The most satisfying life journey is never about the money.

                     As I look back over more than fifty years as an entrepreneur, I can think of the financial focus of my three entrepreneurial businesses as a prime driver in my life during the early stage of each.  And yet, as I recall the greatest thrills, the memorable events, the best of memories, almost none are about the money.  The stories of people rising to the occasion, victories in the form of great sale successes, great continuing relationships, occasional awards from valued industry or academic institutions, being able to give back to those who appreciate the gift of time or money – all seem to rise well above the feeling recalled about the check or wire transfer that represented a completed sale of a company.

                I found one of my joys in angel investing, putting money to work by investing time and money into promising young entrepreneurs much like I once was, coaching them, putting them together with others who have needed skills, helping to build someone else’s dream.  If you are in such a good place in your life, find a local angel investing group by Googling “angel investing”.  You will find such a group near enough to drive to their periodic meetings.  You’ll quickly be drawn into the governance of the organization and introduced into the process of discovery, coaching, leading deals, herding investors, serving on boards and helping entrepreneurs toward liquidity events.

[Email readers, continue here…]  I found another joy in community organizations, joining a total of four non-profit boards, learning at first much more than I could teach, but rising over the years to leadership positions with large psychic rewards along each step of the way.

                And then there is family.  Be honest with yourself. Have you ever spent enough time with your family?  Can you ever?  Isn’t it time to try?

                For those of you still struggling to find that security, to find that balance, I wish you all the skills and all the success possible.  For those with the blessing of time and room to breathe, I wish you the wisdom and energy to make use of this most valuable gift.  Your most satisfying journey will never be about the money.

If you’ve enjoyed this series so far, all of the previous two years of these insights have been combined into a single book, BERKONOMICS, available from your favorite bookseller, via Amazon Kindle Edition – or signed by the author in either hard cover or soft cover editions, by clicking this link.