The Season for Giving Thanks

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With the inexorable passing of time ... this week comes to us. And we pause to find glimpses of the light, to find goodness in the midst of seeming chaos and lots of bad news.

This time of year, I like to remind myself that we've been in very broken and divided places as a nation before—and worse. The USA is like a fishing bobber—we always pop back up.

This holiday got its breath of life in the middle of our nation's most brutal conflict. Though we commemorate the Pilgrims' story, the actual federal holiday was declared by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, when the bloodshed of the Civil War seemed never to have an end.

So ... can we yet give thanks?

I say YES.

Because we must, and because to do so, is what sets us apart from our baser selves, and it is the very action that moves our hearts in the direction of what all of us are working hard for in the first place: contentedness and peace.

I say this because I sit in my office and on Zoom calls, and I meet with a procession of "wealthy" and "poor" clients—families with 7-8 figures in the bank and those going underwater.

If you saw what I see, you would see what I get reminded of regularly: Sometimes the "wealthiest" among us can be the most impoverished ... and those without many zeroes in their accounts can be flat-out rich.

Being "rich" is genuinely a state-of-mind -- it's not really about money, and it's tied to gratitude. It affects how you see savings, retirement, the current and future economy, career growth, and investing. And, of course, gratitude is the enemy of fear. It's like an opposite magnet for it -- walk in gratitude, and fear seems to melt away.

Here's my advice for this week: Whatever financial (or otherwise) situation you are in after this donkey of a year, find a way to be thankful. There are hidden blessings in any trial ... and hidden fears within any windfall or revenue surge. Find and savor the blessings, and watch your family, co-workers, and domain benefit.

As I sit down at my table this week, I am thankful for you: Investors supporting our community with safe housing and maintaining commercial properties.

BE THE ROAR not the echo®

So ... thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Love, Janet, Lynn, Amy, Steve, Ashley, Meg, and the 'rowing crew’