Good morning,

I experienced a wave of nostalgia this past Saturday morning. You know that feeling—when something catches your eye, a song you hear, or even a scent sparks memories that flood your mind with emotions? Well, that was precisely the moment I encountered this weekend. Given our gorgeous weather, I took an early Saturday morning drive and stopped at my favourite coffee shop. After sharing some light banter with the barista, I placed my wallet on the counter to pay. As I looked down at my worn, old brown leather wallet, a smile crept onto my face, a smile infused with pride. My wallet reminded me of my father’s.

A Wallet of Wisdom

As I sipped my coffee and cruised the country roads, Neil Young’s song Old Man found its way to my radio, and as the tune played, an image of my father’s old wallet flashed vividly in my mind. As a child, I was always intrigued by the contents of his wallet—filled with a blend of cash, receipts, and cherished memories. It was a safe repository of items representing more than mere financial choices; it unveiled a tapestry of personal identity and cultural heritage neatly confined within that weather leather exterior.

Give it some thought for a moment…..your wallet or purse is the only thing you take with you absolutely everywhere… through all life’s experiences and decisions. In my mind, my father’s wallet symbolized my parents’ brave choices—sacrifices in time, energy, and money, all aimed at providing my siblings and me with a life rich in privilege and unforgettable memories. The wallet represented a legacy intertwined with our family’s relationship with money, a heritage of pride, success, hardship, and heroic decisions, principles that have shaped a lasting legacy.

What a profound opportunity to consider how our parents’ relationship with money and their instilled values still resonate with us today.

A Fortunate Son

My appreciation for long morning country drives, my enjoyment of a weekend campfire, my affinity for a well-manicured lawn and my love of classic music are all traits I inherited from my father, and as I continued to drive and reflect, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s tune Fortunate Son also started to play on my stereo.

Another trait my father exemplifies is his understanding that wealth is not found in material possessions but in how we approach our daily lives, a value passed down through our family's generations.

The Henderson family settled in Guelph in 1847, and I was fortunate to grow up on the same farmland where my ancestors first arrived in Canada. Coming from a long lineage of agricultural entrepreneurs, I find myself blessed to trace the evolution of my relationship with money and the values passed down through generations.

Intentional finance is a value that seemingly passed its way through my lineage. For example….my father has a financial discipline that he diligently sits at the kitchen table to review his finances every month, meticulously journaling his expenses and reconciling cash flow—a commendable exercise in financial discipline. My grandfather displayed this same diligence through expansive journals recording every economic transaction, gas at the pump, purchases for the family, details on family loans etc….creating a beautiful historical account of monetary decisions that have shaped our family and generations. A few valuable lessons from the Henderson Family that everyone could consider in their own relationship with wealth….

• spend cautiously
• save diligently
• invest wisely
• give generously

Ashes and Arrowheads

Like my parents, like all parents, my grandparents also made significant decisions, particularly regarding the farm. As they entered the later years of life, they decided to rent out the old farmhouse and lease the land. This well-considered choice allowed them to step back from some property responsibilities and embrace the next chapter of their lives, which included travel and family time. When the original farmhouse burned down, I can clearly remember the billows of smoke over the field—an emotional experience that felt like a critical part of our family’s history being stripped away.

Today, in hindsight, I recognize that regrowth and redirection are inherent parts of life. Inevitably, change leads to continuous growth.

A few years later, my grandmother was approached with an offer….

Sell the family farm?

As I’m sure you can appreciate, it was an emotionally charged situation fraught with a mixture of guilt and aspiration.

Decisions often pull us in conflicting directions, between desire and fear, while there’s always a Middle Way to consider. Our intentions are frequently at odds with the fear of uncertainty. Buddhism teaches that “Middle” denotes neutrality, uprightness, and a centred approach—an unbiased exploration of life’s core.

At that time, I sat down with my grandmother, discussing the opportunity costs of holding on, which revealed a world of possibilities: liquidity, lifestyle, leadership, and legacy. Through our conversation, the potential impacts of her decisions on future generations became clear—a profound awareness of gratitude, pride, and the joy of living in alignment with her vision and values. Navigating through difficult financial choices, such as selling the farm, ultimately yields freedom—freedom of capital, decision-making, and independence, grounding us in pride as we transitioned parts of the family assets.

Value of Emotion

Our values influence the psychological aspects of our financial behavior; our learned beliefs and emotional states significantly affect our decision-making on financial matters. A study by Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman reveals that we make financial decisions primarily based on emotions—90% of the time—leaving just 10% to logical reasoning. But how does this manifest in real-life situations?

Indeed, emotions can lead our behavior. They may compel us to cling to outdated self-perceptions, driving flawed financial decisions based on those false constructs. We witness this in our work with clients; we tend to manage wealth using outdated habits rather than adapting to their evolved circumstances.

Exploring the emotional landscape of financial decision-making unveils how money, laden with emotional weight, elicits a range of feelings profoundly impacting our choices. We find common emotions associated with money…

• Stress and Anxiety
• Joy and Satisfaction
• Fear and Loss Aversion
• Guilt and Regret
• Hope and Aspiration

Understanding that these emotions are normal is critical for developing a balanced approach to money management. By acknowledging and managing these emotions, we can make more thoughtful financial decisions, leading to enhanced financial well-being for us…and for our families.

Emotions are Necessary Inputs in Decision-making

Emotions, thoughts, and actions are inseparably linked.

The best way to enhance your decision-making and align it with your values is through understanding. Recognizing that emotions can influence your judgment is critical to permitting yourself to feel as you build your own living legacy.

A life principle that is essential to remember

Legacy is not a distant concept reserved for when we leave this world; it’s a daily commitment. Living in alignment with the values instilled by our ancestors means shaping a legacy through our actions and choices, fostering an ongoing connection to those traits passed down through generations.

Glancing at my worn wallet, I take pride in how it reflects the remarkable attributes embodied by my father. The arrowheads from the farm fields my father passed down to my kids remind me of growth, and that innovation and opportunity can preserve legacies while permitting individual paths for ourselves and future generations.

As we head into the week, here are a few thoughts to reflect on…

Be open-minded. Understand your intentions. Seek the Middle Way. Embrace perspective. Live simply, consistently, and patiently. Forge your own path, relishing the opportunities you’ve been presented - gifts made possible by decades of perseverance. Seize this moment to reflect on your wallet—align your resources, time, energy, and capital with your unique wealth journey, guided by your intentions.

A note of gratitude to my father

“Old man, look at my life, I'm a lot like you were”

The legacy lives

 

Be well and enjoy the moments

Derek Henderson