I have dedicated the last 20+ years of my professional life to helping other people develop "plans for life." A life plan is about:

• thinking ahead and forming a strategic vision,
• making tough decisions about what to do and not do,
• taking responsibility for your own actions and doing something about your vision,
• changing as necessary to get on (or back on) track.

Through the development of life plans I have had the privilege of helping some wonderful people to do incredible things.

Already Inspired. Some clients have known exactly what they want to do. Harry and Elaine (All names have been changed to protect confidentiality.) – retired teachers – set up a memorial fund in honor of their son. Marvin – a retired consultant – was moved by the challenges faced by many workers in his minority community, and so he met with dozens of employers and raised scholarship funds for his community. Jim – a managing partner in his medical practice – was passionate about parochial education and volunteered to teach children through story-telling and play acting.

Since all of these people already had visions, life planning was helping them to leverage their time and money. By helping with their finances, their time was freed up and they were presented with more options for investing their money to minimize potential risk for potential return level. They were more confident that they had enough for themselves and could use some of their “extra” money to help others. We encouraged all of them – Harry and Elaine, Marvin and Jim – to expand the scope of their pursuits, free up more of their own time for them, make their efforts permanent, and even use some of their own money to make things happen.

Not Yet Inspired. In our meetings with clients who do not yet have a specific vision or plan, we ask pointed questions to help them get in touch with what they really want to do. What would their perfect lifestyle be like? What is holding them back? What are some simple things to do now to start making progress?

After thinking about what they really wanted to do Craig (a consultant with small children) started a rock-and-roll band, Chuck (an attorney) went to New Orleans to clean up, and Jo Anne (a physician) started a new business (in addition to her full-time job). Paul and Sophie (a physician and a writer) set up a lecture series to help remember their parents who were always interested in ideas and learning. Julius and Billie pursued missionary work where they used their medical backgrounds. Laurie (a business owner) began volunteer work to comfort the sick.

It is not a simple, straightforward process for these “not yet inspired” clients to develop a new vision. It can even take a few years of discussion before they begin to take action. Here is how we help them do it:

• Regular meetings. After I have developed a financial plan, I meet regularly to help them keep on track towards meeting financial and lifestyle goals.
• Gentle reminders. At many of our regular meetings I remind them of what their perfect lifestyle would be – as they have already described. They stay more focused.
• Decisions. My clients and I brainstorm to decide what small steps they can take to make progress towards achieving their vision.
• Commitments. They commit to taking these small steps.
• Accountability. They report back to me on a regular basis about their progress. We brainstorm to overcome difficulties.
• Alignment. I help them align their money to their vision – so that they leverage their money, time, and other resources to make progress towards reaching their vision.
• Continued work. We continue to work together on an on-going basis and make more progress towards their ideal lifestyle.

A major goal of our Fischer on Finance team is to change the world to make it a better place and help others with the same vision. When our team works with people who share that same ambition, we get inspired and they get inspired. I cannot think of a more exciting career than this one which helps people follow their dreams.

Let us know how we can be of service to you. We can help inspire you, encourage you, coach you, and make things happen.