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Book The Destructive Power of Family Wealth

Download or read book The Destructive Power of Family Wealth written by Philip Marcovici and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wealth owners are responsible for more than just assets The Destructive Power of Family Wealth offers thoughtful, holistic planning to ensure that your wealth remains a positive force for your family. While today's families have become global and the world has become smaller and more mobile, we have not yet become immune to the problems wealth poses to the family unit. This book provides authoritative guidance on family wealth management, with an emphasis on both family and wealth. Global taxation regimes, changing bank secrecy laws, asset protection and other critical issues are examined in depth to assist wealth owners in planning, and the discussion includes details on the essential tools that aid in the execution of any wealth management strategy. More than a simple financial planning guide, this book also delves into the psychology of wealth, and the effect it has on different family members; wealth destroys families every day, and smart management means maintaining the health of the family as much as it means maintaining and expanding wealth. Family wealth brings advantages, but it also carries a potential for destruction. Wealth owners have a responsibility to their families and to themselves, and this book provides the critical guidance you need to get it right, whether you are part of a wealth-owning family or are an advisor to wealth-owning families. Learn how careful planning can prevent family strife Protect assets from risks ranging from divorce to political upheaval Explore the many tools that facilitate secure wealth management Discover how changing global regulations affect wealth Understand how private banks and other advisors work Uncover challenges faced by the wealth management industry Find out how to work with advisors and to manage costs while ensuring efficient and effective outcomes Families at all levels of wealth are vulnerable to shifting economic climates, evolving regulatory issues, asset threats and more. Any amount of wealth is enough to shatter a family, but deeply intentional planning based on thoughtful consideration is the key to keeping destructive forces at bay. The Destructive Power of Family Wealth provides expert guidance and a fresh perspective to help you maintain both family and wealth. For those in the wealth management industry and for other advisors to wealth-owning families, The Destructive Power of Family Wealth contains insight on the needs of today's wealth-owning families, ways in which the tools of wealth planning address those needs and guidance on what it takes to be a successful, trusted family advisor.

Book The Destructive Power of Family Wealth

Download or read book The Destructive Power of Family Wealth written by Philip Marcovici and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-09-28 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wealth owners are responsible for more than just assets The Destructive Power of Family Wealth offers thoughtful, holistic planning to ensure that your wealth remains a positive force for your family. While today's families have become global and the world has become smaller and more mobile, we have not yet become immune to the problems wealth poses to the family unit. This book provides authoritative guidance on family wealth management, with an emphasis on both family and wealth. Global taxation regimes, changing bank secrecy laws, asset protection and other critical issues are examined in depth to assist wealth owners in planning, and the discussion includes details on the essential tools that aid in the execution of any wealth management strategy. More than a simple financial planning guide, this book also delves into the psychology of wealth, and the effect it has on different family members; wealth destroys families every day, and smart management means maintaining the health of the family as much as it means maintaining and expanding wealth. Family wealth brings advantages, but it also carries a potential for destruction. Wealth owners have a responsibility to their families and to themselves, and this book provides the critical guidance you need to get it right, whether you are part of a wealth-owning family or are an advisor to wealth-owning families. Learn how careful planning can prevent family strife Protect assets from risks ranging from divorce to political upheaval Explore the many tools that facilitate secure wealth management Discover how changing global regulations affect wealth Understand how private banks and other advisors work Uncover challenges faced by the wealth management industry Find out how to work with advisors and to manage costs while ensuring efficient and effective outcomes Families at all levels of wealth are vulnerable to shifting economic climates, evolving regulatory issues, asset threats and more. Any amount of wealth is enough to shatter a family, but deeply intentional planning based on thoughtful consideration is the key to keeping destructive forces at bay. The Destructive Power of Family Wealth provides expert guidance and a fresh perspective to help you maintain both family and wealth. For those in the wealth management industry and for other advisors to wealth-owning families, The Destructive Power of Family Wealth contains insight on the needs of today's wealth-owning families, ways in which the tools of wealth planning address those needs and guidance on what it takes to be a successful, trusted family advisor.

Book Wealth of Wisdom

Download or read book Wealth of Wisdom written by Tom McCullough and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-12-06 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical resource for families managing significant wealth Wealth of Wisdom offers essential guidance and tools to help high-net-worth families successfully manage significant wealth. By compiling the 50 most common questions surrounding protection and growth, this book provides a compendium of knowledge from experts around the globe and across disciplines. Deep insight and thoughtful answers put an end to uncertainty, and help lay to rest the issues you have been wrestling with for years; by divulging central lessons and explaining practical actions you can take today, this book gives you the critical information you need to make more informed decisions about your financial legacy. Vital charts, graphics, questionnaires, worksheets and other tools help you get organised, develop a strategy and take real control of your family's wealth, while case studies show how other families have handled the very dilemmas you may be facing today. Managing significant wealth is a complex affair, and navigating the financial world at that level involves making decisions that can have major ramifications — these are not decisions to make lightly. This book equips you to take positive action, be proactive and make the tough decisions to protect and grow your family's wealth. Ensure your personal and financial success and legacy Access insight and data from leading experts Adopt the most useful tools and strategies for wealth management Learn how other families have successfully navigated common dilemmas When your family's wealth is at stake, knowledge is critical — and uncertainty can be dangerous. Drawn from interactions with hundreds ofwealthy individuals and families, Wealth of Wisdom provides a definitive resource of practical solutions from the world's best financial minds.

Book Complete Family Wealth

Download or read book Complete Family Wealth written by James E. Hughes, Jr. and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-11-08 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What matters most in managing the family enterprise Complete Family Wealth is a comprehensive resource for growing, maintaining, and managing wealth across generations. A successor to the classic Family Wealth, now in its 20th year, this book provides updated and expanded guidance to change the way you think about your wealth and legacy. This team of expert authors—who brought the field not only Family Wealth but also Family the Compact, The Cycle of the Gift, The Voice of the Rising Generation, and Family Trusts—ground Complete Family Wealth in a clear account of the “five capitals”: human, intellectual, social, spiritual, and financial. The discussion covers the “what,” “who,” and “how” of family wealth management in clearly-delineated chapters that allow you to dip in as needed, from the principles of family enterprise to family governance, philanthropy, and more. Each family member plays a distinct role, and by exploring each member’s responsibilities in terms of the family enterprise, this book provides insights and ideas for real-world families struggling with all-too-common challenges. Growth-oriented practices today lead to generations of family flourishing in the future. This book provides the answers you need along with guidance and strategy for keeping your family’s complete wealth intact. Understand the five forms of capital that comprise “complete family wealth” Explore the roles of each family member in helping the family enterprise flourish Learn how friends, trustees, and advisors contribute to family wealth management Adopt specific practices that help families grow their complete wealth and ensure its survival through generations Family wealth can sometimes feel like more of a burden than a blessing. Developing the right understanding, character, and structures can improve family enterprise management and protect all your family’s capital from whatever the world throws your way. Complete Family Wealth is a one-stop reference for ensuring a positive legacy for future generations.

Book Portfolio Management in Practice  Volume 1

Download or read book Portfolio Management in Practice Volume 1 written by CFA Institute and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-11-11 with total page 1328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Portfolio Management in Practice, Volume 1: Investment Management delivers a comprehensive overview of investment management for students and industry professionals. As the first volume in the CFA Institute’s new Portfolio Management in Practice series, Investment Management offers professionals looking to enhance their skillsets and students building foundational knowledge an essential understanding of key investment management concepts. Designed to be an accessible resource for a wide range of learners, this volume explores the full portfolio management process. Inside, readers will find detailed coverage of: Forming capital market expectations Principles of the asset allocation process Determining investment strategies within each asset class Integrating considerations specific to high net worth individuals or institutions into chosen strategies And more To apply the concepts outlined in the Investment Management volume, explore the accompanying Portfolio Management in Practice, Volume 1: Investment Management Workbook. The perfect companion resource, this workbook aligns chapter-by-chapter with Investment Management for easy referencing so readers can draw connections between theoretical content and challenging practice problems. Featuring contributions from the CFA Institute’s subject matter experts, Portfolio Management in Practice, Volume 1: Investment Management distills the knowledge forward-thinking professionals will need to succeed in today’s fast-paced financial world.

Book 2022 CFA Program Curriculum Level III Box Set

Download or read book 2022 CFA Program Curriculum Level III Box Set written by CFA Institute and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-06-29 with total page 3863 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepare for success on the 2022 CFA Level III exam with the latest official CFA® Program Curriculum. The 2022 CFA Program Curriculum Level III Box Set contains all the material you need to succeed on the Level III CFA exam in 2022. This set includes the full official curriculum for Level III and is part of the larger CFA Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK). Designed to acclimate you to the exam’s heavy reliance on information synthesis and solution application regarding portfolio management and wealth planning, the Level III curriculum will help you master both calculation-based and word-based problems. Highly visual and intuitively organized, this box set allows you to: Learn from financial thought leaders. Access market-relevant instruction. Gain critical knowledge and skills. The set also includes practice questions to assist with your recall of key terms, concepts, and formulas. Perfect for anyone preparing for the 2022 Level III CFA exam, the 2022 CFA Program Curriculum Level III Box Set is a must-have resource for those seeking the advanced skills required to become a Chartered Financial Analyst®.

Book International Economic Policy for the Polycrisis

Download or read book International Economic Policy for the Polycrisis written by Konrad Raczkowski and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-09-17 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The struggle for world leadership between China and the United States, resulting in Russia's war with Ukraine, among other things, underscores the reality of structural changes in the global economy and the global system. This book explains that a new era of egocentrism and polycrisis in a multipolar system has emerged in international economic policy, with a strong drive toward interventionism and protectionism of national economies. Dynamic economic imbalances are becoming a constant factor in disrupting international competitiveness and forcing changes in both monetary policy and general economic policy. This prompts a new, more pragmatic definition of fundamental concepts in the theoretical sphere as well as an up-to-date and viable cause-and-effect narrative that is not disconnected from decision-making processes in the economic and political spheres. This book provides a comprehensive diagnosis of the current global economy landscape and evaluates the processes affecting the economic and financial realities and the effectiveness of economic policies. The recent dynamics have rendered much of the existing literature outdated or confined to individual economies, economic systems, and regions. The book describes the evolution of international economic policy, offering a comparative analysis of foreign trade theories, especially in the context of macroeconomic trends and the impact of international trade in goods and services in the new balance of power of the global economy. Targeted primarily at academics, students, and researchers in economics, finance, international relations, and management, it will also serve as a valuable resource for policymakers shaping and implementing contemporary state economic policies.

Book More Than Money

Download or read book More Than Money written by Michael A. Cole and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-03-31 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new, more comprehensive approach to long-term family wealth management More Than Money provides a high-level, integrated approach to preserving both financial resources and family harmony. Research has shown a failure rate of 70 percent in long-term multigenerational wealth management, and contrary to popular assumption, only five percent of that failure is due to bad investment, poor tax planning, or inadequate performance by legal and financial advisors. The number-one reason family wealth management fails is the family itself; poor communication, lack of trust, divergent visions, and a failure to prepare succeeding generations will tear down the resources the family has worked so hard to build. Traditional wealth management cannot fix this. Instead, this book offers a fresh approach that integrates strategic and tactical wealth management to align the family’s assets with the family members. With helpful tools and advice drawn from a real-world understanding of family complexities, you’ll improve your ability to preserve your family’s resources over multiple generations. With an expert’s perspective on the real forces behind successful family wealth management, this book provides a clear model and a practical roadmap for long-term financial preservation. Develop a shared family vision and mission Improve communication and trust among members Merge strategic and tactical planning Ensure the longevity of your family’s wealth The wealth management sphere tends to focus on taxes, investments, banking, and estate planning, but little thought is given to the people themselves—this overlooks the fact that individual family members are the most critical factor in multigenerational wealth management, and fails to provide solutions. More Than Money merges traditional strategies with family dynamics, communication, governance, and preparation to help your resources last for generations to come.

Book Wealth of Wisdom

Download or read book Wealth of Wisdom written by Tom McCullough and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-12-03 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical resource for families managing significant wealth Wealth of Wisdom offers essential guidance and tools to help high-net-worth families successfully manage significant wealth. By compiling the 50 most common questions surrounding protection and growth, this book provides a compendium of knowledge from experts around the globe and across disciplines. Deep insight and thoughtful answers put an end to uncertainty, and help lay to rest the issues you have been wrestling with for years; by divulging central lessons and explaining practical actions you can take today, this book gives you the critical information you need to make more informed decisions about your financial legacy. Vital charts, graphics, questionnaires, worksheets and other tools help you get organised, develop a strategy and take real control of your family's wealth, while case studies show how other families have handled the very dilemmas you may be facing today. Managing significant wealth is a complex affair, and navigating the financial world at that level involves making decisions that can have major ramifications — these are not decisions to make lightly. This book equips you to take positive action, be proactive and make the tough decisions to protect and grow your family's wealth. Ensure your personal and financial success and legacy Access insight and data from leading experts Adopt the most useful tools and strategies for wealth management Learn how other families have successfully navigated common dilemmas When your family's wealth is at stake, knowledge is critical — and uncertainty can be dangerous. Drawn from interactions with hundreds ofwealthy individuals and families, Wealth of Wisdom provides a definitive resource of practical solutions from the world's best financial minds.

Book Family Wealth

    Book Details:
  • Author : James E. Hughes, Jr.
  • Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
  • Release : 2010-05-25
  • ISBN : 0470884878
  • Pages : 256 pages

Download or read book Family Wealth written by James E. Hughes, Jr. and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-05-25 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The landmark book that changed the way exceptional families think about their heritage, their wealth, and their legacy to future generations--now revised and expanded. Every family, looking at the next generation, hopes to confer advantages that are more than just material and financial--to inculcate character and leadership, to inspire creativity and enterprise, to help all family members find and follow their individual callings, and to avoid the financial dependency and loss of initiative that can all too often be an unwanted consequence of financial success. Yet many families never succeed in realizing that vision, much less sustaining it for three, four, or five generations and beyond. James Hughes has thought deeply about these challenges, and his insights are at once practical and profound. For more than three decades, he has personally guided multiple generations of families in creating strategies to preserve their human and intellectual capital as well as their financial assets. His teachings synthesize insights from psychology, anthropology, political history, philosophy, economic theory, and the law, with examples ranging from Aristotle to cutting-edge social science theory. His ideas have been taken up by numerous exceptional families, by their advisers, and by scores of authors, practitioners, and academics who have found value in the methods he pioneered. The first edition of this book, privately published, became a word-of-mouth classic. Now, Hughes has updated and substantially expanded it with new chapters that challenge conventional notions of wealth and offer guidelines for conserving family assets in the broadest senses. Filled with tested principles and practices for family governance and joint decision making, it is a rich source of workable wisdom that family members can put into practice today, to the enduring benefit and gratitude of future generations.

Book Endless Inheritance

    Book Details:
  • Author : Richard Del Monte
  • Publisher : Advantage
  • Release : 2014-12-01
  • ISBN : 159932542X
  • Pages : 175 pages

Download or read book Endless Inheritance written by Richard Del Monte and published by Advantage. This book was released on 2014-12-01 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many successful parents have spent their lives creating a financial bonanza for themselves, as well as their children and grandchildren. What they didn’t plan for are the unintended consequences that increased wealth brings. These include issues like entitlement and loss of work ethic among the rising generation, and increased potential for upsets, disputes, and strained relationships that can often progress to separation and even lawsuits. Richard M. Del Monte, CFP®, CWC, wealth consultant and author of ENDLESS INHERITANCE: Moving from Feuding to Flourishing in Your Affluent Family aims to help affluent families prepare for and prevent the destructive forces that wealth brings, and help them resolve all their conflicts, prepare the heirs to handle the wealth they will inherit, and create a scenario in which money becomes a tool to unleash and achieve the family’s greatest potential, now and in future generations. Seventy percent of affluent families fail at passing on wealth through the second generation, meaning the kids either squander all the money or wind up fighting with or suing each other. Written as a guide, ENDLESS INHERITANCE: Moving from Feuding to Flourishing in Your Affluent Family, outlines how to prepare the rising generation of a wealthy family—not just to inherit worldly goods, but to be engaged and contributing members of the family, to appreciate their shared history, resolve conflicts quickly before they escalate, and to be able to handle the responsibilities and opportunities that come with wealth. As a wealth consultant, asset manager, and trained specialist in family dynamics, Richard M. Del Monte outlines a plan of action supported by resources and exercises to empower parents and children alike to start the often difficult conversations needed to overcome poor relationships, lack of trust, and entitlement. The book addresses financial planning aspects wealthy families should consider, as well as the family’s interpersonal relationships and training that need to be addressed to ensure their wealth and family harmony last for generations.

Book The Complete Family Office Handbook

Download or read book The Complete Family Office Handbook written by Kirby Rosplock and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover new insights on how to setup, manage, and advise wealthy families and their family offices The Complete Family Office: A Guide for Affluent Families and the Advisors Who Serve Them, 2nd Edition represents the newest update to an essential series. This book prepares the members of wealthy families to collectively manage, sustain, and grow their wealth across multiple generations. It also assists professionals who advise families to better serve their needs. This book teaches those who advise family offices and wealthy families on: · How to setup, structure, and advise a family office · Current compliance, fiduciary and risk management practices for a family office · Forward-thinking investment management, estate planning, and private trust company considerations · Fresh insights on philanthropy, legacy, and impact investing · Best practices to managing family wealth education and preparing next generation owners · New insights on family governance, strategic planning, and succession · Methods to create a family constitution, mission, and vision for families and their family offices. The Complete Family Office Handbook provides the most comprehensive, current research, practical guidance, and approaches from leading family offices from around the globe and illustrates, by way of practical case studies and examples, how families can effectively manage their wealth for the long term.

Book The Constructive Power of Family Wealth  How the T Heory of Change and Moves Towards Regenerative Tax Systems Can Help Families and Their Communities

Download or read book The Constructive Power of Family Wealth How the T Heory of Change and Moves Towards Regenerative Tax Systems Can Help Families and Their Communities written by P. Marcovici and published by . This book was released on 2025-04-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book The Wealth Hoarders

Download or read book The Wealth Hoarders written by Chuck Collins and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-03-08 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, a secret army of tax attorneys, accountants and wealth managers has been developing into the shadowy Wealth Defence Industry. These ‘agents of inequality’ are paid millions to hide trillions for the richest 0.01%. In this book, inequality expert Chuck Collins, who himself inherited a fortune, interviews the leading players and gives a unique insider account of how this industry is doing everything it can to create and entrench hereditary dynasties of wealth and power. He exposes the inner workings of these “agents of inequality”, showing how they deploy anonymous shell companies, family offices, offshore accounts, opaque trusts, and sham transactions to ensure the world’s richest pay next to no tax. He ends by outlining a robust set of policies that democratic nations can implement to shut down the Wealth Defence Industry for good. This shocking exposé of the insidious machinery of inequality is essential reading for anyone wanting the inside story of our age of plutocratic plunder and stashed cash.

Book An Anatomy of Tax Havens

Download or read book An Anatomy of Tax Havens written by Paul R. Beckett and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2023-10-23 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tax havens in offshore lands like Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas were once considered a rarity, the preserve of the super-rich. Today, they are big business available to the masses. Their goal? To avoid any form of accountability. Own nothing. Possess everything. Be answerable to no one. Where are these tax havens? What forms can they take? What future lies in store for them, and why should we care? An Anatomy of Tax Havens: Europe, the Caribbean and the United States of America answers these questions, and more, in the first comparative study in one volume of European, Caribbean and United States tax havens. It examines their simple origin to the extreme forms some take today, delving into the murky subculture that has deliberately made them impenetrably obscure. Uniquely, it combines detailed technical expertise (regulatory regimes, financial crime, legal and equitable structuring) with an analysis of their impact on domestic and global political, economic, environmental and social concerns. An Anatomy of Tax Havens is a fascinating, informative read for a broad readership; from legal, accountancy and tax practitioners to compliance regulators, law enforcement agencies, and students and researchers interested in business studies, taxation, and crime.

Book The Myth of the Silver Spoon

Download or read book The Myth of the Silver Spoon written by Kristin Keffeler and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2022-11-18 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The next generation within wealthy families are often said to be born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Perceived as free from life’s toughest challenges. “Having it all.” But being raised in affluence brings a unique set of pressures and hidden tripwires. Great wealth casts a long shadow. Inheritors commonly face intense familial expectations, public scrutiny and judgment, and confusing or debilitating self-narratives, under which many flounder. And we—as family, friends, and society—slowly lose their contribution to our lives and the common good. The Myth of the Silver Spoon helps guide the next gen of the affluent, their families, and the ecosystem of professionals who influence them—wealth advisors, estate attorneys, tax attorneys, philanthropic advisors, family office professionals, and career coaches—to identify and confront negative thinking and behaviors related to wealth. Through new research, meaningful storytelling, and actionable concepts, Kristin Keffeler—an expert advisor, consultant, and certified professional coach to high-net-worth families—helps readers clear the internal and external clutter from their paths that accumulates from growing up with wealth. She shows readers how to: Put words to their difficulties and dismantle the hidden tripwires of affluence Address challenges at their root, including when raising children of their own, instilling guardrails against entitlement and feelings of helplessness Identify structures for finding and sustaining one’s own vision of a fulfilling, impactful life Privately held wealth has great potential to benefit society. But only if it is held by people able and willing to do good with it. Whether you’re a rising gen yourself or gifting this to a client, The Myth of Silver Spoon offers a compassionate discussion and a seven-step process for connecting a rising gen’s innate strengths to the embers of their hopes, so that they can move forward creating thriving and impactful lives.

Book Fragile Power

    Book Details:
  • Author : Paul L. Hokemeyer
  • Publisher : Simon and Schuster
  • Release : 2019-10-08
  • ISBN : 1616497653
  • Pages : 336 pages

Download or read book Fragile Power written by Paul L. Hokemeyer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revealing exploration of people whose wealth, fame, beauty, and social status grant them immense power. Celebrity culture drives us to aspire to be like the few who seem to have figured out how to have it all. But is it possible that they simultaneously have everything and nothing at all? Having treated some of the world’s most successful people, psychotherapist “Dr. Paul” sets out to answer why so many people who have everything end up feeling like their achievements are never enough—as well as what that pattern can reveal about ourselves and the society in which we live. The exclusivity of living behind the velvet rope or the gilded gate doesn’t guarantee happiness for the rich, famous, and powerful; there are downsides to attainment as well. We all—including people who seem protected by their privileged lives—can experience the self-destructive behaviors common to modern life, including chronic stress, addiction, anxiety, imposter syndrome, infidelity, negative body image, and narcissism. Division marks our era. There’s a growing separation between the haves and have nots, men and women, as well as the empowered and the disenfranchised. At the same time, our culture is defined by celebrities, and the powerful, affluent people we put on a pedestal to idolize and emulate. Too often, we think our lives would be better if we could have what they have or be more like them. It’s time to realize that even the most admired people can go through life feeling unloved and unable to escape their problems. From the therapist’s chair, we learn how feelings of shame, insecurity, abandonment, and emotional pain are all part of the human condition. With empathy, we can overcome our sense of isolation by realizing that we all crave—and deserve—understanding, intimacy, and real connection.