Twenty years ago, I gained experience in the wealth management industry.
The concept of fiduciary management was key there.
An owner entrusts you, a professional manager, with his money or assets so that you preserve and grow them in his best interests.
The manager’s cardinal sin? Forgetting who owns the asset.
Cases like this are everywhere, not just in finance.
Anyone entrusted with something of value, whether a CEO, a public official, or a limousine driver, faces a powerful temptation to decide that frequent use matters more than legal ownership.
“After all, who protected the asset without sparing himself? Who stayed up at night figuring out how to make it bigger? Who knows and loves every little detail?” the manager torments himself. “No, I do everything. And that other guy does nothing.”
Obviously, if thoughts like these turn into actions, sooner or later everyone suffers: the client, the manager, and the asset.
In other words, the thought itself is treacherous: “I am the real owner!”
Hmm, what if the same logic applies to you personally, to me, to all of us?
At your disposal are your life, abilities, time, and body. Obviously, you didn’t create them. You received them. From whom? Pick whichever answer you like.
For decades, you have managed them almost entirely on your own and casually said, “my life,” “my talent,” “my body,” and so on.
Some people take it much further: “I’ll do whatever I want.” And then they neglect their health, hide their talent, or do something even worse.
Suffering along this false path is inevitable.
Look around. There are far too many examples, both in society and among the people close to you.
What does a manager do when he catches himself in time and becomes frightened by where these thoughts can lead?
He remembers: “I own nothing, I only manage. But I want to become the best at this Great Work.”
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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