I was speaking recently with a colleague and friend when the conversation turned to our children. At some point, I shared a story about when my sons were young and our family spent a great deal of time camping together. Like many camping families, we cooked over open fires. We carried pocketknives and used larger knives for food preparation and various camp chores. Knives and fire were simply part of the experience. As I described those years, I explained that Read more »
Years ago, when I started doing yoga, I noticed immediately that some of the people in the class were doing these harshly loud exhales. I was in disbelief. How obnoxious! The room we were practicing in was beautiful, simple, clean and had a calm, spiritual feel about it. Very relaxing. However, this guy next to me was exhaling like an espresso machine having a nervous breakdown. I was pissed. Here I am trying something new and this dude is wrecking Read more »
***I’m reposting this blog from previous years since it is so meaningful to me this time of year. Please volunteer and donate during the winter holiday season AND keep those in need in mind during times of year when hunger is still rampant and many are not focused on helping. Friends, Clients and Colleagues, The Christmas season (and season for holidays of many traditions like Kwanzaa, Diwali, my own Hanukah, and others) is upon us and I have made a Read more »
Ancestry, the family history and genealogy website, found in 2022 that 53% of Americans could not name all four grandparents. I am personally fortunate as my grandparents were part of my life while I was growing up and I can easily remember all their names. Guess nowadays this is less common and that leaves me sad. What are the ramifications of not knowing the names of all 4 grandparents? It may be more significant than you think. Psychologists Marshall Duke Read more »
I recently spoke to a group of wealth-creating parents with children of various ages. The workshop highlighted the opportunities to develop character, work ethic, a sense of responsibility and a stewardship mindset when kids are under 5 years old. Since many parents in attendance had been unaware of these early opportunities and how to harness them, many were starting later. Of course, beginning to instill these values with pre-teens or teens is still wonderful. When is the best time to Read more »
Last month, I shared three interactions with people I experienced, that were related to wealth in some way, and I asked readers to share their reactions. This month, I will share some of the feedback I received along with my thoughts. BOLD numbers indicate the situations I shared last month. Asterisks (***) indicate the additional feedback received and my thoughts. #1 – I’m at a NY Rangers hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York City with my Read more »
I’m going to describe three actual situations I experienced in the last month. All three spurred my thinking about the psychology and dynamics of wealth and I’m looking for feedback, reactions, thoughts of all kinds. Please – let it fly! Whatever direction this takes is great. I will follow up in a couple of weeks with some of my own thoughts, but for now I want to see where people take these. Please go to LinkedIn and join the conversation Read more »
***I’m reposting this blog from 2022 since it is so meaningful to me this time of year. Please volunteer and donate during the winter holiday season AND keep those in need in mind during times of year when hunger is still rampant and many are not focused on helping. Friends, Clients and Colleagues, The Christmas season (and season for holidays of many traditions like Kwanzaa, Diwali, my own Hanukah, and others) is upon us and I have made a donation Read more »
This article by Business News Daily quotes one study which found that 68% of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNW = $30 million or more) were self-made. The article refers to a second study by Fidelity Investments which found that 88% of all millionaires are self-made. In these studies, “self-made” means the wealth was not inherited. While this article focuses on how the UHNW wealth creators tend to get and stay rich (and their characteristics), I’m viewing it through a different lens – the lens of bias against inheritors, Read more »
For years people have occasionally asked me if Marvin Blum is the “Blum” in my company name (Blum & Savlov, LLP). The answer has always been, “Not sure who Marvin Blum is but it is my wife, Monica Blum, a psychologist, and she does not do the consulting work I do but has her own clinical practice. We have the entity for many years since we started our own practices. Well, a couple of years ago I’m in Dallas giving Read more »
