Family Wealth = Resources (Quality of your people and culture)***

Entitlement. The first topic that comes to mind when building the Mt. Rushmore of family legacy topics. How to live your values, investment policy and the definition of “family” pop to mind as possible inclusions as well. But entitlement? That topic is a lock.

The 5Gs for Overcoming Entitlement
I wrote the 5Gs for Overcoming Entitlement as my starting point for families to develop their own anti-entitlement strategies. Respond to this email with your pitch for the sixth “G” and I’ll send you my fun short article chock-full of practical strategies for approaching these 5Gs:

Grit. Growth. Goodness. Gratitude and Gone.

Gone as in, if you believe the money can be gone at any time, it’s hard to feel entitled. Entitled to what exactly? I won’t go into Grit, Growth and Goodness today.

Time to Celebrate
Because today, we celebrate grit. I’m getting a new opportunity to role model grit for my family and I’m really looking forward to it!

Role modelling is an absolutely critical part of building strong family cultures. Role modelling grit is the best gift that wealth creators give to their family cultures. And when I meet with them and they ask about overcoming entitlement? They think the answer is grit. And as you can tell, I think grit is a big part of it.

The trick to grit though, is that it’s a lot harder to source inside of you when you aren’t afforded one shocking life gift. The breeding ground of entitlement is living a life where things are provided for you without your effort. It truly is a gift to work towards your basic well being. Starting life at “home plate” so to speak.

Wealth creators start with nothing and notice their grit has helped them succeed. Wealth inheritors certainly don’t work towards their basic well being. Even when parents try their hardest to not give them things and make them earn it. It’s just different. This is the trickiest part of starting life “on third base”. There is a lot more good than bad starting life with some privilege. Yet it is tricky.

So when wealth inheritors are gritty? Well, it’s a celebration! It’s unfortunate; grit should be more prevalent through the generations.

Role Modelling is the best strategy of the best “G” for overcoming entitlement

The best of the 5Gs I’ve come across for overcoming entitlement? It’s grit. But the best strategies for bringing more grit into your family culture? For me, it is role modelling. But this is a question best left to each of you family champions, dear readers!

So I’m making an announcement next Newsletter about this opportunity, and I know that the description of the business and my vision will take centre stage at that time. But of all the elements in my very personalized definition of success, the chance to show my kids what gritty looks like is a huge one and  why I agreed to this change in my professional direction.

Changing directions takes some chutzpah! Which is why I sign off every newsletter with: