Awards Season

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Award Season

It is the awards season, in many aspects of life there are now annual awards. I recognize that this isn’t everyone’s “cup of tea”, many are highly subjective and some…well frankly they are bought marketing manipulations. Some argue that successful people have already had their rewards by virtue of a swollen bank balance. I have some sympathy with those points of view.

There are of course good and “bad” awards, sometimes you may have a preference about who wins, sometimes… not so much. It wont surprise you that I enjoy awards for music, art, film and theatre which are arguably daft as they are completely subjective… so perhaps I’m a little daft too

Presidential Medal of Freedom

One award ceremony that I saw recently was the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Critics of awards tend to dismiss them as unnecessary fluff for people that are already thanked and seem to miss the point of the hard work, often selfless struggles that expose the true nature and values of the individual concerned and their impact on others.

Inspired to greatness

Watching reactions, hearing snippets of their stories is both moving and inspirational. They affirm what we hope to be and inspire us to greater things… (I can’t believe its just me that feels that way). To my mind one of the great attributes of President Obama was (is) his integrity and his ability to relate to ordinary people in a quite extraordinary manner. All of us probably want recognition for our efforts, few of us are likely to receive this in any form other than our wages, except perhaps from our small group of friends and family.

The contrast could not be greater

Watching the clip of the event I was encouraged and inspired, informed and moved. A humorous, personal speech from Obama along with a clear affection for those that were being recognized. This is the America that most of us wish to see, that is the world leader of inspiration and reflects the source of the special connection that in reality most nations probably feel to some extent. Whilst I recognize it is full of contradictions, (as am I) this is the version of America that today feels rather different and lost under the new President. In time we shall see what sort of President Mr Trump makes, but an inability to understand, empathize or appreciate the difference between facts and lies does not bode well.

I suspect that you don’t spend hours watching reality TV shows, but if you do have about an hour this video is worth seeing, even if you have it on in the background as you work. For more about the 2016 recipients click here.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

A Matter of Life and Death

A matter of life and death

It is one of the strangest aspects of conversations that I have with clients. It gets stranger and perhaps more difficult the older they become. We have to talk about a matter of life and death.

In essence, when all is said and done, financial planning is about trying to ensure that your money does not run out before you die. So we need to have a conversation about when that might be. We don’t know the answer. Death is a daily part of life, yet something that most of us manage to avoid talking about.

The motivation behind the question is obviously to attempt to make money last long enough, however it is also designed to prompt thoughts about what is life about, what do you want from it during this brief sojourn on this wonderful planet?

Thoughts may turn too quickly to estate planning and reducing inheritance tax, rather than considering the true inheritance that is being left…. the memory and impact of .. well…you!

I might (will) point to the financial impact of your loss to those dependant upon you, be they family or your business, but we all know that its much bigger and deeper than that don’t we. So good financial planning can take care of financial loss, but great financial planning will hopefully remind and inspire you to ensure that you make the most of the life you have now.

Another way to view death – acceptance

A dear friend of mine, who has had more than her fair share of grief drew my attention to this short video about death (and life). It combines images from various films and words of Alan Watts. It is worth taking the 3 minutes to watch it.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA