A Shared Legacy Today

Why Wait Until You're Dead to Share Your Legacy?

By: Michael McCarthey

Imagine a world where there is true equality. I'm not talking about communism or socialism or any other system. I'm not talking about churches or religion, either. I'm talking about people being able to live with dignity and respect. No one is too poor to participate! No one is too rich.

There are more than enough resources in the United States alone to feed and house the whole world! Yet many of these assets lie unused, even wasted or neglected. What if there were a simple way to unleash the power of the ordinary man and woman to change the face of this world? You don't have to be a billionaire, but there is one billionaire who just may have jump started the solution!

Warren Buffett, often introduced as the legendary investor of the 20th century, may have started a trend in how billionaires share their legacy. Time Magazine declared Buffett to be the most influential person in the world. Warren Buffett has lived a personally frugal lifestyle and advocates a values-based approach to investments.

Warren Buffett began a trend in 1986 by dedicating 85% of his foundation to charitable organizations. Bill and Melinda Gates have since pledged to give their vast fortune to charity, and this trend is gaining momentum among billionaires and millionaires. This legacy train is still picking up speed, as more and more of the nation's wealthy are electing to share their fortunes with charities instead of passing their assets exclusively down to children.

While investors speculate on the varied reasons behind this trend, my imagination is fueled by the magnitude of possibilities!

What if everyone, rich and poor, adopted Warren Buffett's fortune-sharing mindset? Imagine if we ALL began to share our legacies today, even as little as 1% of our income?

What if ordinary people everywhere began to share everything they owned: assets and money, talents and skills? Working together the ordinary families of this world own many more assets than the legendary investors of this age. What would it look like if we each regularly gave a percentage, even just 1/2 of 1%, in addition to sharing our talents and skills? How would that affect our local economies?

The family unit is the backbone of society, and by strengthening families through the local private sector right where these families live and work, the net effect will ripple from the local level to the whole nation.

Let's get specific. The US Census Bureau reports the average median household income has dropped to just above $49,000 a year. Imagine if 100 million families elected to give a mere 1% of their income to charities? That would be $49 billion given to charity! That is more than Buffett's net worth, as of a few years ago.

You might ask, how could families who are not surviving be able to give? Maybe a better question is, how can we change this so that there is true equality so that everyone has the blessing of both giving and receiving?

Each person matters!

The local media spreads the word of what these groups are doing with the funds, so everyone has the information about how their giving is being channeled. This encourages even more giving!

Consider the times we are living in, where unemployment forces millions of people to depend on food stamps, welfare, and other government programs. While our government hurriedly prints more money, deflating the power of our fragile economy, is it not our individual and collective duty to help our government?

Many people fear the next election, because they hardly know who to vote for! Does any political party or candidate truly have the answers?

What if we could, at the local private level, alleviate the effects of unemployment, foreclosures, and the stress that is killing us one-by-one? What would that same small town we used as an example above look like?

Time Shares. Not a resort, but literally sharing our greatest asset of all: TIME.

Each person may contribute hours of their time. Doctors, lawyers, hairdressers, dentists, maids, heavy equipment operators, loggers, teachers, seamstresses, artists… no matter what your gifts and talents or your profession may be, you have the opportunity to trade hours with your neighbors. Do you need yard work done? You go to the "time share" store and you claim the hours you need, while donating the hours you wish to give!

I'm not advocating we eliminate capitalism either! Businesses and professions deserve to charge fair prices.

Money is a tool but it's not the most important asset we own! YOU are your most important asset. Your neighbor is also an important asset in your life.

I'm not advocating we eliminate banks or the government or churches or businesses. All of these things are necessary. What I'm suggesting is that we each take a look at our truest, most valuable assets and that we work in harmony, at the local level, to provide our own economic stimulus!

Many people are expecting and preparing for the greatest socioeconomic crash in world history. We've been teetering on the edge of destruction for many decades. The next election is going to be a turning point in history, but which way will it go?

Why be afraid? Perhaps these near disasters and threats of looming disasters are only a wake up call, alerting us to the myriad of opportunities in front of our eyes. They've just been so close we couldn't see them before!

I've only mentioned a few possibilities and I'm sure there are smarter people out there who can think of more ideas. I'm just one person but I'm taking action. I used to live in a wealthy home with all the opportunities the American Dream afforded. Now I live in a small Winnebago and I help people I find on the streets of my local community. I give my hands to repair cars and I give my money to help others build their dreams. 

I was searching for love in all the wrong places, you know? Today I find love everywhere I go. It may be in the face of a woman last week whose van broke down. She has almost nothing so I don't charge her for fixing her radiator and changing some belts. Yesterday I put up doors in a church building, and I figured if this is really God's house then He'll pay me somehow and some way.  I have a job, but my employer's business took a dive over the winter, so I worked without pay for a few weeks. He lets me park my Winnebago on his property, so it all balances out.

Does it make life easy, to live this way? No, I wouldn't recommend it for people with families. I'm not saying you should be like me… heck no. But each of us can do something. We are powerful together.

We have choices. We can do the simple acts of love and kindness we each are capable of doing, right here and right now.

It's simple. Each of us working together in the private sector. Building stronger families, one life at a time.

Religion doesn't have the answers. Politics doesn't either. Big business, nope… well, not enough answers, that is.

It's YOU! And me. Just take one step today and see if there's a need you can meet. Take one dollar, maybe two, and give it to an organization or individual that is truly involved in helping your local community. Then do it again.

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BIO: Michael McCarthey was born in East Germany. At the age of 9-months his father smuggled him across the Berlin wall in a suitcase. Adopted by a United States military officer at age 3, Michael grew up just outside of Washington DC. He lived an affluent upper class lifestyle but left it all behind to search for his purpose, for what would add real value and meaning to his life. Michael now works as a mobile handyman, living a frugal lifestyle while watching out for people who need help. His dream is to build a "city of refuge." Using his carpentry and mechanical skills, his goal is to help families build their own homes in a self-sufficient lifestyle. His dream is to see people contributing their talents and skills to benefit the community as a whole, no one left out and no one without purpose in life.

Note from Susan, owner of TeamFamilyOnline.com: I met Michael when my truck broke down in the middle of the desert, and a record of that story is published as "Secret Heroes: Do You Have One in Your Life?" Michael is the mechanic who repaired my truck not once or twice, but at least a dozen times in the past year! Although we now live in different states, Michael continues to watch out for people in distress and just quietly meets needs. He's not a perfect man, just a guy who cares. And maybe that's all it takes in this world… just to really care! What do you think? Please post your comments below!

Tagged as: New Family Legacy