2008 was a year of amazing endings and even better beginnings. 

I’m still in awe over all that happened.  If you’ve been following my progress over the past couple of years, you know 2008 was a big one.

The book, the Today Show, CNBC, Better TV, loads of radio programs, the Personal Family Lawyers, healing my relationship with my ex, falling in love, getting an incredible team in place … just to name a few.

But, all of these things were external.

What you didn’t see is what was happening on the inside.  The only way I can describe it in words is intense internal alignment.  And, I don’t think that even conveys it completely.  But, it’s close enough for you to get what I mean.

With that alignment has come even more clarity of my purpose, mission and vision for my life. 

I was put on this Earth to inspire, motivate and educate you to think bigger about who you are and what’s possible for your life. 

To fulfill on that promise, I need to step into the truth of who I am. 

Over the past year, I’ve been graced with the opportunity to transform the lives of more than 60 lawyers as I’ve transformed them from ordinary estate planning lawyers into Personal Family Lawyers®.  It has been the most gratifying work of my life.

And now I’m ready to take you with me to the next stage of your evolution.

Saying Goodbye to Martin Neely & Associates  

Yes, it’s true.  To step into something bigger, often means letting go of what has been holding you back.  And usually, it means letting go of something that’s very safe, secure, and not easy to let go of.  Something you identify with strongly.  Maybe even something that provides a great deal of your financial support.

Martin Neely & Associates is that something for me.

Over the past couple of years as I have stepped into a bigger vision of my life, I’ve hung on to Martin Neely & Associates for dear life.  I’ve tried everything I could to keep it going, at the expense of my own finances and sanity.

And, I’ve finally surrendered.

If you want to read the specifics of what that looks like, head on over to the Martin Neely & Associates firm website where you can read all about it, including how these changes affect you if you are a client of the firm, what to do now if you were considering becoming a client of the firm or if you’ve been wondering how you can work one on one with me on your own business or personal growth.

So many of you have inquired into how you could get my help on your business and in your life.  Now, you finally can!

You’ll want to read all about it at http://www.MartinNeely.com.

And, if you are local to the Southern California area or looking for a beautiful place to hold occasional client meetings in Southern California, you’ll want to head on over there to find out how you can use the Martin Neely offices.  This is a huge opportunity for those of you who love our offices and want to make a great impression for your South Bay meetings.

You’ll of course, continue to receive this weekly Wealth Secrets online magazine every week.  And, if you want even more, you’ll want to make sure to subscribe to my personal blog, the Intrepid Mompreneur.

Here’s to you making 2009 the year you step outside of your comfort zone and reach for the stars!

Besides creating a loving home for our children, our number one job as parents is to leave behind a rich legacy of values.   We all know this and yet very few of us put any conscious thought into it.

We spend so much time worrying about where our kids will go to school and what activities they’ll be engaged in, but very rarely do we take the time to consider the values we are passing on.

Instead, what happens is that our values are passed on by example.  And sometimes those examples may not accurately reflect the messages we really would want to send if we stopped to think about it.

It may be that, due to your own experience depending on someone else for financial support, you value independence and want more than anything for your children to be independent.  But, how are you passing on this value to your children? Are they old enough to hear your words? Are they taking it in?  Or will they model what they see you doing?

Or, it may be that you value generosity and support for those less fortunate.  Perhaps you support several charities and regularly tithe to your spiritual home.  But, if you’ve done this quietly without involving your children they would have no idea that’s one of your values.

I’m sure you value honesty.  Is it possible though that your children have seen and heard you tell little white lies?  If so, that’s what they’ll pick up on when they create their own values around honesty.

As an example of this from my own life, I value freedom. If I died before passing on this value to my children, it could be that they would grow up with a head full of “should” driving them, thinking they “should” do this or that because it’s what their mom would have wanted.  The idea of that just devastates me.

I want my kids to know I value them for who they are, whatever that looks like and I want them to follow their heart no matter where that takes them in life. I want them to be free to make choices confidently and stand up for what they believe in—even when it’s not the popular thing to do.
But, if I don’t take the time to pass on that value to my kids again and again and again (or if I depart this life before I get the chance to) they won’t integrate that into their own reality.
Leaving behind my values for my children is far more important to me than leaving behind any amount of money and I bet it’s the same for you too.

If I had to choose whether to leave behind my money or my values, I’d have to choose my values, my stories, my experience because I know without them, any amount of money I leave will be squandered, but with them my children’s potential to support themselves financially is unlimited.

This is why we’ve made the process of passing on values an integral part of the Personal Family Lawyer® experience.   I look back on what was left behind by my father when he passed on and the only values he left behind were those I became aware of from watching him or conversations we had.

I’d trade all the money he left me to just to have one letter from him or even better a recorded message of his voice letting me know what he saw as the most important lessons he’d learned throughout his life and what he wanted for me.  And, I was 30 when he died.  I don’t know that we ever get enough of our parents, no matter how old we are when they pass.

Because of this, each one of our Personal Family Lawyers® is trained to guide families through a process that not only passes on financial wealth, but passes on the most valuable assets that are so often lost when someone passes on – your values, who you are and what matters to you most.

Sometimes, it’s during this process that parents ever consciously consider the values they want to leave behind.

I realize this is a-typical for lawyers who are almost always just focused on passing on the money, but our Personal Family Lawyers aren’t your typical lawyers.They are mothers and fathers and sons and daughters who know firsthand that you are so much more than just the money in your bank account.

If you haven’t thought about leaving behind a legacy that’s far greater than the balance in your bank account, I encourage you to do so today.  Whether that means sitting down with a Personal Family Lawyer® and doing it as part of your overall estate plan or simply writing letters to your children yourself about what you want for them , make the time and the effort to consciously leave behind that which really matters.

Now is the time of year that most people sit down and write out their New Year Resolutions and then, less than a week later, they break them.

I don’t want you to write down resolutions, I want you to write down goals you are committed to achieving and then create a step by step action plan for achieving them.

As a gift to you, you can go to my blog and download my “Ultimate Success &  Prosperity System That Never Fails” program which includes a dynamite goal setting form.

I have used this system to eliminate a ton of debt, make a ton of money, make my dreams come true, lose weight and more.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly you achieve your goals. It almost magical.

Sure, I could be selling this program, especially at this time of year but Alexis and I really want you to have it and use it.

So go to: http://www.davedee.com/prosperity.pdf

You don’t have to opt in or anything. This really is a gift.

Get it now and then pass it on to your family and friends.

Dave Dee