In the summer of 2005, I was sitting by a lake reading an issue of the Buddhist magazine, Shambhala Sun. Somewhere between the articles about mindfulness and equanimity, I stumbled across an ad for Abacus Wealth Partners. That same week, I saw Abacus mentioned in The 7 Stages of Money Maturity, George Kinder’s book about the relationships people have with money. The 3rd “sign” came in the form of a friend who, after hearing me describe my ideal firm, said “Have you heard of Abacus?” If there was ever a time when the planets were aligning, this was it.
I wanted to join a firm that had a spirit of generosity and a focus on helping people to have a better and more meaningful life. So I sent an email to Abacus co-founder, Brent Kessel, asking to join his team. Six years later, I’m a happy and engaged partner at Abacus, and I have Brent to thank for this. Through Brent I learned to listen more, talk less, and be more present (as my friends can attest, this is a work in progress). I also learned how to be generous with my wealth without the sense of obligation that often accompanies charitable giving.
You can imagine how proud and thrilled I am seeing Brent featured in Fast Company’s The 5 Most Generous on Wall Street. I have grown more inspired every year by Brent’s leadership at Abacus and his actions as a philanthropist. I hope you read the article and share my inspiration. This one’s for you Brent – thank you again.
Cheers,
Barrett
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