It’s good to build wealth… but 100 years from now, what will that mean?  Statistically, probably nothing at all.  But there’s a way to make sure your wealth both provides for your needs, and actually changes the world in an enduring, powerful way.  And it all starts with a shift in perspective you can adopt today.  I’ll tell you all about it right now in Episode #223.

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Hello, SDI Nation… welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you.  Hey, today’s show is special… I’m going to dig deeper into my personal beliefs about money and wealth in a way much deeper than I’ve done in the past.

So, my friends… today isn’t about investment strategy, capital deployment opportunities or market analysis.  Rather, for just a few minutes, we’re going to talk about something more fundamental:  Financial philosophy.

Allow me to pose an important question to you:   Imagine that you were supremely successful as an investor… maybe even Warren Buffet level.  What does that do for you… and what is your “role” from that point forward, since you’ve already made more money than you could ever possibly spend?

As you ponder that question, also consider this:  Most conventional financial advisors use some variation of the “work-backwards-from-the-goal” type of strategy when advising you how to handle your money.  In other words, they’ll ask you some questions about how you want your life to look in the future.  Then they help you figure out what your chosen lifestyle will cost on a monthly or annual basis.  That information, taken together with statistical projections about your expected life span, yields a certain dollar amount you must have saved by a certain date in order to afford the lifestyle you’ve chosen.

Ok, so all of that is well and good.  But let’s say you follow the plan to the letter, and it works exactly as designed.  What have you really accomplished?  Yes, a nice life for yourself, sure… and there’s value to that.  But what have you REALLY done to leave a mark that makes the world a better place?

In the interest of expediency, I’ll dispense with any flowery verbiage here and just say it like this:  If the purpose of my life is to pay for my life… what a weak, pathetic, temporary purpose I’ve had.  Same for you.  Same for all of us.

There’s got to be more to this wealth-building thing, my friends… there’s got to be more.  If it’s just about making money… well that in and of itself isn’t particularly motivating to me, or to most.  There’s got to be more… a bigger purpose… a grand design in play.

But what’s the bigger purpose for me?  What’s the grand design for you?

My friends… there’s a very specific answer to that for each of us, and for each of us, I believe it revolves around one word:

STEWARDSHIP.

I believe that wise STEWARDSHIP of our resources should be our purposes, rather than wealth building.

The core difference is stark.

The wealth builder says:  This money is mine, and I’ll do what I can to make it grow.

A wise steward says:  This money is under my control, and I’m responsible to make sure it serves the right purpose.

Note that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing what you can to make money grow.  In fact, wealth building can be an important piece of wise stewardship… but they are not the same, and I propose to you that stewardship is a better model to pursue.

Stewardship says:  I’ve been entrusted with the opportunity to manage this capital for a bigger purpose.

If I’m a wise steward of resources, that means that my needs or preferences may not always be the first consideration in how money is used, managed or invested.

Wise stewardship requires that I have a perspective far beyond myself… possibly even multiple generations in the future.  One ancient proverb that’s always resonated strongly with me says that wise people leave an inheritance for their children’s children… their grandchildren!  This suggests to me that maybe I’m not being very wise unless I’m carefully considering THREE ENTIRE GENERATIONS – my own, that of my children, and that of my future grandchildren.

That’s a big, broad perspective.

But I think it goes farther than that.  Imagine this:  Imagine that you build an amazing investment portfolio of cash-flowing real estate, private notes and other such high-value assets.  Furthermore, you do this inside of your Roth IRA so that it’s all totally tax-free.

And then, something unfortunate happens… you very unexpectedly meet your life’s end, leaving that IRA to your spouse or children or grandchildren

What will they do with it?  Invariably, somebody is going to have to make decisions about how to handle those assets… will your beneficiaries have understanding of how you were investing… of the factors you considered when making those investments… will they have awareness of what made those investments so wise, and awareness of the signs to watch for to indicate that it’s time to move on from a particular investment?

Will they have awareness of the BIGGER PURPOSE you were aiming to achieve through your capital investments?

In other words, will they be prepared to be wise stewards themselves?

Or will the portfolio you’ve built be turned over to “professional” financial advisors who, for all their training, quite probably have practically zero understanding or perspective about real estate or other non-Wall Street types of investments?  Because if that’s what happens, your portfolio will be liquidated quickly… and probably for far, far less than it’s worth… and folks, there’s nothing wise about that at all.

So in closing today, my friends, I encourage you to think about these things:

Should your aim be adjusted from simply making great investments, to instead being a WISE STEWARD of your resources?

Since stewardship requires you to see yourself as MANAGER of resources rather than owner… who do you view as the OWNER of those resources you’re managing?  Maybe it’s future generations of your family.  Maybe it’s a cause that’s near and dear to you.  Maybe like me you believe your resources are a blessing from God and are His to direct.  But you’ve got to clarify who you believe is owner of those resources, which leads to #3:

And finally, whoever you decide is the owner of the resources you manage, make it a priority to clarify the purpose and values of the owner so that your stewardship hits the mark.

It’s a great thing to make great investments… in fact, it’s necessary.  But so much more rewarding – more deeply fulfilling – is for investing to be a subset of your greater role:  To be a wise steward over the resources with which you’ve been entrusted for a purpose much grander than mere provision of your own needs.

There’s beauty here, my friends.  And through it all, it remains a very good thing for you to invest wisely today, and live well forever!

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