In 1999, my friend Kurt asked me to be part of a “coming of age” ceremony for his soon-to-be thirteen year old son Daniel. Based on his intention to formally introduce his boys to the responsibilities and characteristics of manhood, Kurt determined to have his sons mentored by men who were successful in the areas of spirituality, physical fitness and health, relationships, intellectual achievement, and finances (SPRIF). I was so impressed by SPRIF that I chose the model for my own son’s thirteenth birthday manhood ceremony.
Serving as scoutmaster of Whitefish, Montana’s Troop 17, I later used Kurt’s SPRIF model as the foundation for developing boy scouts into “mighty men of character and service, who give more than they take wherever they go.” Because of the success we achieved in helping young men live exemplary lives, I adopted SPRIF as the guideposts for my own life. Over time, I noticed many of my clients were not flourishing, even when they were financial secure. I started to incorporate spiritual, physical, relational, and intellectual goals into a few, select financial plans. When I did, I observed these clients were more content with their lives. Upon establishing my own firm, I made a business decision to build my financial planning practice on the SPRIF model where I guide my clients towards achieving balance in the areas of their lives that they value.
Now that I am an empty nester, I am ready to start my next adventure: public speaking. While I am not quitting my day job, I am going to structure my schedule so I can devote more time towards teaching and public speaking. I will focus my efforts on skills that lead others towards lives well lived. The purpose of this blog will be to post my thoughts and deeds towards this endeavor. I am also hoping readers will send their own ideas about how to be excellent so I can share them with others.
Blogging is new territory for me, but I am anxious to get started. Please feel free to comment on how I can do a better job.
Semper fi,
Joe Coco
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI am honored to be the first to post on your blog. You are indeed a mighty man of character, and you possess all the attributes I wanted my sons to possess. I am proud to know you and I will pray for your continued successes.
Mac