Youth: The Fire of Life
Lessons From Growth That Nurture Your Soul
Craig Hersch’s story of battling heart disease (only to return stronger than ever!) after thriving as a 55-year-old triathlon runner has made a profound impact on our team. Below is a snippet from an article Craig wrote, which details just one of the many ripples his surgery has had on him and those around him. You can read the full article and other pearls of wisdom from Craig at SBSHLaw.com/blog. Young adulthood is odd by nature, nestled between childhood and maturity. Young people begin to experience the frustrations and yearnings of an adult but lack the experience and wisdom to deal with them. Young people aren’t looking for comfort; rather, they’re searching for a meaningful life. They overflow with a mixture of adrenaline and confidence and think, “I want to change the way the world works.” I’ll tell you, since my recent mid-life health scare, I’ve reassessed things. It’s easy to fall into the trap of nurturing our careers through nonstop work, and our physical needs with diet and exercise, but forgetting to nurture our souls. What’s our purpose? How shall we carry it out?
audience. For adults, the challenge is to turn that cry into a strong, sure voice. “Yes,”we must tell our young citizens, “take that energy and do try to change the world for the better. Don’t accept the status quo! Don’t tolerate injustice!”
Can we foster this in our estate plans? Surely we can!
There are several methods available to all, from establishing a private foundation to funding a donor-advised fund within an existing public or community foundation. As an example, assume you have a $1 million IRA account that you’d like your family to use to promote good in the world. You consume the IRA during life but then direct it to the foundation upon your death. If that IRA were cashed out to your children or grandchildren, almost half might be lost to federal and state income taxes, depending upon the rate of withdrawal and your beneficiaries’marginal tax brackets. If instead it was left to a qualified charitable entity where your family could direct charitable distributions, very little or none of it would be lost to taxes.
With all this in mind, how will your estate plan nourish your soul and those of your loved ones?
Thus, the sound of youthful rebellion is the sound of energy crying out, searching for an
Tuesday, Sept. 3, and I was sequestered to the hospital until then, with my heart ticking away like a little bomb.
I had a litany of cardiology tests done three years ago. The results showed I had the heart of a 35-year-old man, and this was a relief. After all, three out of my four grandparents had heart disease. But that didn’t make me immortal. There was further testing that, especially given my history and desire to stay fit, I should have gotten. I should have listened to what my body was telling me and recognized that my ability to bike hundreds of miles, skillfully swim, and run marathon distances didn’t exclude me from disease and death. I have always believed that difficult experiences make me stronger, and I know I’m a better person for having lived through this experience. But that’s the key. I did live, despite being just 25% away from dying instantly. Don’t be like me; let my story serve as your lesson. Your life may depend on it. – Craig and Mike
My mind flashed back to the past few weeks I had spent lifting boxes and moving my daughters. There were the workouts where I ignored my chest tightening and meetings where I fought through the pain. I was lucky to be alive, but instead of celebrating Labor Day weekend and whisking my wife to Italy for our anniversary, we were going to celebrate at HealthPark, toasting one another with ice chips and celebrating the gift of life. Today, I am back to full strength and have completely returned to work. My cardiac rehabilitation performance was off the charts. Dr. Rosen believed my training would make recovery easier, and he wasn’t wrong. I was back on the bike as of Jan. 1, and while I’m not back to the level of competing in a triathlon again, that’s okay for now. I still feel very strong.
More importantly, I learned a valuable lesson.
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