Wow. Take a Look at That Forest!

“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” -Henry David Thoreau

When’s the last time you took a moment or two or ten and really examined what you’ve accomplished? When’s the last time you stopped and said to yourself, “Wow. I’m doing good work. I’ve accomplished a lot. I’m proud of what I’ve done”?

While we might long for external validation from our colleagues, our peers, our family and friends, sometimes it’s even more valuable if we can validate our hard work ourselves. I know that’s true for me, as an entrepreneur and business owner. No one else is saying to me: “Congratulations on the incredible things you’ve accomplished! You’re doing great! Keep up the good work!” And so I am going to say it to myself – and to you – in honor of an incredible anniversary here at WatersEdge Wealth Management.

5 years is a big deal in business – that’s not just me saying it, either! I know that statistics indicate that if a business makes it to 5 years, that’s a business with staying power. That’s a business that’s making a difference in people’s lives. That’s a business that’s offering value and providing support and services that are relevant to today’s market.

And that business is WatersEdge Wealth Management.

Recently, we passed that 5-year threshold, that 5-year landmark. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t going to acknowledge it; frankly, I just didn’t think I needed to say anything.

Until we got here.

For the past 5 years, I’ve been keeping my head down and I’ve been putting one front in front of the other. We got through the first year as a new startup, we managed to survive a global pandemic, we got whiplashed with a bear market…and more.

And yet, here we are, 5 years in, serving clients every single day. We’re growing, we’re changing. We’re nimble and adaptable. We’re continuing to excel at our craft and we’re getting even better, too.

And I am blown away by this realization.

In some ways, hitting year 5 is such a big deal that I don’t even know how to make a big deal about it. I don’t know how to celebrate it. I don’t know how to acknowledge it. It’s more than just “Hey, happy anniversary WatersEdge!” It’s more than taking the team out for a celebratory donut. It’s more than buying myself a gift or taking Kathy out for dinner to thank her for her hard work.

You know, when you can see in your own mind what you’re doing, when that vision is so clear and so easy to believe in, it’s easy to forget that not everyone sees things the way you see them. After 5 years in, my vision is clear to me and I think maybe the next step is to work to try to make it clear to everyone else – my team, my clients, my prospects, my friends, my family…anyone and everyone in my circle. Maybe THAT is the BEST way to celebrate this milestone anniversary in 2023.

So let me start by sharing a bit of my vision with you.

I’m creating a new economic model that creates inclusive sustainable wealth for all. For ALL!

WatersEdge Wealth Management is on a mission to tear down the mahogany doors that keep human-beings separated from their money. We are doing this by delivering an economic model that works for everyone. The model includes a win-win outcome by creating a mutual relationship that sees and seeks possibility, and solves issues creatively. This is our way forward to the next five years and our 10^th anniversary.

We’re the right financial services company at the right time in this world for the right people, the people who need us. And that’s why we’re here, 5 years in, and celebrating everything we’ve done, and all that’s next.

Finally, I want to leave you with a few pieces of advice.

First, if you’re looking at starting a business right now, especially if it’s something you know to your very core that you want to do, if it’s something that you genuinely know will make a difference, then do it. Regardless of what people say about how hard it is or how risky it is or how someone else is already doing it or whatever else they might say, do it. Don’t listen to them. Listen to YOU. Listen to your heart. Listen to your gut. It knows.

Second, acknowledge good fortune. Acknowledge gratitude. And acknowledge your own hard work, too.

Third, never, ever give up. Always be willing to learn. Always be open to new opportunities and new possibilities, and always strive to make yourself even better than you already are – and you ARE incredible.

Finally, if I could tell my 5-years-ago-self one thing, here it is. “Don’t waste time worrying. The stress of that worrying is not worth it, in the end. And, in the end, the worrying doesn’t help you achieve what you know you want to achieve. Just believe in yourself. And keep going.”

Happy anniversary, WatersEdge Wealth Management. I’m celebrating by lifting my head up, by pausing and letting my feet stand side-by-side instead of pushing forward, and by acknowledging the forest that has, magically, sprung up around these trees. What a beautiful forest it is.