You're absolutely right about that.I think the names on a family tree mean a lot more when people know something about the ones who bore those names.
The way that I've been physically documenting my family history, both on paper and digitally, is by having notations beside each name that corresponds to a file on that specific person that contains everything that I know about them, very much the same way that the information is organized in my head. That way, anybody that comes after me will be able to read up on their relatives as if they are reading a small biography about them.
As promised, some very BIG news ...
I recently got a early Christmas present for my family, so far I've only told my wife and her jaw almost hit the floor when she heard it. Honestly, I'm still deciding if I even want to tell the rest of the family. I've mentioned before how I own undeveloped land in various States, and how selling some of that land awhile back financed our vacation this summer. Well, I recently sold some of the land that I owned in Georgia, and I'm still in disbelief at how much I got for it.
This deal has been in the works for a couple of years, my agent had contacted me to let me know that a company was interested in purchasing the land from me, it was a generous offer, and far more than I paid 25 years ago, but I declined the offer. A few months later the same company put in another offer that was significantly higher, but I still declined because I wasn't in any rush to sell it. So, about a year goes by without any offers and then a few months ago my agent calls me and tells me that he has very lucrative offers from 2 companies interested in the land, and he suggested that I let the companies bid against each other to drive up the price.
I set up a online meeting with both companies and told them that the best offer gets it. Apparently, in the years since I acquired the land the surrounding area had been developed significantly, and I was the only person that hadn't sold their land yet, and the developers were scrambling to get their hands on it. Of course, I wasn't aware of this because I don't stay up to date with the current progress of the area after I purchased the land.
So, the companies started bidding against each other and steadily driving up the price, then they both started throwing insane offers at us, and I thought that they couldn't possibly go any higher after that, but I decided to hold out. The companies were getting competitive and soon one of them threw in a staggering offer that I couldn't refuse, so they got it. When I saw the final offer I thought it was a joke, and there was no way that the company would actually follow through with it, as I expected them to have buyer's remorse or come up with another reason to back out, but we just finalized it last week. I didn't want to say anything until the funds cleared, and it just did.
Yeah, there are fees along the way, and I'm going to be taxed like Hell on it, but I'm still going to walk away with a unbelievably gorgeous profit. I won't reveal the final price that I got for it, but I will say that it was a astronomical return on my original investment, as I sold the land for over 75x what I paid for it 25 years ago, and I can tell you right now that even with what College or University will cost 10 years from now, my kids won't ever have to worry about it.
I still have more undeveloped land that I'm going to hang on to for now, I've had offers on some of it, but nothing as high as this was, so I'll wait until there's more demand for it. There is one piece of land in Montana that I don't know if I'll ever sell, it's only a few acres, but it's absolutely beautiful. I was only 20 when I bought the land and at the time I always thought that I would build a house there for my family, and maybe a farm or ranch or something, and retire there. But we know how things went, and now my kids have their roots here, so I doubt that I'll ever get to build that dream house there. Of course, maybe one day somebody in my family might do something with it.
Now, to get back to this for a moment ...
It's hard to say, that is, that we as human beings naturally inherit genetic and behavioral traits from both our parents, as well as their relatives from previous generations. So it's only natural that their intellectual strengths would be passed on to their offspring as well. Of course, some people are just born with a higher level of intelligence than other people, regardless of how their parents measure up intellectually.For example, you've said he was very successful professionally, and you appear to be as well. ... I bet you also inherited some of his talents and strengths.
My father's side of the family was always good with business, and as far as I know, they have always been successful. My mother's side was mostly hard working farmers that had a few small businesses and they got by, but they weren't ever as successful as they could have been, and that was because of a few bad decisions along the way.
I think that my success can be attributed to multiple factors. I work hard and always push myself past my limits, when everybody else was sitting at home getting everything handed to them by their parents, I was busting my a** to get what I want. When everybody is sleeping I'm awake already planning next week in advance. I'm also very good with math, and I've been good at anticipating the potential outcome of my investments, so far I have a 98% accuracy, and I know this because I'm meticulous with my record keeping, both in my books and in my head. My unyielding capacity for memory definitely plays a part, being able to remember facts and figures gives me a advantage over other people, as I can instantly pull up information that can be used in any area of business.
As far as learning certain business tactics from my father, I know that I did, as I always used to hear little tricks he would use, like how he would charge slightly above cost for his gas, his competitors wouldn't have ever reduced their profit margin that low, but my father knew that by having the cheapest price for his customers, that he would move a larger volume of product with a faster turn around and maximize his profits, and his constant replenishing of his inventory repeatedly resulted in higher profits faster. Just rinse and repeat. I've used the same tactic myself here at the restaurant, and I told my wife to do the same thing at her bakery when another pastry shop opened down the street to compete with her. By the way, that pastry shop is no longer in business. So, yes, I've used some of the tactics that I learned from my father in business.
I recall one day specifically when my father and his brother were sitting on the patio in the backyard, and they were talking about the land they already owned, and where they should invest next, and they were discussing strategy and tips for success. I was 8 at the time, and I guess they thought that I wasn't paying attention, but I was. Who knows? Maybe that's where I got the idea to invest in land and properties, or maybe the idea was planted in my head far earlier than that ...
What does Lucy want for Christmas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HPKF8UvO54
So, I'm sitting here deciding if I want to tell the rest of the family about my recent success, not that it would go to their head, but I don't think that I should tell them yet. I'll just get each of them something great for Christmas.
