As we embark on this exciting, but not unfamiliar endeavor, I thought it fitting to communicate why I do what I do and what we believe in.

Personally, I am in this business because it affords me the ability to do well by doing good. I’m fond of Zig Ziglar’s memorable quote – “If you help enough people get what they want, you’ll get what you want”. I derive great satisfaction from helping people plan well and be smart with their money, and there is plenty of opportunity for that. I know what it is like to not have money. My whole family is like that, and I decided when I was young that I wasn’t going to live that way. I grew up in a lower middle class family that was not exactly rolling in dough. I always had enough to eat, but we never really had any money. I developed good financial habits at an early age. I recall getting a small weekly allowance in return for doing chores around the house. I saved some for things I wanted to buy, like a new bicycle, and spent some right away on things like bubble gum and movie tickets. I started my working career in my stepfather’s small construction business at 14 years old and haven’t stopped since. Weekends, school vacations, summer vacations. I worked every chance I got, saving for future expenses like a car and college. Now I have the privilege of helping other people who have worked hard and become successful to build and retain real wealth.

A tremendous number of people, including those who earn a lot of money, just don’t have good money habits, mostly because they are too busy with other things and they don’t have the time or inclination to learn. So, they just do what everybody else does, and “everybody else” does a pretty poor job of dealing with their money. They pay too much in taxes, they make emotional decisions about their investments, they don’t have enough, or the proper kinds of insurance, and they don’t save enough because they don’t know how much they are going to need when they are older.

As for Elevate?, we believe in old-fashioned ideas like telling the truth. Like telling our clients to do things with their money that are good for them, even if they aren’t good for us financially. Over time, this actually is good for us because it builds trust and credibility.

We believe that if you want to achieve exceptional results you need to do things differently from everyone else. You must make planning and investing a priority. If you simply spend more time and energy on planning for your future than you do on planning your summer vacation you’ll do quite well.

We believe the financial industry does not exist to make people wealthy. We thoroughly enjoy de-bunking the myths the industry has spent billions getting people to believe that are good for the industry but not so good for the people that unknowingly fall prey.

We believe in making things simple to the extent we can. In putting ideas and concepts in words all our clients can follow and understand.

We believe our role is to help our clients actually achieve their financial goals, to arrive victoriously at the finish line.

We believe in telling people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear, when it comes to their money and planning.

We believe that anyone, with proper guidance, focus, and diligence can become wealthy.