All right, welcome back to The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. And I'm excited to talk to you today about what you're going to learn and you probably know is a hundred million person, silent and baby boomer generation that is going into an area of wealth planning and end-of-life planning and strategic planning. And I've got an expert with me today. His name is William Holditch. How are you doing, William? I'm doing great. Thanks. I'm so glad to have you here because you've got a great book on Amazon. It's a topic that a lot of people don't think about, but it's a topic that has become a very big source of stress, anxiety, which it doesn't need to be. And so we're going to talk about that a little bit today with your book, but you have a pretty diverse background from growing a multi-million dollar family business to firefighter EMT to an author, educator, and now even traveling around the world in your sailboat. So can you do me a favor for the people that are just tuning in? Can you give us a little bit of your background and just lay the foundation of what brought you to what is your current mission and purpose around this topic we're going to talk about today? Sure, no problem. So I grew up in Austin, Texas. I went to a college at Texas A&M and got my bachelor's in farm and ranch management, which is a small business entrepreneurship. I left there and ended up working for the family business, which was a full service event rental company. So we did multimillion-dollar weddings, corporate events, government events, political events, F1 racing in Austin, Texas from 1998 to 2017. It was a wonderful time to be in business. And we grew the business from $1 million to $11 million. And we were fortunate enough to sell up for a private equity company. My dad was able to retire with more money than he knows what to do with, which is amazing. But unfortunately, during that timeframe, my mom came down with pancreatic cancer. And, and it was a very quick process. And next thing we knew mom was in hospice. And I remember sitting there looking at my sister going, but does mom have funeral plans? And my sister was like, no, mom doesn't have any, no, no. And so we quickly had to like run around and do funeral plans in the middle of doing hospice. So very stressful time. And on top of that, we had to like figure out what we were going to do with mom afterwards. And, and so that was a very kind of stressful time in our life. And then life settles back down and we'd sold the business. And I took this amazing job with this company out of Virginia and life was great. And they offered me an executive leadership position. And so I was getting ready to move the whole family to Virginia when my uncle passed away quite suddenly. And I remember standing at the funeral and I heard my aunt say to her daughters, I don't even know where the checkbook is. I don't know where our money is. I don't know how to pay the gas bill, the light bill. I don't know. And her daughter's like, it's okay, mom, we'll figure it out together. And it took them about a year to kind of put all the pieces together of what was going on. But they did. And then we got to Virginia. And we'd been there about six months. And life was amazing. The job was amazing. The company was amazing. And the pandemic hit. and our company went from a hundred million dollar company to a 20 million dollar company overnight and they fired two thirds of the workforce so there i am in in in virginia just north of just west of dc my wife is an icu nurse and what do i do well we had we had a local fire department and so i joined the fire department to help out with all the calls they were getting because there were COVID calls and there were all these things going on. And they sent me to firefighter EMT school, which was a fun time. Loved it. A 47 year old rookie in firefighter school. It was great. And, and so we would go into these people's houses and they're having respiratory failure. They're obviously having COVID, but they're by themselves. We know nothing about this person. So we grabbed their purse. We grabbed their wallet. We grabbed their phone, put it on the, put it on the in the ambulance with them and off we go to the hospital and we're like here's the body here's the person here's their stuff we know nothing about this person good luck and uh and so that was the pandemic and then two years ago my dad had a heart attack small heart attack not a huge deal but a big deal and and i and i remember being on the phone with my sister going hey what do we know about dad and she's like what do you mean oh so dad's a vietnam fed do we know if he's got BA benefits? Does he have, does he have long-term care? Does he have, and, and, and she was like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. So after five minutes of my sister saying, I don't know, I was like, so I sat down that night and I wrote out 168 pages of questions of things. So we should, I thought we should know about and I use what I learned doing party rental business, doing gap analysis on events, What I learned in the firefighting EMT class doing assessments on patients when I come into you and do an assessment and just my general knowledge of, okay, what's going on? And so this was the ground, the kind of the ground basis for the book. Three major sections, the personal information, the middle section, your medical history, and the last section is the financial information. information. So all about the things that you're going to need to know to advocate for your loved one when you get past the ambulance and past the hospital. And now you're talking to doctors and nurses and case managers about the fact of what's going to happen to mom or dad in a nursing home, in a long-term care facility, in a memory care unit, and those kinds of things where they're going to live anywhere from the one to 10 years. Yeah. And it's interesting because you've mentioned a few things, but you also mentioned you went through this. Most people, and I think you've identified this core problem. Most people don't know what they're even supposed to know when it comes to end of life. Like they wouldn't even know the questions to ask themselves. You know, you had a couple of questions like, you know, where would the benefits be in life insurance, things like this, or even financial and bills. But most people don't even know the questions to ask. So you're saying you felt not only a need that came while you developed this, but it also was a way to kind of fill in a gap for a plan, like an overall strategic plan. So as your book, which I love, was it designed to really help guide people through this as well as provide, like you had mentioned sort of a workbook ability to be able to fill in all of this information and really so what They can have some peace of mind really to know that they have a plan put together Well so it a fill in the blank workbook. So it's an eight and a half by 11 workbook where you're really supposed to sit down and write stuff out. So it's when you open the book up, it starts with the personal information, their name, their social security number, driver's license, where they live, that basic information. And then it moves through, you know, their preferences. When do they like to eat? What do they like to eat? Are they vegan? Are they vegetarian? Do they paleo? What's their diet preferences? And so the idea behind it is to let you know what they want. And at the very end, it gets into living wills and DNRs and that kind of stuff. But at the beginning, the thought behind it is your loved one is now incapacitated. They are no longer able to advocate for themselves. They're going into a memory care unit. They're going into a nursing home. They've had a stroke. Something has happened where they can't speak for themselves. And so this gives you the answers to the questions that doctors, nurses, and case managers are going to be asking you as to their preferences of where they want to go stay, what they like to eat, what they don't like to eat, their medical history, do they have allergies, do they have, you know, surgeries and those kinds of things. Because what happens is when your loved one can no longer advocate for themselves, somebody is going to have to be able to answer those questions. If you want to make sure that your loved one gets the care that they paid for, that they've earned, or they deserve, you've got to be able to answer these questions in a timely fashion. Otherwise, your healthcare people, it's going to delay the healthcare. It's going to cause problems in trying to figure out what is where. Yeah, it's interesting because what I love about your approach, the reason I wanted to kind of have you on the show is you have a very unique approach to this. There's a lot of educators out there on this golden year strategic planning. And then there's also the service businesses that implement things, but you've got that bridge between fill in the blank approach, but also lead you and show you and help you to understand what you need to do. So I really love that uniqueness about what you're doing. I'm curious if we back up just a minute, what was that kind of aha moment that really took you from you did this as a practical step you needed to do and you saw this kind of need to thinking of it as a business? because I want to really emphasize the fact to a lot of our listeners that are business owners, entrepreneurs, and CEOs, that most of the best, most innovative ideas, but also the ones that fill the biggest needs in the marketplace come strictly out of identifying a problem that is out there. And sometimes for business owners and entrepreneurs, the difficulty is bridging between we see all these things, these needs, we have great ideas, and turning it into a business. So what was the aha? I mean, you didn't go into this. It sounds like wanting to create a book that was being sold. So what happened? So, yeah, so this, there was, when I, when I sat down and wrote my questions and actually put them, put them on the shelf and said, my dad will never do this because that's not my dad. My dad is a member of the silent generation. They don't talk about money. They don't talk about their, their plan. Oh, and they don't talk about death at all. That's like totally a taboo subject. So I just put it on the shelf and said, well, I don't know, we'll do something with this later. And, um, I, my, uh, our son, our, our number four child, his, his wife, uh, we were, we were over at their house and I was talking to them about kind of what we were doing. And, uh, and I, and I was telling her, you know, I kind of wrote this book and this and that. And, and she looked at me, she went, you did what? I said, well, you know, I, I, I wrote this book about, you know, planning for the golden years and it's kind of fill in the workbook, but I, I haven't really figured out what I'm going to do with it yet. And, and, and I was kind of this wishy-washy just kind of, and she whipped out her phone with straight to Amazon and said, where can I buy this book? I need it right now. I'm struggling with my mother right now with this. And, and, and my sister and I are just losing our minds, trying to figure out what to do with our mom and how to help her. and I went wait a minute did did I just hit something and and I kind of looked at my wife and she kind of looked at me and I was like I think we might be on something here and and so I went back and and I figured out okay I had the questions but I didn't have the forward written and I didn't have the afterwards written and I didn't have kind of the explanation written So I started working on writing those. And then I'm like, okay. I said, but now what? And so then I just started trying to figure out how to get myself published. And I didn't want to have an agent because agents basically are like lawyers. They just take money and cause problems. And I didn't want to go down to Kinko's and try to print them up myself and put them in the mail. I live on a sailboat. It's 43 feet. We don't have a lot of space. I can't put a garage full of books out there for, you know. And so I just started doing some research and I was like, you know, I could do print on demand with Amazon. This would be great. And I ended up teaming up with Woodbridge Publishing and they helped me get everything formatted and everything edited correctly and all good. And it's all put together and it's got a professional cover. It's copyrighted and they helped me do all the stuff to protect my intellectual property. and, and we went live on, on Amazon April 1st. And, uh, and it's been kind of fun to now sit down and talk to somebody and have them whip out their phone and be able to buy it right there. It's like, okay, this is cool. So, uh, but that, that was the aha moment was when my daughter-in-law was like, I need this book right now. So, yeah, that's, that's awesome because, and I think, you know, you were open to that. I think a lot of individuals, you know, it takes a problem to really in their own personal life for them to become aware of something. And most people don't really know where to start with this. But then you were also open to the ideas and you've always, you know, had entrepreneurialism and stuff like that. So it's really it's something that you acted on. And that's one of the big things that we talk to a lot of people about. You don't have to know everything and what to do and how to do it. There's people there that can help you. but you also have tapped into what I believe is one of the biggest, you know, transfers of wealth that's going to be happening over the next 20 years. And so talk to me a little bit. I want individuals who may be, you know, kind of dealing with this, whether it's in their family, their parents you know friends things like this to understand the scope of what we talking about here How big is this market and this area Because I think sometimes people don realize how important and big this is There a massive massive generation that are not only aging into post-retirement elderly care, but also this transition of wealth and things that you talk about. So between the silent generation, which is the group right before the baby boomers. So the greatest generation was the ones who fought World War II. Their children are the silent generation, and then their children are the baby boomers. There's about 100 million people from about 1925 to about 1965, that 40-year kind of time frame. And there's about $100 trillion in wealth that is fixing to move from those two generations into what is Gen X and I guess Gen Y is behind us. So that transfer of wealth, the problem that's going to happen is the amount of wealth that's going to get eaten in that transfer. and things like that. No, no, not even that. So, um, so if you look at a memory care unit or a, uh, a, a nursing home unit, they're anywhere from $4,000 a month to $6,000 a month. And, and, and for most people, their single largest asset is their house. And so if you've got to sell the house, cause dad is now in a memory care unit. And while he's got Alzheimer's, which is a terminal disease process, you don't survive Alzheimer's. It could take five to eight years for that process to work through. And at $6,000 a month, you're going to eat up the revenue of a house in nothing flat. Yeah. So, and unfortunately, if you kind of look at what's going on in the world, I don't want to call them the smart people because they're not necessarily smart people. But if you look at the amount of private equity money that's going into assisted living, independent living, memory care, all of that kind of care business, visiting angels, those kinds of things. those people are betting that there's going to be a lot of money, a lot of revenue in the next 20 years that's going to flow through those channels. Yeah. So not only identifying that, but protecting that revenue for yourself, your family, your loved ones, you know, you're right. There's a lot of money and investing that's going into residential assisted living and assisted living facilities and caregiving. There's a lot of that. And, you know, I think sometimes we don't think about both the questions you need to ask, but there's also some difficult things. I mean, you had an experience as a firefighter where you witnessed a situation with a family disagreeing on a DNR. Maybe you want to kind of give us that example, because I don't think people think about the difficult situations and how strategic planning in advance for those situations might make them easier to navigate. Do you have anything you want to comment with that? Yeah. So, so one night I was on shift and we got a call for an 80 year old lady in cardiac arrest. And so, you know, as firefighters, we're, we're 90 seconds out the door, the ambulance is behind us. And so we get there and our, our officer walks in and I'm a firefighter. And first thing we do is we're starting CPR, right? We do the assessment. She's, she's obviously in cardiac arrest, we're starting CPR. We have one daughter screaming, no, no, no. Mom has a DNR. And the other daughter screaming, no, save my mom, save my mom, save my mom. And, and, and our off. So we're, as the firefighter, I'm ignoring all of this, right? I'm focused on my patient. We're doing CPR. And, and the, and my officer is saying, unless you can find me a paper, signed copy of this DNR. We have no choice but to do CPR and transport your mother to the hospital and nobody could find it. And so I tell most people, I said, if you have a DNR, get one of those clear file folder of things. It goes in a three ring notebook. Yes. And tape that thing to your refrigerator. you know put it someplace where people can see it we had a little lady uh in a nursing home who had her walker she had a clear fire folder file folder on the front of her walker that had her dnr in it right like you got to know where that paperwork is because if you don't know where it is it's useless well i think you're right i think strategy and planning is the first step but and you need to know what to do with that but also at the same token you need to know how to navigate situations and be prepared in advance because you're right that it not don't look if you're going to go to the extent of having a dnr and not have it available and and ready then that sort of defeats the purpose you're going to eat up a bunch of expenses in a hospital and a you know emt service and all that um so let me ask you this i think a lot of people might be at least thinking right now you know for themselves for their families for their their loved ones you know we need to do some things. And I think your book, Strategic Planning for the Golden Years, will be a great resource for them. But for the listeners that sort of recognize that they need to have difficult conversations with parents or loved ones, what steps would you recommend they take for the next steps or the first steps to sort of start to get to this point and be able to have these conversations? What would you say is generally the first step in moving forward to put some strategy around this conversation? Well, so yeah, it's a difficult conversation, especially with people, elderly people who are worried that you're trying to take over their life. And that's not what you want to do at all. We're not trying to run your life. We're not trying to take over your finances. We're not trying to do any of that. So, um, as silly as this sounds, I would say the first step is by the book. And then go sit down with your loved one with the book and say, Hey, look, um, and, and, and, and most people remember this. You remember when you were 14 years old and your mom and dad had that conversation with you about the birds and the bees. Yeah. Now you're 54 years old and you need to have that conversation with your mom and your dad look at some point I'm gonna have to be the advocate for you you're no longer going to be able to speak for yourself and I need to know for you what you want yeah this book is a fill workbook and we can sit down together and go through it and and and and and take a little bit at a time and and and and go through it and and have that conversation and then leave the book with them. Let them flip through it. Let them read through it. It's a very simple, easy book. The, the, the, the beginning is a very simple beginning. And then it leads you right into those questions and then come back and say, Hey, let's just do chapter one. Chapter one's really easy. It's who are you? Where do you live? What's your driver's license? Who's your spouse? Do you have an ex spouse? Do you have a spouse that has passed away or a divorced spouse? Do you, do we have divorce papers? Do you have a copy of their death certificate? And then set it aside and then come back and, and, and the next weekend, come back and do the second part and just slowly work your way through because the first part is all about them and who they are and so it's very it's not very objectionable at all the objectionable stuff is in the third section and that's the financial information and so by the time you've taken them through the first section and by the time you've taken them through the second section which is the medical history they're used to it and they're and they're in it and they understand And the idea behind this is at some point, your loved one is not going to be able to speak for themselves. Yeah. And it really is that. Yeah. And this is a way for them to speak through you. Here's the answers to the questions that the doctor's going to ask, the nurse is going to ask. And most importantly, and most people don't even know about a case manager in a hospital. A case manager is the person at the hospital who helps you find the facility for your loved one. Where are they going to go? Are they going to go to a rehab facility? Are they going to a long-term care facility? Are they going to a memory care facility? Do you need social work? And that's that person that helps you and is your friend to help you find the right facility for them. And so the more you can answer these questions and the more you can give them the information they need, the better job they can do for you. can do for you. Yeah, I had my father passed away this last year. And, you know, I tell you, it was a mad scramble for days afterwards when we should be focused on other things, trying to pull together, you know, these kind of conversations. So I think your advice is well taken for many people because it's not just about, first of all, it's easier to have that conversation when you have something structured that you can have it around like a book, a workbook, right? And I think also because then it's not an ambiguous conversation. But also, I think if you put yourself and you put yourself in the situation where you tell yourself and your loved ones that you want to make that any of those processes simpler when they happen so that you can focus on what's most important. Like you said, this isn't about taking control of their life. This is about really just answering some key questions for their benefit and for everyone's benefit, you know, to do it. So I really like those suggestions and recommendations. I do believe it'll be a process. A lot of people, everyone's going to have to go through it. So it's not one of those things that is just random. Everyone's going to have to go through it. Why not be very strategic about it? And I think it, there's never a good time and there's never, there's never enough time. We'll put it that way. And so you really need to get in front of this, which is why I wanted to have this topic on the show and to be able to get it out there. It's about more than just wealth and succession planning. It's more than about making life and transition and the golden years simpler. It really is an overall process for both emotional things you deal with, physical, financial relationship. And so I can't highly recommend it enough. I know we're kind of out of time, but I wanted to ask you, William, is there anything else, any other final words you feel like we ought to bring up around this subject, around this topic before we sort of close things out today? Well, I will tell you that while death is stressful and, you know, I lost my mom and you lost your dad and it's a horrible thing to go through. What is 10 times more stressful is when your mom or your dad is in a long-term care facility or a memory care, a memory facility. And the only thing you know how to say is, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know the information. I don't know the questions. Right. And you get to a point where you've said, I don't know so many times you almost cry just the thought of saying it so it is important that you that you find this out information out now and and and while succession planning and wealth planning is important and all that passing that stuff on to the this is all about the fact that they're still alive but yet they can't advocate for themselves and you're now that advocate and it is so stressful and everything you can do to reduce the stress on you helps them and you at the same time. Yeah, I totally agree. And I would also add to that. It's, you know, rather than being reactive to all these situations, by being proactive in advance, there's actually a higher quality of time and quality of life because you don't think about the things until it's too late, then all you're doing is reacting. But if you do think about them in advance, what's happening is you're also planning end of life quality. And so there's a, there's a, by being in, it's like just with our business and our life right now, the more we think about where we're trying to be and where we want to be, the higher and the better quality of life we're going to live along the way. It's not about getting to that point and knowing that we, we have a plan. It's that by thinking about it now, the, the time that we're moving forward in will be more fulfilled, more fulfilling and better quality. So I highly agree. So listen, if you're listening to this for the first time, like I said, I want you to connect with us. Let us know what you're dealing with, what you're doing. I hope this is information that is both inspiring you and motivating you to take action, but also giving you a bit of education. And so what I'm going to do is in the show notes, I'm going to put a link to William's book so that you guys can go to Amazon and pick that up. I'll also put in there some ways to connect with you, William, if that's okay, online and through your website. And we highly encourage you to kind of check this out, spend some time, be intentional with your life, with your loved ones, with your relationships. And we look forward to hearing with you. If you have any question things, make sure you connect with William. So thanks again. This has been The Daily Mastermind. I'll look forward to talking with you more. Have an amazing day. I'll see you next time.
