Thursday, July 23, 2010
PROVENANCE
What is provenance? I collect animated art. Recently I purchased some original drawings by Theodor Seuss Geisel that had been in the private collection of Chuck Jones, a well known Warner Bros. animator. These drawings were the original drawings that spawned one of Dr. Seuss's most notable works, The Cat in the Hat. The seller repeatedly used the phrase that this piece had "incredibly significant provenance."
I couldn't take it any longer and I admitted my ignorance and inquired as to the definition of provenance. He responded that in the field of art and other antiquities, provenance represents the history of a particular piece. Provenance is a fancy word that refers to an object's history, or who owned the object, when and where. It is to an object what a deed trail is to a piece of land.
Provenance separates the special, almost sacred objects of the past from the ordinary ones. In other words, pens or pencils from the 1860s may be nearly a dime-a-dozen, but the one that Abraham Lincoln held in his hand while scribbling the rough draft of the "Gettysburg Address" is not. A gun used by the French in the 19th century may have value, but one used to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo would be worth considerably more. If you can trace that gun into Napoleon's pocket, you have a treasure in hand. People want to know if something was touched by a great man or woman. They want some of the gilt from the past to rub off of them.
"Is your provenance being lost because you are not capturing those great experiences …?"
What is your provenance? What are those experiences, people and heritage that make up your "incredibly significant provenance"? There are untold objects of history that if their provenance was known, they could command extraordinary prices. But, unfortunately, their story was lost… no one to tell of their great provenance. Is your provenance being lost because you are not capturing those great experiences – both good and bad – whose stories can be told and retold; whose lessons can be treasured and whose wisdom would be priceless?
June 14, 2010
Listening
By Lee Brower
If you're a runner, you know that some days are like trudging around in mud, but occasionally you have that flight of a run—bursting with endorphins. These are the ones that motivate you to keep running!
My route that morning started just over a mile from my home where I frequently bide my time going in monotonous circles around a half mile path surrounding a small city park. I intended to go at least five miles, which is six times around the track plus the distance to and from home. This morning was one of those days where I was caught in between the mud and the endorphins. I was running, but not acknowledging the experience—lost in my thoughts searching for solutions to the myriad of challenges awaiting me at the office. I was gliding around the track like I was “sleep running.”
At first I didn't notice her, but circling the opposite direction was a lady intently focused on getting around the track. She wasn't jogging; she was speed-walking fast, swinging her arms with a look of determination on her face. Each time we...
The Secret in Words and Music
June 11-12, 2010 at 7:30pm - The Covey Center, Provo, UT
Presented by Covey Center for the Arts
Internationally acclaimed pianist and entertainer Marvin Goldstein, together with Thomas Cook, Lee Brower, and the group "Precious Cargo" from Calgary-Alberta, Canada, performed a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "The Secret of Words and Music". The concert was unlike any other concert ever performed where the audience experiencing a total immersion in the secrets of music.
March 24, 2010 - Updated April 20 to include the Sketch that Lee received from one of the prisoners.
Thou Shall Not Break Umbrellas!
By Lee Brower
A few years ago I was invited to speak to a group of prisoners—male and female—at the Utah State Prison. These were prisoners who were on their best behavior and were rewarded by being able to attend various lectures and/or workshops dealing with self-improvement. I agreed, thinking that I would come up with something to say that would keep their interest for a full hour. In the late 1970’s, I had been a volunteer counselor at the same prison and knew full well how difficult it was to keep their attention. As I prepared, I prayed for inspiration—for just one thing that might touch just one inmate. Nothing came. Sure I had ideas roaming through my head, but nothing concrete. To add to my nervousness, my father had come to visit me. This was the first visit by my father to my home in over 20 years and of course I invited him to attend.
When we arrived the room was empty. Then, at precisely 10 a.m., from opposite sides of the room, entered approximately 20 men from one side and 20 women from the other side. They took their seats—men on one side, women on the other—separated by a 4-foot aisle in the middle.
I was sweating…
February 19, 2010
A Better Vocabulary
By Lee Brower
The word "goal" has been banished from my vocabulary. In fact, in our office we have agreed to a two-dollar assessment for anyone who uses the word!
Have you ever set a goal?
Have you ever set a goal and not achieved it?
Have you ever set the same goal again, and again not achieved it?
When you frequently, or even occasionally, set goals that go unachieved, what happens to your "self-talk?" Are you saying supportive things to yourself, or do you begin to "dis" yourself? When your brain is engaged in negative self-talk, what are you attracting? Could you actually be attracting more of the very thing that blocks the attainment of your intentions? (Notice I did not use the "g" word.)
Many years ago, I read about a study conducted at Yale University. In 1953, researchers surveyed Yale's graduating seniors to determine how many had specific, written goals for their future. The answer was three percent. Forty years later, researchers polled the surviving members of the Class of 1953 and found that the three percent with written goals had accumulated more personal financial wealth than the other 97 percent of the class combined!
January 4, 2010
The Pringle Theory... from Chapter 10 (Goodbye Goals) of The Brower Quadrant Book.
I have been blessed to share quite a few special moments with former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. The John Wooden-coached UCLA teams scaled unprecedented heights that future sports organizations are unlikely to match. Under his masterful guidance, the Bruins set all-time records with four perfect 30-0 seasons, eighty-eight consecutive victories, thirty-eight straight NCAA tournament victories, twenty PAC 10 championships, and ten national championships, including seven in a row.
Those who know Coach Wooden best say he is a gifted teacher. I believe he would say that teaching is his passion. Now in his late nineties, Coach Wooden still visits elementary schools, challenging young students to be the best they can be and training them in good sportsmanship. From my perspective, Coach Wooden is someone who walks his talk; he is an inspiration to many. He often shares his Seven Point Creed, given to him by his father when he graduated from elementary school, with all who will listen. Number four of the Creed is “Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.” (Click here for a copy of the Seven Point Creed)
I decided that if the great John Wooden reads from the scriptures daily, I would do exactly the same! I decided to read at least one chapter every night. It wasn’t that I hadn’t attempted this before. In fact, I had attempted this many times, but at some point I would begin missing a day or two. Soon, frustration...
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What is the Brower Quadrant?
Whether you are worth zillions-or struggling to make ends meet-you are rich! And, at this moment, you are either living in abundance or you are living in scarcity, it's up to you. What you have is not about doing more with less, but doing more with more in all areas of your life! The world needs gratitude instead of victimhood; value-based leadership instead of number management; asset optimization instead of asset isolation. In this book, you'll learn from six key components that will cement families to their True Wealth for generations to come.
October 22, 2008
Turning wealth receivers into value creators
By Lee Brower
Recently I was having dinner with a very successful money/family office manager. I consider him to be a leader who has a tremendous amount of expertise, a phenomenal support team, impeccable integrity and someone who’s admired and respected by his clients. Unquestionably, he is very passionate about giving back. His tireless efforts and enthusiasm to support an international school for disadvantaged, orphaned young men and women is very compelling and aroused a desire within me to support his efforts. He is a very impressive person.
August 19, 2008
Empower your Health
By Lee Brower
I am blessed to have enjoyed excellent health throughout my life. Although I have regular check-ups at a local hospital and fitness institution, I’ve never had a personal physician. However, a couple of years ago I had sudden knee surgery. As part of the recovery process, and therefore a legitimate excuse, I was supposed to significantly decrease my exercise routine. Unfortunately, the lack of exercise took its toll.
I wanted a relationship with a medical practitioner who would be interested in my health. So, I made an appointment with a doctor who I thought would be a good fit as my personal medical provider. I arrived at the doctor’s office promptly at 7 a.m. for my appointment. I didn’t see anyone there, so I knocked at the receptionist window and a few minutes later someone showed up and handed me a clipboard with several sheets of paper that included questions and authorization forms. I filled them out, handed them to the receptionist and waited.
March 20, 2008
Where’s My Inheritance?
By Lee Brower
An attorney friend of mine shared a very telling experience he had with one of his clients. He had worked with a family for many years and had prepared for them a very complete “traditional” estate plan. The dad had started a business and sold it at the height of the dot-com market. He wanted his family to be involved in the use of the proceeds. The money helped pay for education, two family vacation homes, a few business opportunities and where needed. Mom and Dad became very involved in several charities and invited the children and grandchildren to participate as well. The kids were anxious to help out and the family met regularly to discuss various opportunities and needs. The attorney attended many meetings with the family over the years where the center of all topics was we … What should we do? Where should we invest our money? How can we maximize this investment for everyone’s benefit? Who should we help? He was very pleased with what had been accomplished and with the direction the family was taking. He felt the estate plan was very sound and met the needs and vision of the family.
February 20, 2008
The Brittle Generation
By Lee Brower
Arthur T. Vanderbilt II recounts his history with great clarity in Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt. As a teenager, his father Cornelius began the building of his empire with a small raft, charging fares for transporting goods and supplies, and eventually passengers, on the Hudson River. From this humble beginning, financed by a loan from his mother, he thrived. By the time of his death in 1877, the “Commodore,” as he was then commonly known, was the wealthiest person in the world.
Within thirty years of the Commodore’s death, no member of his family was among the richest people in the United States. Forty-eight years after his death, one of his direct descendants died penniless.
The real tragedy is not only the family fortune being lost to (and by) the Vanderbilt heirs, but the lessons and knowledge that produced the wealth had been lost as well. Here was a man who through ingenuity and shrewd business acumen, built a veritable empire from the most meager of circumstances. Yet, all the experience, wisdom, and knowledge he acquired was never transferred to future generations. The end result was a family unprepared for protecting and insuring the perpetuation of their wealth.
When 120 of the Commodore’s descendants gathered at Vanderbilt University in 1973 for the first family reunion, there was not a millionaire among them.
January 21nd, 2008
Family Leadership
By Lee Brower
Rarely is money a source of genuine freedom, joy or clarity. Yet, we routinely allow it to dictate the terms of our lives, and often, it is the single most important factor in the decisions we make about work, love, family and even friendship. When we view our lives strictly in terms of our financial possessions, wealth comes at a high cost. We all know of families that have been torn apart by money, and many of us know individuals who do not have great financial abundance, but are among the happiest people we know.
In lives where money is scarce, however, the constant strife can easily become the dominant theme that discounts self-worth and severely limits the potential of an individual or family. The prolonged absence of money can become an excuse for being less resourceful, productive or responsible than possible.
So, how do we balance the need for money and desire for wealth with the need for meaning and purpose? And, what is our “stewardship” responsibility toward financial wealth?
True Wealth means finding balance among all the facets of life. When we have True Wealth, we can maximize the enjoyment and benefit we receive from our money. We can grow it, manage it, optimize it, preserve it, and pass it on to whomever we choose.
December 22nd, 2008
True Asset Protection
By Lee Brower
When you hear someone mention “asset protection,” what comes to mind? Do you think of words like lawsuits, seminars, off-shore trusts, money, business, bankruptcy, financial security, etc.? Which Quadrant do you normally associate with “asset protection”? Most everyone thinks exclusively of the Financial Asset Quadrant. How important is it to protect those assets we value most—our family, health, values, heritage, experiences, philanthropic passion and others? What system do you have in place to proactively protect all of your assets? Asset protection for those who utilize the Quadrant Living System means proactively and systematically protecting all of our assets.
All too often we become consumed with the rigors of daily life—so much that we find ourselves in a reactive mode rather than a proactive mode. Without a system we will inevitably spend far too many hours and too much money on correcting problems and trying to get back on track. Here are a few examples:
- Some of us will lose our health getting wealth, only to end up losing our wealth getting health.
- Some of us will wait until April to find out from an accountant that we owe the IRS a huge amount of money.
- Some of us are in denial about whether our children will ever do drugs. Twenty-two percent of all kids in homes where there is a strong parental involvement will still experiment with drugs! Where there’s less involvement, that number is much higher.
- Some of us wait until the funeral before we realize we could have captured life’s experiences for our benefit and that of future generations.
- Some of us put up fancy security systems to protect our homes and children, but do not have an effective system to protect our loved ones from the invasion of Internet pornography. Even if you do have security on your Internet system, most kids know they are only a few key strokes away from circumventing it.
- Some of us may sell a business or exercise stock options or invest in a business opportunity with tremendous upside potential, and then try to restructure ownership to protect assets or save taxes, after the fact.
- Some of us do a wonderful, albeit, haphazard job of making charitable contributions that involve only ourselves (and not the rest of the family) and our checkbooks.
Take some time to look at the Brower Quadrants: Core Assets, Experience Assets, Contribution Assets and Financial Assets. Ask yourself what you are doing to protect your most important assets.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and prosperous 2009!
November 20th, 2008
Putting your “Q-Bank” to Work
By Lee Brower
The following article is part 2 of “Utilizing Your Family Q-Bank,” printed in the September issue.
The Empowered Quadrant Bank extends far beyond legal documents. It is a repository for true family heirlooms— not the linen and china, but the videos you make of relatives so as to preserve these vital links with the future; or, your list of questions about any endeavor the family might consider undertaking in the future.
October 18th, 2008
Goodbye Goals
By Lee Brower
The word "goal" has been banished from my vocabulary. In fact, in our office we have agreed to a two-dollar assessment for anyone who uses the word!
- Have you ever set a goal?
- Have you ever set a goal and not achieved it?
- Have you ever set the same goal again, and again not achieved it?
When you frequently, or even occasionally, set goals that go unachieved, what happens to your "self-talk?" Are you saying supportive things to yourself, or do you begin to "dis" yourself? When your brain is engaged in negative self-talk, what are you attracting? Could you actually be attracting more of the very thing that blocks the attainment of your intentions? (Notice I did not use the "g" word.)
Many years ago, I read about a study conducted at Yale University. In 1953, researchers surveyed Yale's graduating seniors to determine how many had specific, written goals for their future. The answer was three percent. Forty years later, researchers polled the surviving members of the Class of 1953 and found that the three percent with written goals had accumulated more personal financial wealth than the other 97 percent of the class combined! (Continues)
September 16th, 2008
Moments
By Lori Brower
In April 2007, our son was diagnosed with cancer. “Yes, it’s confirmed. It is alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, although your son is a little old to have this particular childhood cancer…,” the doctor said. What?!?! Nick? He is only 18! He graduates from high school next month. I stuttered, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, it’s stage 4.” The words took a few seconds to register. Stages of cancer are ranked from stage 1 as the least dangerous to stage 4, the highest – and deadliest – level. Then a glass of water spilled and my hands shook as I tried to clean it up and listen to the procedures that needed to be done before hospital admission.
“He only has a 10% chance of survival.” How can I gather myself before going back into his hospital room? How can moments of disbelief turn to fear so quickly?
During Nick’s first round of chemo, a very wise nurse told me on the first day, “Our doctors and nurses are excellent. The hospital is excellent. However, he is YOUR son, YOUR responsibility – so know what is going on – always. Ask questions; get copies of everything; research the chemo drugs; keep notes on what pain medications work or don’t work. I’ll help you learn what numbers to be concerned with on the lab results.” She made a difference in helping me regain moments of clarity and confidence. (Continues)
April 18th, 2008
What’s Your Vision?
Lee Brower was recently interviewed for Change Nation, a guest interview series produced by The First 30 Days, Inc., a New York City-based organization helping people worldwide capitalize on change. During the interview, Ariane de Bonvoisin, CEO of The First 30 Days, asked Lee how people can accurately create a vision regarding wealth. Lee said:
“Your key to everything is to say, ‘Here is my vision.’ Once [you’re] in motion, [figure out how to] sustain it. ….You just keep moving until your vision gets very clear and you say at the end of each day, ‘What did I do right today that moved me closer to my vision and how can I do more of that?’”
Sounds simple, right? Well, in the years Lee has helped people optimize their true assets, he has found that for many people, maintaining that vision and staying in motion can be challenging.
He has often encouraged people to create a vision board – something like a bulletin board with photos, quotes, and key words that represent the ways in which they want to make changes in their lives.
With better technology often comes better solutions, and now Quadrant Living is pleased to introduce a more powerful, more convenient way to shape your vision. The VisionBridge™ Software tool enables you to create your own “virtual bulletin board” that you can view on your screensaver, desktop wallpaper, or even your cell phone or iPod. You can customize it and change it as often as you’d like, including your own photos, affirmations, power words, and more.
Keep your mental pictures in front of you, literally, and see how much easier it is to reflect on your gratitude, focus on your vision, and accelerate your motion.
Learn more about the VisionBridge™ Software
Listen to Lee’s interview on Change Nation
A reminder.
A keepsake.
A touchstone.
Brower Gratitude Rocks™ are a simple, powerful system for practicing one of the most important habits we can have: experiencing, capturing, and showing gratitude.
