Generational Wealth requires Generational Sacrifice.
Crazy to think that when my father was just a few years older than I am now, he had to pack up everything including his wife, two kids, parents, and join his sister and her family in leaving behind everything he ever knew – in order to come to the United States as refugees.
He was an engineer in Belarus, and he completed his university and schooling to build his career in the “old country.”
It was 1989. The Soviet Union was crumbling. The United States represented opportunity, freedom, potential, and a better life for the kids. It was only upon arriving in the US did my parents realize that their degrees from University did not “transfer” to high-paying jobs in America.
I witnessed the sacrifice firsthand as I grew up as a young child in Lynn, Massachusetts, about 15 minutes north of Boston. We lived in Lynn for 4 years when we first moved from Belarus to the United States. I didn’t fully comprehend the sacrifice until I was well into my early 20’s.
My father would have loved to become an engineer in this country. But we needed money NOW. He was adamant against learning new skills at first. He had to do what he could in order to provide for our family. Working multiple jobs, including pizza-delivery, fixing cars, and driving a taxi, he worked and worked and worked while my mother, a physician back in Belarus, had to re-do her medical residency from scratch to become a Doctor in the US.
4 years later, my mother was a Primary Care Physician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Greater Boston (this is where Amy Poehler was born! haha) and has had her practice up and running serving thousands of patients over 25 years.
My father has been a taxi driver for almost 30 years, and he was even able to purchase a taxi medallion in the late 1990’s, only to have Uber and Lyft come in and cause a huge reduction in value for Medallions. Still to this day in 2019, he is driving his taxi cab 5+ days a week. He works hard, works long hours, and has sacrificed tremendously to put his family in a position to succeed.
Now let’s talk about “Paying It Forward.” Helping others because you CAN. Because you have the SKILLS. Because you have the ABILITY. But even more than just that.
I felt an even stronger force. I felt a fire burning inside to uplift and positively impact those around me to show gratitude for the blessed upbringing I experienced.
This duty.
This responsibility.
This blessed obligation.
To pay it forward.
That’s what Generational Wealth means to me. That’s what a Legacy means to me.
Thanks for everything Pop. I’ll continue do my best to multiply the positive impact to millions… all because you gave me the chance to do so.
