonna be there for you and and there the and and help you to reach your potential. Because we all have a lot of potential. It's just tapping into it, that's sometimes more of a challenge.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

So my father passed away when I was 18 from a heart attack. And in the same sense, there was there was nothing that was that was left behind. And so I was 18, so I was already on my own. And my obviously my two older sisters that I have, they were also on their own. So my mom struggled for years financially from that. And what was interesting for me was talking about having people around you to kind of guide and support. Financially, I didn't have that understanding. So throughout much of my 20s and into my 30s, I I didn't have great money management because I just didn't know. And there was also a level of fear about taking chances to actually earn more money. So I I found myself in this position in life early on where I was uncomfortable to talk about money, yet I found myself constantly getting in like financial troubles, and I'd find a way to get out of it, and it was the same cycle, but that is the same cycle my parents went through. They would, my father would get a job uh with his engineering career, and for a good six months we'd have money, they would spend it all, then the job was over, and then there was nothing left. So it was constantly a roller coaster. So it's important for people to understand that even if you have a steady job, you might not have the roller coaster, but it's the unexpected challenges that happen in life, like someone passing away, that leave you possibly stuck. Like, because that that is exactly how I felt was well, father's gone. Now what am I doing with myself? So it was just figuring out what to do from an adult standpoint, especially financially, without knowing what to do. So just to reiterate, that level of family and knowledge and support really can go such a long way for someone.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

No question. Oh, I I I totally relate to what you're saying. I mean, I I feel it, and you're you're I'm getting my I see my tear ducts are working because I'm starting to, you know, we're both having this moment. But uh yeah, and it it and again, it doesn't have to be this way. I'd say that the the only thing that's required from people is they have to have the desire. They have to have the desire. And and and and if you love somebody, you know, then you take care of these things. If you don't love somebody, you don't take care of these things. That's really how simple it could be, right? And uh as I said, the best time to do it is now, instead of waiting for uh for one of those terrible situations to happen, in which case there's far less choice and less options, and and it's much harder to get things done at that point in time.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

We know that money doesn't buy happiness, but it certainly influences the level of stress you feel, the lack of security, and your peace of mind. So from your perspective, uh how can someone shape their mindset to understand that money doesn't have the same value as relationships, family, love, etc. But but by having it, it can support a healthier, more grounded relationship with those things.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

You know, they say that money buys you freedom, it it buys you peace of mind, it buys you the ability to do things that other people can't do. But we've always said that nobody dies with all their toys. They have to be left behind to somebody else. And it's really a question of what do you do with those those assets of yours or your money while you're alive? Because we know that it's not just about how many, you know, how much you're gonna make, how many chickens you're gonna eat in your lifetime, how many vacations you're gonna have, how many, you know, uh trips to the the cottage. That that's not it. Really, it's about what you leave behind, the relationships that you have. One of my my my uh most important mentors was uh Dr. Paul Goldstein. He got his PhD at age 88. He was a force of force of nature, and and he really mentored me and said that in life there are three components that we have to be focused on. And this answers, Jamie, your thing about money. There's the physical, the three are the physical, right? Secondly, is the financial, and the third is the relationships or the spiritual box. So you've got three boxes, and and that's it. And you have to be honest and ask yourself, where am I on a scale of one out of ten in each of those boxes? And and the goal really is to be an eight out of ten in each. You can't necessarily be a ten out of ten, but you have to be an eight out of ten. And and if you're not focused on getting that balance, we've all heard of something called the Titanic, right? The Titanic was a ship that was never ever supposed to sink. It was just impossible. There was a lot of bravado about that. It the one thing they didn't plan for was an iceberg that hit was hidden under the water. And while they were all having their cocktails on the top floor and the bands, and you know, they didn't plan for an iceberg to hit them and it took it down. And and that's why all of us were kind of like that ship. That's why we have to really be looking at our physical, our financial, and our relationships are spiritual and make sure that they are balanced out because if not, would there's going to be an iceberg of some kind that's gonna hit. And the idea is to basically keep those aligned.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

I look at it in the aspect of financial stability. That if I'm driving my car and I hear a noise inside, it's a matter of knowing. It might be an inconvenience for how much it will cost, but it's not having to worry about setting me back. And I think that's an important thing. It's it's one thing to look at at finances in a frivolous way, like it doesn't matter how much it costs. It still matters how much something to get fixed costs. I think that it's still valuing the worth of that money. But it's a whole different thing living your life where every noise is going, oh man, how much is that gonna cost? And it's it's moving beyond that type of reality into a place where you hear it and go, alright, I'm gonna have to pay for this thing. It's a bummer. But you're not having to worry about, well, now we can't do this. And now as a family, we have to compromise that. So it's not that the money will bring you happiness, but it goes back to that idea of it can provide you peace of mind in those unpredictable moments. Now, a car making noise is not a titanic moment, like someone passing away, but that is the ebb and flow of how life is just unpredictable. So it's a matter of for what you were saying, when it's sunny, all's well, start preparing, start planning. Therefore, when that does happen, you're already in a position to move through it with the the struggle muscle in a positive way.

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Yeah, absolutely. And that's what uh getting back to your your car analogy. You know, uh one of my teachers tells me he he likes to see it with if you're married and you have like you want to have peace between your husband and wife or kids that are having challenges, or it could be financial. He said, you know, he always uses the plumbing analogy. It's like when there's a little drip, drip, drip in your faucet, you know, and of course you ignore it, or that sound in the toilet, you know, that's and you ignore it, you ignore it, you ignore it, suddenly it becomes a total flood. And it could have been taken care of at that moment for far less cost, right? And and with a little bit of uh inconvenience as opposed to worrying about the tsunami of the flood that happens in the house and and the insurance and all the rest of it. So yeah, uh that's part of life. But you know, it's called being mature, it's called being responsible. And the the important part to remember also, Jim, is this stuff is renting space in our brain. It's in our subconscious. We absolutely know it's there, okay? And and unbeknownst to us, it's renting space, but it's also zapping us of energy that we could be focusing in other areas of our lives. And and it's so funny because once you get this stuff out of that subconscious, put together that list of things to do. I mean, I have a coach. I had a meeting on on Thursday. We put together all the things that are occupying space of my mind, you know, the the biggies, and then, you know, over the course of that meeting, I took care of four of them. Bing, bang, boom, you know, but I needed somebody and some help to get that. So one of these would be a financial thing, right? So it's only going to make you happier and healthier and hopefully have a much better quality of life as well.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

That is an excellent segue into my next question. In the the famous book by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, he has this part where he talks about auto-suggestion. And it's the idea that thoughts and beliefs that we repeat shape our subconscious. So, for you, when it comes to money, what advice would you give someone who wants to become more aware of those patterns and start reshaping the way they see them in a healthier way?

SPEAKER_02 25:34

Well, first of all, thanks for mentioning Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich, one of my favorite books of all times and something, it's a book that every single person must read. Every your youngster, your middle-aged, whatever it's, and and the part that I find that the most important in that book is chapter two, Jamie, which is all about desire, desire and manifesting. So uh I did this exercise with that book. I have a group of guys that we get together with on a regular basis where we put together some ridiculously audacious goals of things that we always wanted that, you know, at the time being poor, you know, I said I make$10 million a year, I get paid$10,000 for speaking engagements. I've spoken at this event, that event, but I have a team of this, and I do PR, you know, stuff that was just so out of the world, impossible, right? Audacious. And I look back at that, you know, that was done 25 years ago, and I've probably done about 80% of those, Jamie, from a guy who was an orphan, had no money, you know, just getting by. So really what it was is that you have to dream a bit. You have to say, what would you like to see? What is it that you would like to aspire to be? Like it doesn't mean that you have to put your nose to the grindstone and be, you know, uh banging out every day work that just doesn't get done, but you do have to dream. You have to think big. And if you do think big and you dream big and you think good thoughts, good things happen. And and you'll get to those places. It might not happen right away, but it will manifest itself going forward. And finances is the exact same thing. You have to dream and you have to say, what is it that you want to see happen? What do you want to accomplish? And if you review it every day and you make it part of your mantra, and you'll you'll see the the sky will open up and you'll find the right people at the right time and the right places to sort of help you propel and move yourself forward.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

To be able to dream, to be able to wonder, it's in the same uh idea that Napoleon Hill emphasized with imagination. In the real world, we often associate imagination and creativity with children, artists, musicians. Those are places where expression feels free and open. But I don't think in too many financial conversations we look at imagination in that same light. In your experience, what do you think changes when people begin to approach their financial lives with a sense of imagination as opposed to a sense of need and want?

SPEAKER_02 28:18

Great. So let me give you a real case, a real example. And this is meetings I have on a regular basis. So so, first of all, most of the people I meet um have gotten through this time in their life that unless they were to start spending frivolously or uh blowing all their money in crypto, chances are they're gonna have more money when they die than what they have today, which really means that they're the custodian or trustee for the next generation. But the thing that they don't realize is that they're partnering with the tax department on that money, and they haven't done the exercise to see how big a partner that tax department is. So they have to go through that exercise to get the big fat check mark. They're gonna be okay. But here's the tax bill now, and this is what the tax bill is gonna be at 100, right? And here are all the assumptions along the way, and now they see all this never spend money that they're never gonna spend that they could now be repositioning to preserve family money or to look at legacy or to do both. That exercise is very, very priceless because it provides people with freedom and it now also provides them with the ability to make choices and decisions about some of those dreams about going from what I call success to significance. So, in that case, you know, I I've met with people where we've created multimillion dollar legacies for their family or for causes that they care about, often just by turning the tax into charity, meaning they're using house money. And that has given them tremendous freedom and pleasure and a feeling of life's worth that perhaps they didn't have before we engaged in that process.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

So instead of taxes, living rent-free in the brain as a worry, it's using the imagination to shift how taxes can be something more positive and productive.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Absolutely. And the government, by the way, is all on board. This is not shifty stuff. They've introduced dozens of pieces of legislation for people to make it more favorable for people to convert tax into charity. Why? Because they know they cannot uh be responsible on their shoulders for the social fabric of our country. And and unless they get uh individuals involved to take responsibility either for their own families or their own communities or their own countries, then it's not going to get done. And and and Jamie, I found that I'd suggest like 90% of the professional advisors out there are not talking about this. They're just not, they're really not. It's not they might be on their lists or their advertising, but they're not really reaching in. And the charities themselves are also only focused on current gifts to keep the lights on. So they're not talking about it, which means that if the advisors are not talking about it, and it means the charities aren't talking about it, then people don't know about it. And that's why, you know, for us, uh, my mission, you know, what keeps me, you know, gets me excited all day is educating like you, educating professional advisors and charities and and helping people incorporate strategic philanthropy into their estate planning now or in the future. It's uh it's it's a very valuable and rewarding event.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Speaking of governments, I know in 2004 you had uh participated or you you had you went to the the uh national critical illness conference and really had a big epiphany there. And since then that sort of changed your trajectory. And and I heard you say once that we're living in a new reality, and governments won't be able to take care of the elderly. And that's not a political statement, it's a math problem, which I think is a great distinction because we often look at the the politics of turning on the people, but it's not necessarily turning on the people at this point, it's it's now just a fundamental math problem. So when you look at that type of reality of now people are are living longer ages, the the ex the life expectancies are increasing, the the finances are different from the governmental standpoint. What do you think most people still aren't fully understanding about that new reality?

SPEAKER_02 32:42

Yeah, I again I think that they are coming more into that reality, uh Jamie, when for instance they go to the gas pump today and the gallon is suddenly, you know, like way more than they've ever paid before. Or they go into the grocery store and suddenly the eggs or the milk or the butter things that they really not doesn't cost anything. Suddenly it's it's like, where did what happened, right? You know, you can go through supply chains, you can talk about wars in the world, you can talk about all of that. I I think that people are waking up to this reality much more just from the events that are going on in the in the world. Um, and and I think, you know, it's either going to be that they do something about this um with this information and get the help, or unfortunately, you're gonna have potentially a lot of people long on life and short on money with a false sense of expectation that they're gonna be receiving this huge amount of money from their parents, the greatest saving generation of all time, and it's gonna be going to them, the greatest spending generation of all time. But meanwhile, those parents are gonna need it for increased costs in health care, for taxes, you know, for for a bevy of different things, just in terms of keeping up with the cost of life, etc. So, you know, we talked about you being in Beverly Hills, right? And being uh, you know, a counselor there. The good chip lollipop doesn't last forever, you know. They say from from you can go to back to uh from uh shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations. You know, unless people, and I'm talking about the wealthy, sit down and actually go through this exercise, you know, they're they're giving a big piece of the beneficiary of their estate to the IRS. And with proper planning, using things like philanthropy, using things like tax exempt life insurance strategies, trusts, making sure that you have a will, making sure that you have your beneficiaries are all up to date, working through those things that you know people don't have to be put into that situation where they've got their back against the wall. And um the nice part again, Jamie, as I said, once they do the exercise and look into it, it's not so bad. It's just getting that little drip fixed on their faucet as opposed to having to fork over a whole bunch of money to take care of the flood.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

It makes me think of the classic fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, uh, which paints a pretty stark picture with preparation versus delay. But I do think that in real life circumstances are are far far more complicated than someone just didn't prepare. Um again, I think there's a level of understanding that that can delay someone. Uh there could be their their emotional background, their their familial upbringing, a lot of circumstances. But for you, how do you approach someone that feels like they're already behind?

SPEAKER_02 35:51

So chances are that feeling and reality are not aligned. Okay. So they feel it, but they haven't gone through the exercise to realize that it's not as bad as they think. Okay, that's number one. So going through that whole process can take away those doubts and those chattering monkeys and those things that are preventing them from getting it done. Number one. Number two is there's never a bad time to start planning. Obviously, the best time to start is when you're young and you're healthy, right? Because when you're, you know, 21 and you're putting away, you know,$200 a month or$500 a month towards investments or towards insurance or putting it towards your 401, whatever, it you you don't have to do a lot of years in order to achieve tremendous results with that. So the the best time to start is today. The better time to start would have been yesterday. So don't get that whole dialogue in your head that you're you're so far behind. And then also you have to look, you know, there is gonna be, there are some people who are banking on their parents being their inheritance. Like there's gonna be a big amount of money coming to me. So why bother, right? I'm I'm 45 now, which I'm not, but I'm just saying, let's say I'm 45, my parents are 60 or 70, you know, by the time I retire when I'm 65, they're gonna be gone, and then I'll have a whole bunch of money. So I think it's it can be a strategy. That's fine, no problem with it. Uh, but I wouldn't bank on it. I would still say that you have to take some responsibility going forward. And again, it doesn't have to mean that you're gonna be dialing down your lifestyle uh enjoyment and giving up all of your favorite things. It's just about paying yourself first.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

My my wife and I oftentimes feel like we're in that that category of of those who are doing it too late. But we're already doing it now in terms of the financial planning. So in that regard, we have to remind ourselves that even though maybe we could have started it in our 20s or our thirties, we're doing it now, but it's better now than never. And with the idea of maybe in this lifetime we might not see it, but if anything, we still have the abilities for legacy to pass that on to our daughter. But in that same regard, while our daughter is with us, it's beginning to share the information and knowledge with her. So when she gets older, not necessarily having to to depend upon the money, but knowing what to do for herself with the money, which I think takes me into my next point of what it would look like if if public schools, institutions, or more families were having those types of conversations, providing that level of education, what that would do for the greater sense of our society. It's kind of remarkable to think about. What about for you?

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Yeah, I agree with you. I feel like this whole area of financial literacy, you know, it's very rare for a father and mother to pass along these lessons to their kids. It's more like you you learn it on the go, like sort of through just your trial and error. Uh, but without a doubt, schools should have a course on financial planning 101. Buying a house, what's a mortgage? What are all the benefits that the government offers that help you to save taxes and create for the future? Insurance, you know, uh saving for a rainy day, your kids' education. Like, wow, I think that that stuff is very cool. And and there are kids who also would like to learn about the markets. How does a stock market work? You know, and and and maybe have it run by people who are more of your peers, you know, than old people who look a little crusty and you know over the hill. Young people who took who did it, you go, hey, he did that, I could do that, you know? And and they explain it and they make it fun. And again, the the challenge, as I said, is everyone has ADHD, so they they they really don't have an attention span. So, you know, you could even be doing this on on short, you know, 60-second messages. Have a whole series of all of this where kids listen, you know, once a day on a 60-second, but it has to be fun, it has to be interactive. And I have uh a WhatsApp group here in Toronto where I live that has about 10,000 members of our community, and I'm the finance guy, you know. I I I post three times a week uh on ideas and concepts, and I do it video-wise, text-wise, and people so appreciate it because it keeps it top of mind and it gives them ideas and things that they should be encouraged to do. So it but it starts again, it starts at home, there's no question. And if you're not comfortable as a father or mother to give this over, give your kids a book, put them in front of uh a YouTube, you know, get them in touch with me. I'm happy to help. We can create our own little study groups together.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

I love that. Final question for you. When you think about the ripple effect of your work, and not just in dollars, but the actual legacy, but in lives, what do you think is the deeper impact you hope that continues long after you're gone?

SPEAKER_02 41:12

So I feel that I have a big blessing, uh, Jamie, from just from everything we've spoken about today in terms of my background, struggle muscle, pivoting, ratcheting, getting to this place. I really feel that um there's nobody in the world who can do what I do, which is uh educate and inspire professional advisors and charities and clients to incorporate philanthropy into their planning as a as strategic, not tact, not reactionary and not transactional, but strategic. My um my mentor, Paul Goldstein, he said that when he died a year ago, that he wanted the following quote by Pericles, who's a Greek statesman, he was a governor as well, to be put into onto his tombstone. And that quote is what you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. So I want to be somebody that's memorable and remembered as always wanting to help, always reaching out, always trying to that when somebody leaves me, they feel better, they feel positive. And we have a very ambitious goal, and we didn't talk about it, but I'll leave you with this. We're building a national community of 100 professional advisors and charities that if each of us are creating$10 million a year in either current giving or legacy giving, and you have a hundred doing$10 million, that's a billion dollars a year, Jamie. The math. That's a billion dollars. And it's not like you know, pie in the sky, it's kind of like crowdfunding. And and I'm building this. We're already about two dozen commitments already into this program. And I think it would be kind of cool if I'm that guy who creates an infrastructure that could create a billion dollars of charity a year. I like to think that after 120 years, maybe, you know, maybe I'll get something good in the future, you know, up, you know, up in up in the other part of the world, the world of truth. But in the meantime, it it really helps me to wake up every day and get excited because people it really touches their souls, not just the clients, but the professionals as well. And, you know, I have a mentoring program called Powerplatinum.com for professional advisors to become experts in incorporating strategic philanthropy into clients, you know, planning. And so in answering your question, long answer, short question, you know, that's gonna be my legacy. And I think it it defin definitely reflects on my children as well, who also are very, very giving.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

Mark, thank you for for uh Coming here today and leaving a positive impact in this space today. And that's the beauty of what I get to do with this is that the moment this goes to be streaming, then it gets to go on forever. And that that is a great part of where your legacy in this small capacity gets to keep going. So I really appreciate your time, your your knowledge, your experiences. I appreciate your tough muscle for coming on here today. This is this is a really fascinating and special conversation to have with you. So thank you so much, Mark.

SPEAKER_02 44:30

Thank you so much for having me, Jamie. And kudos to you. Continue doing this great work because, you know, as we said, it's all about wisdom and knowledge, and you're obviously providing that to your audience, and they're very fortunate, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 44:41

I appreciate that. Thank you so much. And with that being said, this is the butterfly of why. My only goal with this show is to leave the world a little bit better than I found it. So please, let's share that together. I'll see you on the next episode. Peace.