The last few years of my life have been extraordinarily transformative. As we all know, life happens, and we get dealt a hand—sometimes a crud hand. When this happens, you have two options, the first being to fold. The second is to play the hand as best you can, take the cards God or the universe has dealt you, and use your positive energy to try and find a win. Sounds easy, right? Well, maybe for some.
A few valuable lessons that have stuck with me are: Always wear clean underwear because you never know when you might end up in the hospital. Also, keep good friends close by, those who pick you up and dust you off when you are down and knock you off your high horse when you need to be grounded and humbled—loyal friends who are in your corner regardless of your circumstances. Why is this so important? Those friends or those caring individuals in your corner can help cheer you on and teach you the tools needed to look at a losing hand and say wait a minute; this is how I can make this a win. Those friends provide valuable coaching and a positive perspective that sometimes I cannot see myself, especially when I am down on my luck.
I have been blessed here, and just thinking about this almost makes me tear up because I have remarkable friends… As I grow older, I realize how fortunate I am, and I start thinking a lot about the impact I want on society.
Who do I want to be? The guy that cuts you off in traffic, the guy that won’t share the machine at the gym, the guy that provides zero time to making society better, the guy who is afraid to stand out and be bold and make changes to a world that desperately needs love, care, and attention. The guy who lets his ego get the best of him and acts towards others aggressively… I can tell you I do not want to be this individual that I just depicted. Yet, society is filled with very lost characters, and I wonder if much of it is because they do not have some great, positive people in their corner.
The Calgary Youth Justice Society (CYJS) provides an opportunity to ensure that our youth have precisely this: someone in their corner. Someone without bias, prejudice, or judgment [who is] there to support them through the good and bad hands—someone who is not trying to fix or impose what they think is right upon them. Simply put, someone to help them, provide a positive perspective and set a positive example.
Participating in the opportunity to hang out with our youth and attend their classes led me down the path of legacy as they learned about what legacy they want to leave. I had to consider this, and the first thing I did was define what a legacy is in my mind. I stumbled upon this marvellous quote: “Legacy is not leaving something behind for other people. It’s leaving something behind in other people” (Peter Strople). For me, what I want to leave behind is a positive perspective for our youth. I want them to look back and think that guy was pretty cool. He took time out and seemed to care about what we were up to. He took an interest in being our friend, he took an interest in what we were learning, he was kind, fun, friendly, and was in our corner and only offered a positive perspective. All because I hope they may one day do the same as me and get the same great feeling I have been getting from being a part of their group.
Everything seems to happen in my life for a reason, and I work for a financial planning firm, Future Values Estate and Financial Planning. The owner, Sterling Rempel, provides some of the most comprehensive financial planning I have ever witnessed. He is also a significant advocate of philanthropic giving. In trying to replicate Sterling’s intentions and business practices, I have been paying close attention to what clients say after working with him on philanthropic giving or attending his presentations. “Sterling, no one else told us about this.”, “Sterling, thank you for these additional options.” I could go on… and I am now contemplating the same strategy for my current estate.
Many individuals are already donating to charity. However, they are unaware that there are different ways to donate. So, unknowingly and with a good heart, they provide cash monthly or annually. Here is what they don’t know, and I wish they did. You can donate investments like stock shares and insurance policies and, even better, set up a fund that holds the investments that can accumulate in value by compounding and growing tax-free. This growth can be paid out now and in future, even after you pass away. Even better, when you donate stocks, you eliminate the capital gains tax, you create a substantial tax credit, and even better, you can make a legacy under your family’s name. Some services allow you to act similarly to a charitable foundation without all the administration.
This is a chance to create a legacy that lives beyond me. It allows me to channel donations to my favourite charities like CYJS and pass the torch on to my potential children, depending on how my life goes. So, instead of donating monthly or annually, I am considering setting up a Donar Advised Fund under my name that will trickle out donations to CYJS far beyond my time.
This is a brief overview of how it looks:
First and foremost, I want to continue volunteering with CYJS and making an impact on our youth. My undivided attention and time show how much I care about this cause. That said, if I can offer financial education and help channel some investments to the cause, it’s even more of a win for CYJS. If you want to know more, please get in touch with CYJS, and they will send you an information package about this beautiful legacy.
I appreciate your reading, and I hope your heart is as warm as mine.
– Trevor Lawrence
