Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days
I have a confession to make: I love watching the talent on some of today’s reality shows. It is absolutely wonderful to see every day people working to fulfill their lifelong dreams of turning their passion into a career. Several years ago, on The Voice, Danielle Bradbery, a young lady from Texas who was 16 years old at the time, sang the Judds’ Grammy award winning song - “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)”. She nailed it, but that’s beside the point. I remember it as one of those moments that made me reflect on life. The lyrics really hit home. Take a minute to read them or listen to them yourself via the performance of Miss Bradbery by clicking on the link below:
Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days) – Danielle Bradbery
Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good ole days
Sometimes it feels like this world's gone crazy
Grandpa, take me back to yesterday,
Where the line between right and wrong
Didn't seem so hazy
Grandpa, everything is changing fast
We call it progress, but I just don't know
And Grandpa, let's wonder back into the past
And paint me a picture of long ago
Did lovers really fall in love to stay
And stand beside each other come what may
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say
Did families really bow their heads to pray
Did daddies really never go away
Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good ole days
The Judd’s won the Grammy Award for this song in 1987. Isn’t it sadly ironic that all these years later these same words could be written in a song today and feel appropriate for the world we live in? Dennis Peacocke wrote a book called, “Doing Business God’s Way” in which he stresses that the only way our country and our world will get better is by each of us starting in our own homes and own communities. We all want the “good old days,” and Mr. Peacocke is right—it starts with us.
Over the years we have written about numerous ways you can build and leave behind a lasting legacy of these values. Our online learning center has all of them archived so that you can refer to them and brainstorm. Here are some of my favorites as a good place to start:
· Leaving an Intangible Legacy
· How Do You Measure Your Wealth?
· Who Is Sitting at Your Table?
· Helping Future Generations with Finance
· 6 Things Your Children Need to Know About Money
· Securing Your Family’s Success
There are things that you hold very dear to your heart and they probably are not “things.” Take some time this week to write them down. Then don’t be stingy with them - share them with your family so they can share them with theirs. A coach once told me to write my own obituary. What do I want the people who knew me best to say about me after I am gone? What would you want the people who knew you best to say about you?