My Dad died of Cancer of the Oesophagus at the age of 67. He had never been ill in his life before.
He was a fairly successful Accountant who sold his business only a few years before and had only just retired. He was a great Father and I have some vey fond memories of him, which I will always cherish. He used to take us swimming and to the local cinema on a Saturday morning to see some great films. We had a great time with him.
We always had great holidays abroad and he would spend a lot of time swimming either in the pool or diving into waves in the sea. He used to take me to watch Leicester City from a fairly early age and we went up until he was ill. He was the Best Man at my wedding in Santorini. I miss him.
He also dedicated a lot of his time to his business and also his Church, which in itself wasn’t a problem but it was at the expense of his marriage.
He had built up all his wealth in his business and in property. The trouble is you can’t spend any of that money and he didn’t. What a shame. Working hard all those years, spending countless hours day and night and putting all your money into bricks and mortar to never have a chance to enjoy it.
That money was meant to be so he could have a good comfortable retirement for him and my Mum.
It never happened.
It’s too late
That’s the biggest lesson my Dad ever taught me:
…to NEVER make the same mistake!
In fact…
I do the OPPOSITE! Life’s not a rehearsal! I live it!
More important! My Dad is the very reason why I got INSPIRED to tell my clients the ‘Truth About Money’ and remind them, that life is NOT a rehearsal. Without knowing it, he inspired me to be a better Financial Planner, husband and father!
He was the very reason behind me asking my clients:
“You only have so long on this planet, so what do you want to do – before it’s too late?”
LOOK!
- Life is NOT a rehearsal. FACT.
- Precious time IS slipping away. FACT.
- Time IS speeding up! FACT.
So what do YOU want to do, before it’s too late?
What REALLY matters?
Too often I hear people say to me “One day I’ll be doing this, one day I’ll be doing that…” I would like to suggest that one day is now.
Hopefully my clients will never say “if only” – the only real regrets people have are the things they DIDN’T do! It’s my job to remind them of this!”
It’s called ‘the truth about money’.
So there you have it.
If you’ve ever wondered why I keep harping on about the present moment, about life NOT being a rehearsal, and why I keep nagging my clients of this FACT day in, day out – perhaps now you can understand why. The trouble is you think you have time…
By Matthew Walne
