I have two dependents, average age 50.
Many of you know my grandmother is 99 years old and lives with my husband, daughter, and myself.
Three generations under one roof. It is one of the great privileges of my life. And it has taught me more about investing, business, and what actually matters than any book I have read.
Here are a few things I have learned from her:
1. Patience is not passive. She has lived through more recessions, crises, and market dislocations than I can count. She does not panic. She never has. Not because she is indifferent but because she has the long view. She knows that things that seem catastrophic in the moment rarely define the outcome. The people who stayed calm and kept building always came out ahead.
2. Relationships are the only thing that compounds forever. She remembers who showed up for her family in hard times. Who kept their word. Who disappeared when things got difficult. Seventy years later, she still knows the difference. I think about this every time I am in a deal negotiation or choosing a partner.
3. What you accumulate matters far less than what you build. She has watched fortunes appear and vanish in our extended family. What lasted was not the money. It was the capability, the reputation, and the relationships that money could not buy. This is why our family's investment in values (and not just assets) is the most important work we do.
4. Joy is not something you defer. She did not wait for the right moment to enjoy her life. She built, she traveled, she gathered people around her table, she laughed. Watching her, I think about Die With Zero differently. The goal is not to optimize the estate. It is to activate a full life while you are here.
Having her in our home is a daily reminder of what we are actually building and why.
What is the most important thing an older generation has taught you about the way you live or work?
Below is a picture of my grandma, daughter and I at dim sum for Chinese New Years. This is what it's all about.
