“OK, let’s figure it out.” That’s usually what I say to clients after they’ve shared their list of needs, wants, and wishes. My team and I will then sit in the conference room, for as long as it takes, to find the path forward — the way for our clients to achieve their hopes and dreams despite any current obstacles.I know what it feels like for money to derail a dream. As an adolescent with a professional golf career within arm’s reach, lack of sufficient funding kept me from the pursuit. This experience taught me at a young age that I needed (and wanted) to learn about money. What is it, really? How does it serve people? Why is it so hard to figure out? After graduating and starting my first job ripping apart balance sheets and interpreting financial statements in upstate New York; in the midst of a 1993 blizzard (42 inches of snow fell in 48 hours!), I asked my employer for a transfer to California – and I got it. I moved to a town in the Bay Area that I’d never heard of — a place I couldn’t even Google since this was pre-internet. After spending over ten years working for large brokerage firms, I realized I had too much compassion to spend my life as a pure numbers guy. I had already fallen in love with California (and fallen in love in California), and eventually made the big decision to do things my way. In 2005 I launched Gebhardt Group, Inc. in my current hometown of Lafayette. For nearly two decades, as Gebhardt Group has grown, I’ve developed a passion for advising successful business owners as they prepare to transition into their next stage of life. Most people who sell their businesses eventually regret selling because they haven’t planned their next steps. They hadn’t yet figured out their purpose or their why beyond their work. I enjoy shepherding people through these big (and fun) life transitions.I do this by asking a lot of questions. Not all the questions are about vision. I ask about things that really matter — things like relationships, habits, values, and dreams: topics that usually don’t come up in financial services. Of course, these topics are the entire point. Money is just the tool, a tool we leverage to help people live their lives according to their own priorities and desires.Our office is a judgment-free zone. Past decisions are just that: In the past. Working together we craft the path to your best future. If you’d like this kind of holistic and practical approach to your wealth, call me, 925-283-9150, and let’s figure it out.