DISCOVERING TRUE ‘GRIT’
YOUR FIRST MEETING TO PLAN YOUR WILLOR TRUST
If you’ve ever been told you won’t succeed because you lack talent, bring a copy of “Grit” to your next meeting.
While teaching high school math, author Angela Duckworth noticed some of her highest-achieving students weren’t the ones with the highest IQs, while some of her “smartest” students weren’t doing all that well in class.“Why?” she wondered. She followed her curiosity to Penn State’s psychology program.There, she studied several demographics, including cadets atWest Point, young teachers, and sales representatives.After numerous psychological studies, Duckworth discovered that “grit” was the common denominator in successful people. Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” People who display grit don’t start a project and abandon it a month later.They devote themselves to an overarching goal that drives everything they do. She explained that someone who practices grit goes through life like a marathon, not a sprint. “Effort counts twice” could be the battle cry of grit. Gritty people are willing to put in the extra effort to achieve their goals, and that’s what helps them reach their goals if they don’t have innate talent. While this provides a strong case that those born with grit will succeed, grit doesn’t factor luck and opportunity into the equation, something that Duckworth is transparent about in her book. She says those who aren’t born with grit can develop it in four simple steps. First, identify an interest that can blossom into a passion. Second, practice that passion, a lot. Third, develop the belief that your passion has purpose.While it’s not an overnight transformation, these guidelines can at least give us hope, which is the fourth step: Hold on to hope that you can succeed. Our biggest takeaway from“Grit”? Look at failures as milestones on the journey to success. Getting gritty means failing and learning from it.Any of us can get gritty if we’re willing to put in a little elbow grease. Perhaps most instructive is Duckworth’s equation (she was a math teacher, after all): Talent x effort = skill. Skill x effort = achievement.
Often, business owners know they want a certain price when they go to sell their business, but they have not invested the time and effort to create that value, or they have liquidated the value, leaving the seller deeply disappointed — if they had only known!
This checklist will reveal the six things you can do to secure the largest value possible for your business.
Ready to get started taking care of your loved ones and leaving your legacy? Some people worry about gathering everything that’s needed for the initial meeting with an attorney. However, it really isn’t that much. Check out the list below and get started!
1
Prior estate planning documents (if any exist and if you can find them), including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, etc.
2
List of assets (anything you own with a value of, say, over $5,000 or any items that have particular value to you).
3
List of liabilities (what you owe and to whom).
Types of assets (might be the same answer as No. 2 above). Asset categories include real estate, personal property, stocks, insurance, equity in a business, vehicles, bank accounts, etc.
4
5 6
How the assets are held (jointly or individually).
Approximate or estimated value of each asset.
Your designated beneficiaries (people or organizations you want to give something to).
7
8 9
Names of those who will be included in your documents.
Just kidding! There isn’t a No. 9. It’s that simple.
John Miller
Kimberly Deas, Business Broker “My goals for 2018 are to reach 200 business owners about exit planning and selling, hire four more business brokers, and raise over $150K for Project SOS at their annual gala that I am chairing.”
John Miller, Attorney “I want to spend more time with my wife, daughter, and son; lose at least another 17 pounds, like I did this year; and get healthier, so I can keep up with said wife, daughter, and son! We want to continue to be one of the 10 fastest-growing law firms in Florida so that we can serve more
wonderful people, businesses, and families! I want to travel internationally, and play and hear some great music.”
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